Best grapple for brush?

[boostmg]

I have a lot of brush piles and down trees I’ll want to move. I can get two styles of grapples I’m wondering which one y’all would recommend.

Here is a photo of an example brush pile and the two styles of grapple.

 

[rswyan]

Based on its construction, I’d go with the second one.

 

[boostmg]

Some more pics of things I’d pick up

 

[Steppenwolfe]

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I really like my EA grapple. It is designed to rake up loose material, and it works really well.

 

[boostmg]

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I really like my EA grapple. It is designed to rake up loose material, and it works really well.

Is there anything u can’t do with it that u think you could do with their other grapple? The one that doesn’t have as long as a bottom shelf

 

[ericm979]

I got the long bottom tine style from EA. Mostly for brush and logs. I think the long tine style can carry a greater volume but it would not be as good for ripping out shallow roots. For brush piles I push the pile with the grapple tilted down, then curl it over and close the lids. One advantage to the long bottom tine style is that you can use it as a carry all- open the lids and tilt it back and you can load small logs into it. Sometimes it's easier to do that than to pick them up with the grapple.

 

[newbury]

C'mon - what do you have for a TRACTOR?
Some of those logs might weigh a ton.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Is there anything u can’t do with it that u think you could do with their other grapple? The one that doesn’t have as long as a bottom shelf

I bought this one because of the raking ability of the tines; look at it in closeup... those front rake tines are no lie. I totally abuse that thing and it handles it perfectly. I don't handle a whole lot of wood with it, but it can do it. Oh... and it hauls old tires really good, too.

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[oosik]

My grapple - Land Pride 1560 - is called a rock & root grapple. Used mainly for extremely large rocks and chunks of pine tree trunk. It does well on collecting brush also.

 

[Hay Dude]

For that stuff? I’d get a set of adjustable pallet forks with a grapple. That way you can easily slide the (2) pallet forks under logs, then clamp down on them. The forks have adjustable width for different materials.
As a bonus, you also get a set of pallet forks which have multiple uses.

 

[buck12]

I currently have an MTL dual lid grapple and had a Wild Kat single lid grapple on my previous tractor. Both are the L shaped design and work well for moving bush, logs, etc.

When I bought my first grapple it made my tractor a much more useful tool.

 

[old and tired]

Really depends on the lift capacity of your tractor (once you get one). Any grapple is better than no grapple... for me, cheaper and lighter is better. It looks like to have tight spaces to maneuver so smaller one with a single lid would work better for you.

 

[boostmg]

Really depends on the lift capacity of your tractor (once you get one). Any grapple is better than no grapple... for me, cheaper and lighter is better. It looks like to have tight spaces to maneuver so smaller one with a single lid would work better for you.

I’ll have a Branson 3620h. Lift capacity at pins is 2700lbs.

i seem to be leaning towards the clam style vs the bucket style.

weight also seems to be a big factor for me, especially since I’ll probably have this on most of the time.

 

[sd455dan]

Clam shells are nice for rooting out things. If you want to carry things L style is better, even fire wood can be carried, not just logs or stumps.

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[jjp8182]

Really depends on what else you want to do with it. Either is capable of doing the same tasks, but the short tine is usually more optimized for ripping through the ground to rake out roots & rocks (within reason since a tractor's FEL is still a tractor's FEL). The long tine does make it easier for also using it as a carry-all/bucket with the lid open or closed though....

 

[rswyan]

Based on its construction, I’d go with the second one.

Just to be clear, as quoted above, my issue with the first grapple was its use of round bar stock for the lower tines - not the fact that it is a "L" style grapple.

I suspect that the round bar stock will be prone to bending with any attempts at digging out roots.

If digging out roots/stumps is nowhere on your horizon, then probably not an issue.

 

[ericm979]

If you want to dig out rocks and stumps a backhoe is probably a better option. Tractor loaders are made for lifting but they're not that good for digging.

 

[boostmg]

Just to be clear, as quoted above, my issue with the first grapple was its use of round bar stock for the lower tines - not the fact that it is a "L" style grapple.

I suspect that the round bar stock will be prone to bending with any attempts at digging out roots.

If digging out roots/stumps is nowhere on your horizon, then probably not an issue.

yea I’ve been wondering about the design of that one, it’s unlike any others I’ve seen. I need to get specs on it.

i feel that i will likely be rooting smaller things with a grapple at times.

 

[boostmg]

Really depends on what else you want to do with it. Either is capable of doing the same tasks, but the short tine is usually more optimized for ripping through the ground to rake out roots & rocks (within reason since a tractor's FEL is still a tractor's FEL). The long tine does make it easier for also using it as a carry-all/bucket with the lid open or closed though....

this is really helpful. You are saying the longer tines can still do the ground ripping/rooting though?

 

[JohnnyMX]

I have a W.R. Long OBG-2 which is an "L" style with two clamshells which is basically your second/middle picture. You can still use it for getting at roots if you are only looking to go down 4" or so. There is a round bar that supports all the tines in the front and when you put the teeth in you can sort of ride on that and just drive. All I do it move brush piles, logs, and rip/clean the ground to push tree lines back. It also sits nice and flat when you take it off if you have kids that like to climb on things. Either style is better than no grapple