What tractor attachment do I need?

[jodebg]

We will be cutting down over 30 large trees on our property. I have a Kubota B2650 with a quick attach bucket.
I also have a set of Bradco pallet forks.

What would be a good tractor attachment to work with to lift, haul and place the logs in long lengths onto a pile ,
and also help us to haul all the brush that we will need to move?


Thanks

 

[Peter 315]

A bigger tractor.........just joking.... A grapple would be great do you have a 3rd function valve?.......

 

[senecak19]

I think you have what you need. Pallet forks do the trick for me but don’t stack large logs. I just sold my LT35 hydraulic woodmizer and used to stack with forks using an L3200 and I couldn’t stack what the mill could handle. I had to roll most logs up one at a time.

 

[farmeratheart]

I agree with Peter. Pretty much sounds like the job description of a grapple! One is on my wish list ...

Good luck.

Frank

 

[nybirdman]

A "light weight" grapple,thumb on pallet forks or a thumb/tooth-bar on bucket.I added a Green's Machine Thumb and tooth-bar to my bucket to do exactly what you are doing;works very well.Less expensive than a full grapple.Third function will be required.Also you will need some kind of counter-weight.

 

[jodebg]

Thanks, have some follow up questions:

Does a grapple have any advantages over the Green's Machine Thumb and tooth-bar set up?

Are there different styles/functions of grapples?

What is involved in adding a 3rd function to this B2650 and approximate cost to have it installed?

How stable is a log on a set of pallet forks when driving...thinking the log would need to be strapped to the forks?

Can the thumb be installed on the pallet fork frame?

 

[Peter 315]

If you go slow and the log is centered rolled back to the pallet fork frame you should be ok....

 

[s219]

Pallet forks work fine as long as you can set them wide. Don't cut the logs too long or you will tweak your front loader arms while handling the logs, since it's a lot of weight hanging past the forks on each side.

I generally do a max of 12' logs on my L3200 (which has a slightly larger loader than you) and I have clamp-on forks that are set to 60" wide. For a smaller loader or narrower forks I might stick with 8' logs maximum.

BTW, I grew up not far from you in Burlington CT.

 

[rademamj1]

Doing same thing in clearing 27 acres by hand. Moving logs by pallet fork is quite safe and efficient. Just orient the pallet forks so gravity does all the work, and pulls the logs down for transport. No tie downs needed. Its always better to move logs in multiple trips, than try to do too much. And so very long logs can be cut to manageable size.

Some trees are absolutely rotting, so I use a bucket to move the rotten debris to a dumpster for haul off.

 

[i7win7]

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