Grapple Best "rock" grapple for CUT?

[Johnjan]

HillCountry -

Although my tractor is a bit smaller than what you're looking at, we're practically neighbors. I've got an L3400HST and added a grapple for doing many of the same things you mentioned at my place just south of Wimberley near 32 and Purgatory Road. You're welcome to come by for a test grapple. My experience so far is that my tractor is just not heavy enough to move the larger stuff. YMMV of course. I would encourage you to keep your expectations realistic.

 

[Willie B]

Wow! you guys are contenders! Very nice. God, I wish I could own them all!

 

[Xfaxman]

Hey folks,

Wife and I are building a house on 12 acres in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio. Looking for a sanity check on tractor size and a bit of help with a grapple selection. I plan on keeping this house until they carry me out. The tractor stays until the estate sale.
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The biggest implement question I have is what type of grapple to get. While there are a lot of threads on grapples, most that I found focus more on logs, roots, and underbrush than rocks. While I will certainly want the grapple to do that type of work, I also want it to be easy to use and efficient in picking up and moving surface rocks. There are lots of visible rocks I want to move between 500 and 1500 lbs, then literally thousands that are 3" to 24" scattered around. I want to be able to pick up and precisely place the larger rocks. I want to be able to rake then gather up the smaller rocks. As far as sizing the grapple, a 1500 lb rock might have dimensions something like 5' x 2' x 1', so a 48" grapple is plenty wide as long as it is strong enough and can open up enough. Any guidance from someone who has done this type of work with a CUT and grapple would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
HillCountry

To get the the thread back on track, this is the basic Rock Grapple, sold by EA, a site sponsor.


This is a 48" from Wildkat.


Many more to look at, Google Images: https://www.google.com/search?safe=...0...1.1.32.img..4.8.5373.h3LQIDk3GYQ#imgdii=_

Maybe someone with a rock grapple will chime in.

 

[Willie B]

If your rocks are laying as individuals on the surface any grapple will pick them up. If they are too close together, or on a side hill, or partially embedded in earth, especially tethered by roots, you will find that the grapple is always parallel to the back tires. What this often means is that the corner you want closest to the ground is the one farthest away. If equipped with a backhoe, you can compensate by leaving a bit of soft in the rear tires and swing the hoe to the side. Maybe someone offers a grapple with a single center spike and two "teeth" at top. This enables some efficiency rooting it out, and picking it up. It would allow a bit more dexterity placing it on the wall.
As for placement, the best I have found is a leaky loader valve. (Old clunker machines are often equipped with this feature.) use a short cable fitted with a large ring at one end, and a short chain at the other. pass the chain through the ring, pass the cable around the rock. Hang a short chain from your loader with a grab hook dangling, this enables a convenient way to adjust length. Lift rock, dangle where you want it. If your bucket settles slowly, set the brake, turn off tractor, and guide it by hand into position. The alternative is two experienced people, one driving, one guiding. It is a particularly dangerous process unless everyone is very good at it.
Many tractor loaders don't allow you to see the cutting edge of the grapple. Typically Compact track loaders do. I'm not as big a fan of skid steer loaders, too much PSI on the ground, skidding around to steer tears up sod, and tires make them pivot front or rear constantly standing on their nose or tails. My first experience with one loading it on an equipment trailer was like something Red Green would do.
No, the only perfectly suited wall builder is an excavator with thumb in the 20000 LB range. It seems likely you would be best off hiring a professional.
I once saw a real expert build a series of retaining walls to terrace a side hill perhaps each wall 200 feet long, 6' high each. As I remember, there were three walls. All this he did in one day.

 

[sd455dan]

Please, just my attempt at humor. If we were all alike, thinking the same thoughts there could never be humor. For me, having used machines my whole life (57 years) the most versatile machine on the market is the tractor loader backhoe. Mine fits where I need it, and my trees are thriving.

I would have to give my vote to a well bought excavator with thumb and blade- say in the 16,000 to 32,000lbs. range... For the first few years of taming a property- but I do like my tractors and some day going to pick up a TLB if the price is right

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

To get the the thread back on track, this is the basic Rock Grapple, sold by EA, a site sponsor.
View attachment 349925 View attachment 349926

This is a 48" from Wildkat.
View attachment 349927 View attachment 349928

Many more to look at, Google Images: https://www.google.com/search?safe=...0...1.1.32.img..4.8.5373.h3LQIDk3GYQ#imgdii=_

Maybe someone with a rock grapple will chime in.

The problem I see with the Wildkat is the same one that I have with my Wildkat Stump Grapple, and that is the solid backplate that keeps you from seeing what the heck is going on at the front of the grapple. With a skid steer, where the operator's station is right on top of the action, it might be better. But with a tractor, where the grapple is 6' or more away from the operator's seat, you can't see what's happening up there.

I need to remember to take some pics and video from the tractor seat the next time I'm using my grapple, which would show it better than explaining it.

The Bradco rock grapple you show does not have a solid backplate. I would much prefer that setup. That one looks pretty slick to me.

 

[CurlyDave]

If you are building rock walls, you really want an excavator with thumb, or a backhoe with thumb.

I have a backhoe with thumb and if you only want to maintain one machine, this is the way to go. I have a rock grapple and I have used it a lot for moving rocks. But, when you want break a rock free from its initial position, or position it in a wall, the hoe and thumb is much better than the grapple.

With the thumb & hoe I can manipulate the rock to pick it up correctly so I can put it down in just the right orientation and place. I can both rotate and articulate the boom and dipperstick as well as tilt the bucket on the hoe. An excavator is better than the backhoe, for this, but just plain stinks at moving anything from one place to another.

The other issue is that there are two kinds of rock wall. One is freestanding, just like a fence. The other is a retaining wall that supports earth. The grapple is good for moving material to the working part of the wall you are building, but a hoe with thumb is what you want to actually place the rocks in the wall with any precision.

If you are building a retaining wall, you need to move both rock and earth since a rock retaining wall must have a significant amour of "batter", i.e. it must lean into the earth behind it. You will want an ordinary loader bucket to move the earth while you place the rocks with the hoe.

 

[Willie B]

What he said,( Curly Dave that is), I agree. And with care and diligent safety practices a better chance of avoiding injury. That especially is expensive. Unlimited budget: Large excavator, and CTL. A nice dump truck just large enough to tow the excavator.

Reality: TLB not a great way to mow your lawn, pretty much anything else, it can do.
My friend bought one, he complains he can't afford two. His wife is always on his puttering with something. He says she has a 5 gallon a day diesel habit. Yes, these things are addictive. A person constantly imagines new uses in landscaping. I have 3 properties spread out over three miles, moving an excavator would be overwhelming. I can be at the "land" in ten minutes with the backhoe.

 

[xtn]

Seems to me you want one of these: d6c raking trash - YouTube

Push that rake across your property from one side to the other. Wherever you stop and back up, you will find you've left a rock wall there. Job done.

Or maybe this: Robo Rock Picker - Pick Rocks Fast - YouTube or this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL0jR-Zy8h4 for the smaller stuff.

 

[Willie B]

Isn't it beautiful?