Grapple Front end loader grapple bucket for demolition?

jgibbens · May 19, 2014

I need to tear apart the walls of a wood frame house into pieces small enough for loading in a dumpster. My tractor is an L3200 with the skid steer style bucket attach. Has anyone tried using a narrow stump grapple bucket on residential wood frame walls with this size of tractor?

Xfaxman · May 20, 2014

Do you already have the stump grapple bucket?

k0ua · May 20, 2014

I would tear it apart with the stock bucket unless you already have the stump bucket. Anyone that has ever accidentally hit the side of their house with the stock bucket on their tractor know how flimsy houses are and how unstoppable a tractor is up against a house. Of course a grapple would be best, but I would try with what I had.

eddie48 · May 20, 2014

jgibbens said:
I need to tear apart the walls of a wood frame house into pieces small enough for loading in a dumpster. My tractor is an L3200 with the skid steer style bucket attach. Has anyone tried using a narrow stump grapple bucket on residential wood frame walls with this size of tractor?

Just recently, I got a stump bucket/grapple. The first thing I did was to tear down a woodshed and deck with it. The grapple crunched the 2x4 walls with T-111 siding. It was easy to pick up everything and put it in a dumpster. Only slow part was the final cleanup. Individual 2x4's and small parts fall out of the stump bucket and have to be hand loaded.

jgibbens · May 20, 2014

That sounds promising. I dont have a graple bucket yet. What size tractor was used on the shed? The walls are down so I just need to break them up and load them.

eddie48 · May 20, 2014

I have a NH TC40DA 40 HP. Plenty of power for what I needed to do. BTW the stump bucket digs really well into hard soil, gravel or to dig out rocks, as well as stumps. I really like it. It doesn't hold as much as the regular bucket but works well for breaking up what needs to be moved. I dug out a Hemlock stump the other day that was so big that the tractor would not lift it. Had to push it to the pile. Probably weighed over 1500 lbs.

Xfaxman · May 20, 2014

jgibbens said:
That sounds promising. I dont have a graple bucket yet. What size tractor was used on the shed? The walls are down so I just need to break them up and load them.

I would get a grapple and a reciprocating saw.

Everything Attachments Wicked Root Grapple for Compact Tractors

I have a long stump bucket and think the added grapple would be in the way some times.

jgibbens · May 20, 2014

eddie48 said:
I have a NH TC40DA 40 HP. Plenty of power for what I needed to do. BTW the stump bucket digs really well into hard soil, gravel or to dig out rocks, as well as stumps. I really like it. It doesn't hold as much as the regular bucket but works well for breaking up what needs to be moved. I dug out a Hemlock stump the other day that was so big that the tractor would not lift it. Had to push it to the pile. Probably weighed over 1500 lbs.

Looks like you have about 570 - 870 lbs more than my L and probably a lot more bucket force, but I'll try renting one and see how it goes. Thanks.

eddie48 · May 20, 2014

I think you'll like it. Just think.... a new toy to play with. That almost makes the work worthwhile.

jgibbens · Jun 5, 2014

After looking around, I decided to just build one. Don't have photos yet mainly because its one of the ugliest things I've ever made. It is more of a lobster claw than a bucket and its working ok so far. Thanks for all of the advice.