Enjoying the new grapple

[Red Horse]

It looks like you have a closer to root grapple instead of the claw grapple the others have. Do you have any issues, difficulty picking up rocks with yours or do you do that? Did you make the specific decision to get your "root" vs "claw" grapple and if so why? I'm torn between the two and can buy either one from different place for about the same price with both of them being about the same weight and appear close in quality for price.
SGC6 Series Claw Grapples | Land Pride ..............Subcompact Compact Tractor Wicked Root Grapple 50" Single lid

Yes John I have done my share of handling rock with this thing. IMO, very versatile. I don't see how these "Root" grapples with their short lower tines/teeth can effectively get significant rock out of the ground. Also as for stump removal I find the long lower tines are very effective for getting under stumps and their root mass. Again to emphasize-this thing is 1000 bucks-I don't thingn anything else comes close in terms of value Couple of more shots- one is one significant piece of oak- second shows it full of 4"-6" rip rap. This stuff was all silted in a drainage swale and I pulled it out.I had tacked some old chain link fence across the bottom tines to keep the smaller stuff from falling through

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

You will be surprised by how much you use it.

I have used both styles, and like the L bottom root grapple style best for brush and rocks.

Either one is better than none.

My first grapple:

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My favorite style:

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Yes John I have done my share of handling rock with this thing. IMO, very versatile. I don't see how these "Root" grapples with their short lower tines/teeth can effectively get significant rock out of the ground. Also as for stump removal I find the long lower tines are very effective for getting under stumps and their root mass. Again to emphasize-this thing is 1000 bucks-I don't thingn anything else comes close in terms of value Couple of more shots- one is one significant piece of oak- second shows it full of 4"-6" rip rap. This stuff was all silted in a drainage swale and I pulled it out.I had tacked some old chain link fence across the bottom tines to keep the smaller stuff from falling throughView attachment 490391View attachment 490392

Thanks everyone who responded for info, opinions and pictures. I was and am still leaning toward the L shaped root grapple. Seems like it meets my needs the best with level to the ground, or slight tilt down, go forward, get under and then clamp debris or rocks. Maybe even furniture and lots of other stuff I move and carry around.
Would like to trade some of my gray limestone rocks for those (sandstone) red rocks!!!
I have some rocks the size of old Volkswagens and then on down to many 10'x3'x5' and then mostly 3' around round to flat and then the many basketball sized ones. I have shared some with my brother next door for yard landscaping, not the hugh ones!!! Had a dozer clear and level my homesite and he continued cursing my rocks and wanted to bury all of them. I told him no way!!! I did let him bury a few to build up the bank in front of my house where I had to get a septic tank in.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

an opinion guys. Now that Landpride has ben purchased by Kubota, any price advantage they may have had is gone. I have had a Wildkat 48" Mini E series for about 4 years and I have to say to me it is the best value out there. check it out at MSattachments.com. One of its advantages IMO is you are not using a lot of loader capacity in excess steel in the grapple.

I have a Deere 4720 cab, loaded R-4s and about a 550 lb weight block. This "mini handles that power with no difficulty. Its a single center mount cylinder (less weight, fewer hoses to snag/break) but plenty of clamping force. The tines are very rugged and trust me-the width is not an issue-unless you are using it to pick up leaves! I paid under 800 bucks when I bought mine and I was jusdt on their site-now 999 plus freight.

Avoid the dealer mark up and save your self a few bucks.View attachment 490045View attachment 490046

420 lbs but price is right. Wish they had a lighter weight one. WILDKAT ATTACHMENTS by Mid-State Equipment Buckets, Grapples, mowers, augers, and more for your Bobcat, John Deere, and others!48Mini-E-series-GrappleMSWILDKAT ATTACHMENTS by Mid-State Equipment

 

[noose]

I'm probably in an echo chamber here, lol, but here's a pic of my new Armstrong Ag 60" BGR mini. It's about 440 so a little heavy. They make one a foot shorter that will look similar and is cheaper and I believe it comes in around the 325 mark or so weight-wise.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I'm probably in an echo chamber here, lol, but here's a pic of my new Armstrong Ag 60" BGR mini. It's about 440 so a little heavy. They make one a foot shorter that will look similar and is cheaper and I believe it comes in around the 325 mark or so weight-wise.
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Can't find any info on a smaller one than the 60" on the Armstrong Company page.

 

[noose]

Can't find any info on a smaller one than the 60" on the Armstrong Company page.

Ok, I called the CEO of Armstrong AG and their brochure is a bit misleading as they seem to imply an even smaller version of their grapple. I got the BGR Mini and 60" is apparently as small as they get and 440 lbs. On a smaller tractor, that's too much IMO. In a 25-33 horse, I'd probably look for something in the 350 lb range. The BGR Mini that you see in my pic is going to run you about $1200 from your dealer or so. If you negotiate, maybe better. That's what I paid and I felt like it was very fair priced. My apologies but my dealer said they had one even smaller. If I was looking small, I might look at the wicked by EA. They seem to be really light weight. I'd opt for the slats to improve lateral strength and you are still under 300 lbs for $1500. That may be a little steep given options, given I got a 60" for a good bit less.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Ok, I called the CEO of Armstrong AG and their brochure is a bit misleading as they seem to imply an even smaller version of their grapple. I got the BGR Mini and 60" is apparently as small as they get and 440 lbs. On a smaller tractor, that's too much IMO. In a 25-33 horse, I'd probably look for something in the 350 lb range. The BGR Mini that you see in my pic is going to run you about $1200 from your dealer or so. If you negotiate, maybe better. That's what I paid and I felt like it was very fair priced. My apologies but my dealer said they had one even smaller. If I was looking small, I might look at the wicked by EA. They seem to be really light weight. I'd opt for the slats to improve lateral strength and you are still under 300 lbs for $1500. That may be a little steep given options, given I got a 60" for a good bit less.

Yeah, the one at EA and the Landpride at my dealer are both about the same weight (250 lbs) and $100 difference with the Landpride being a claw type and the EA being a root type. Have found several in the $900 range but 450 to 500 lbs which is more than I'm willing to give up on my lift load. Thanks for your effort.

 

[noose]

John,

If you haven't bought yet, consider this: I got to try out my grapple today for a little bit and I realized right away one of the disadvantages of claws with slight bends coming together vs. a traditional L shape. With enough L in your grapple on the bottom, you can sort of use it as a bucket. I.e. you could pull up to a pile of lumber and open the grapple then curl it up so you have a little tray leaning back where you could stack a bunch of stuff (assuming you weren't planning on crushing it but just moving it). I needed to move something fragile and I don't have eough curl to keep it flat enough to stack so my grapple isn't really going to serve as a bucket. If I want to carry something, I'm going to have to swap the grapple for the bucket and then back again. It's not a huge deal breaker, but would be nice.

Now, that said, because my grapple is more like a couple of crescent moons coming together at the point and already pointing down rather significantly, I can open the mouth wide and come straight down on a big pile and then grab the pile. If the L is too flat or has too much curl in it, this might be a challenge.

My suggestion to you would be to see if you can find some documentation that has the shape of the L and the curl limits on the grapple so you know what your max/min curl looks like before you jump in head first.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

John,

If you haven't bought yet, consider this: I got to try out my grapple today for a little bit and I realized right away one of the disadvantages of claws with slight bends coming together vs. a traditional L shape. With enough L in your grapple on the bottom, you can sort of use it as a bucket. I.e. you could pull up to a pile of lumber and open the grapple then curl it up so you have a little tray leaning back where you could stack a bunch of stuff (assuming you weren't planning on crushing it but just moving it). I needed to move something fragile and I don't have eough curl to keep it flat enough to stack so my grapple isn't really going to serve as a bucket. If I want to carry something, I'm going to have to swap the grapple for the bucket and then back again. It's not a huge deal breaker, but would be nice.

Now, that said, because my grapple is more like a couple of crescent moons coming together at the point and already pointing down rather significantly, I can open the mouth wide and come straight down on a big pile and then grab the pile. If the L is too flat or has too much curl in it, this might be a challenge.

My suggestion to you would be to see if you can find some documentation that has the shape of the L and the curl limits on the grapple so you know what your max/min curl looks like before you jump in head first.

Thanks for the update and personal experience report. I think I've finally decided to get a bolt on grapple. I'm now researching the availability and prices for one to fit my bucket. I've found about 5 or 6 different possible ones ranging from $600 to $1000. No more than I'll use one I think the add to my bucket one will work for me and looks like it can be bolted on and left on all the time. If I do go back to the full grapple then I believe the root one that EA sells will be the one. Seems most dealers sell the WR LONG bolt on so seeking best price for it. EA sells it along with two of the local dealers I've talked with. They want me to get exact bucket size to get exact price. Will be measuring today and going forth with my pursuit. :cool2:

 

[lennyzx11]

You may want to look at the green machine add on.
I have the EA wicked compact grapple but am thinking of getting the green machine for my bucket. I have SSQA and swap back and forth a lot. Since the hydraulics are done, it seems like a cheap(relatively) add on to the arsenal.