TractorGuy
Elite Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2013
- Messages
- 4,591
- Location
- N. FL
- Tractor
- John Deere 4310 CUT, Ford New Holland 575E Industrial Backhoe, John Deere F725 Front Mount Mower
60" MTL RK5 Grapple
Available in 60" or 72" wide at 550 - 600 lbs
They also make a 48" single lid grapple that only weighs 370 lbs.
They have similar units with skid steer mounts.
MTL claims these are all American Made.
I am not affiliated with MTL in any way. Just passing on my thoughts and experience with the product.
I paid $1139 for grapple and $60 for home delivery. Ordered on Saturday and it pulled in my driveway 3 or 4 days later.
I had to make a trip to town to buy the correct adapters and fittings for my tractor. That was partly my fault because I didn't ask for the right size but they also didn't ship it with the type fittings I told them I had. I think that was an extra $40 for fittings.
I did a home brew diverter setup for the third function. You can read my thread on that here.
I've shared some of my thoughts and experience with this grapple in other threads but not sure if I ever made my own thread on it. I originally thought I made the wrong choice but the more I use this grapple the more I like it. My 30 HP JD 4310 is the smallest tractor anyone should consider using a grapple this size on and a lighter one may work better for you. The RK5 model would be well suited for a larger, heavier, tractor for sure.
My tractor has the 420 loader frame but I upgraded all the cylinders to 2" bore generic versions. This should in effect make the loader equivalent to the 430 loader but it doesn't have the dog bones. I have picked up my 1200 pound diesel generator strapped to clamp on loader forks 4 feet forward of the pins so i know the loader is stronger than the 1195lb rated lift of a 420.
I had to make a rear ballast of 1200 lbs to safely use this on my JD4310. The 4310 is light in the rear and I don't have the tires loaded. I can get by with my disc harrows on the back if I'm just hauling brush.
The construction and welds seem to be good quality. The lid hinges have grease fittings but the cylinder pivots do not. I just sprayed the cylinder pins good with dry molly. I'm not crazy about their version of the JD quick connect but it fits and works okay. The locating pins are a little long and had a gap between my mount. The plate the locating pins are in also has a gap between it and the back plate of the grapple. Last the top hooks are two single pieces of metal instead of a formed plate like the factory bucket hooks. None of this is a deal killer. It would just make a better looking piece if they corrected these deficiencies. I ground the holes in some 1" grade 8 washers to press fit on the locating pins. The hitch pin holes are 1/2" so I now use 1/2" trailer hitch pins in place of the 7/16" hitch pins. This tightened that gap up pretty good but I didn't take a picture of that.
One of the features I like best about this grapple is the solid back plate. This protects the grill of the tractor and allows me to use it to bulldoze or grade with it. You won't get a finish grade with it but it will get the surface smooth enough to make finish grading easier. Here is a photo of some weeds I pushed up by just putting it flat on the ground flat and driving forward.
And finally here are some pics of me grappling with it.
Available in 60" or 72" wide at 550 - 600 lbs
They also make a 48" single lid grapple that only weighs 370 lbs.
They have similar units with skid steer mounts.
MTL claims these are all American Made.
I am not affiliated with MTL in any way. Just passing on my thoughts and experience with the product.
I paid $1139 for grapple and $60 for home delivery. Ordered on Saturday and it pulled in my driveway 3 or 4 days later.
I had to make a trip to town to buy the correct adapters and fittings for my tractor. That was partly my fault because I didn't ask for the right size but they also didn't ship it with the type fittings I told them I had. I think that was an extra $40 for fittings.
I did a home brew diverter setup for the third function. You can read my thread on that here.
I've shared some of my thoughts and experience with this grapple in other threads but not sure if I ever made my own thread on it. I originally thought I made the wrong choice but the more I use this grapple the more I like it. My 30 HP JD 4310 is the smallest tractor anyone should consider using a grapple this size on and a lighter one may work better for you. The RK5 model would be well suited for a larger, heavier, tractor for sure.
My tractor has the 420 loader frame but I upgraded all the cylinders to 2" bore generic versions. This should in effect make the loader equivalent to the 430 loader but it doesn't have the dog bones. I have picked up my 1200 pound diesel generator strapped to clamp on loader forks 4 feet forward of the pins so i know the loader is stronger than the 1195lb rated lift of a 420.
I had to make a rear ballast of 1200 lbs to safely use this on my JD4310. The 4310 is light in the rear and I don't have the tires loaded. I can get by with my disc harrows on the back if I'm just hauling brush.
The construction and welds seem to be good quality. The lid hinges have grease fittings but the cylinder pivots do not. I just sprayed the cylinder pins good with dry molly. I'm not crazy about their version of the JD quick connect but it fits and works okay. The locating pins are a little long and had a gap between my mount. The plate the locating pins are in also has a gap between it and the back plate of the grapple. Last the top hooks are two single pieces of metal instead of a formed plate like the factory bucket hooks. None of this is a deal killer. It would just make a better looking piece if they corrected these deficiencies. I ground the holes in some 1" grade 8 washers to press fit on the locating pins. The hitch pin holes are 1/2" so I now use 1/2" trailer hitch pins in place of the 7/16" hitch pins. This tightened that gap up pretty good but I didn't take a picture of that.
One of the features I like best about this grapple is the solid back plate. This protects the grill of the tractor and allows me to use it to bulldoze or grade with it. You won't get a finish grade with it but it will get the surface smooth enough to make finish grading easier. Here is a photo of some weeds I pushed up by just putting it flat on the ground flat and driving forward.
And finally here are some pics of me grappling with it.
