Got the small tree remover grapple today and I'm excited!!!!

[JOHNTHOMAS]

John - Does this need a third function to operate? Or does it tap into FEL hydraulics alone?

Requires 3rd function valve on front which I already have for my hyd post hole digger and root/rock grapple.

 

[628pm]

John, looks great, if I still had the 16 acres of wooded area I would want one. But then I would want a bigger tractor to run it. But congrats on the purchase and use.
I will be receiving my new tool tomorrow (F2690)

 

[BlacknTan]

That's a very nice tool, and I agree that the manufacturer builds beautiful equipment.

But, I don't understand why it needs to open far enough to grip a 55 gallon drum just to pull small trees? Perhaps a bit smaller and less expensive?

All that said, I like it and enjoy watching it work! I'm sure it could be adapted to the 3 point, where lifting power is greater, and hydraulics more accessible for many of us.

 

[Xfaxman]

For those just wanting to pull trees, not clumps of brush, check this one that will work on the three point or front end loader: Buckthorn Puller - Custom built Skid Steer attachments to fit almost any need you may have.

From their Website: All pullers can be built to fit any machine, or even a 3 point hitch.

From a TBN member: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/318149-tree-puller-pleased-my-new.html#post3845905

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

For those just wanting to pull trees, not clumps of brush, check this one that will work on the three point or front end loader: Buckthorn Puller - Custom built Skid Steer attachments to fit almost any need you may have.

From their Website: All pullers can be built to fit any machine, or even a 3 point hitch.

From a TBN member: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/318149-tree-puller-pleased-my-new.html#post3845905


View attachment 520789 View attachment 520790

Looks interesting. A bit more expensive for one of equal pressure but they do have a slightly cheaper one available.according to their page. Actually makes me a lot more satisfied with my purchase price for the JDUNN Grapple.:thumbsup: I started to say comparable but the wider opening puts the JDUNN Grapple far ahead and it is much more versatile. For simple single tree removal this one looks like it would work fine. I have to have it in front since turning in my seat to see behind me is a major issue. The JDUNN is so visible from the front seat of my L3901 that I was able to tilt it and pick up 2 foot rocks (Another reason the wide width opening is important) and move them as well as clean up piles of downed trees with it tilted down and mouth wide open. I did about 3 or 4 hours work yesterday removing up to three trees at a time again important reason for wide opening. I'll take pics of the work done yesterday that is a continuation of my first pic post. I have one pile of trees about 40' around and stacked up about 15' and another one 25' x 25'. I cleared the pine thicket and entered the hardwoods woods and am even more impressed. I cleared about a 20' x 20' area in just a few minutes and it just popped the trees out so easy. I did add my tiller for rear ballast. Wish I had a videographer (Video cameraman/woman) to have videoed yesterday and JDUNN wouldn't be able to keep up with his phone calls and orders. I can grab a to big tree (pines) with it and if it doesn't pull out I slide up the tree and curl bucket down and it will break the tree into two pieces. I dump the 30' upper part over on the pile and return to work the remaining 4' stump out by pushing pulling and then usually curling the bucket while sometimes moving back and forth and every one that I went after came out with only one keeping much dirt on the roots. Just wish those interested in one could watch it work in person.:thumbsup: Make the trip and I'll gladly demonstrate it or let you try it and while your here you can mow with my F3080 for a few hours.:laughing::laughing: I'll even RTV you around the logging road on my hill.
If I don't get a bigger tree centered in the opening and when I close it the grapple will just pull my tractor to center so the thing has power but I got the more powerful one of the two J Dunn offers.
Any way, I'm still in love and even more so than I was before after the first 30 minutes of testing. 3 hours of use has me deeper in love.:cool2:

 

[ProjectKing]

Sounds like it is working well! First time I've seen a grapple like this! Perfect for grabbing trees and bushes. It actually disturbs less soil than a standard style grapple and looks far more effective!

Sound like you are really putting it to the test!!

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Just a guess here but... my guess is that it will be more efficient at pulling bunches of small (1/2") saplings like you have but maybe not quite as good at pulling more anchored trees in the 4" size and larger depending on soil conditions.

It does not appear to have as much structural strength or grip power (not the best mechanical advantage) as some of the other tree and post pullers. But it doesn't need to be that beefy for a CUT to pull saplings. Looks great for your purposes. Maybe a little more specialized than most tree and post pullers?
:2cents:
:thumbsup:

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Just a guess here but... my guess is that it will be more efficient at pulling bunches of small (1/2") saplings like you have but maybe not quite as good at pulling more anchored trees in the 4" size and larger depending on soil conditions.

It does not appear to have as much structural strength or grip power (not the best mechanical advantage) as some of the other tree and post pullers. But it doesn't need to be that beefy for a CUT to pull saplings. Looks great for your purposes. Maybe a little more specialized than most tree and post pullers?
:2cents:
:thumbsup:

Most of my "saplings" are closer to 2"s than 1/2" which I call brush/weeds and not saplings. It closes tight enough to pull those 1/2" shrubs/weeds but it's more for saplings (2" to 3") a 4", as I said is hard unless it's in sand which I don't have. I did have some 4" on steeper hillside/slope and it pulled those but not the anchored 4" trees. I did grab the 4" trees and curl bucket which would break them in half and then come back and get the 4' tall 4" tree and roots up. This to me is more versatile than the other one presented due to wider opening. I planded on pulling up 2" to 3" saplings and swinging around and laying them down out of the way and then coming back with my big grapple and gathering them up for moving to the couple of big piles I've built but this JDUNN Grapple opens up wide enough to where I can come from a bit of top down or bottom up angle and pick up a whole stack of odd brush which comes up with the 2" to 3" saplings and the saplings and move them all to the big piles so I'm believing my big grapple will get used very little now.
The structrial strength is awesome. I lifted my tractor rear of the ground several times by working rapidly and would release the button before it got me to high off the ground and would come crashing back down to earth. As I said, it pulls the L3901 tractor into alignment when I clamp it to a sapling, not not a 1/2" sapling whcih is brush/weeds here. I use a RatchetRake for weeds and brush. Did you mean more specialized or less specialized. To me most tree/post pullers just pull posts but the JDUNN Grapple does those things plus so much more. It's a grapple and cand pull other stuff and lift objects as big around as the jaws open. Sure I'm going to find many more things it will do over time and use. I find it always interesting how much more useful and able to evaluate an implement is when one has it on hand with actual hands on experience vs watching/hearing what one other individual tells or a test drive on a dealers lot. I have to laugh when I see people talk/write about boxblades that don't know how to use them and how they aren't very useful and then see/read a review from someone that knows how to actually get out of a boxblade the many things it will do. I prefer hearing from people with actual hands on experience vs on line evaluators but that's just me and I haven't found anyone else to provide me info about the JDUNN Grapple so I bought one to see for myself if it will actually fulfill my drams and it has so far and I've only used it for a few hours and a few specific jobs. What will a years use, like the many years of using the RatchetRake has shown me of its capabilities and strength. Time will tell and maybe other needing one will buy and do their reports.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

No offense intended. A good tree puller should pull 1/4" through 10-12" trees (assuming the tractor has the ba!!s) without loosing grip or shearing the stem. IMO.

What you have is a very nice brush puller.

Edit: the fact that it picks up the brush pile so well to move it is a huge bonus.

Edit again: I went back and reread your previous post (paragraphs are a wonderful invention). At first I thought you were saying the grapple would not hold onto the 4" trees well enough. Now I'm thinking maybe the grapple held fine but you just didn't quite have the lift capacity.

If that's the case please ignore my last comment about it being a brush puller. Unfortunately, sometimes I can't help tweaking people when they get defensive of their stuff. My apologies.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Luke: A good tree puller should pull 1/4" through 10-12" trees (assuming the tractor has the ba!!s) without loosing grip or shearing the stem. IMO. Can you please post a link to this tree puller. I just would like to see an implement that will pull up a 10" to 12" tree, see what it takes to power it and of course see the price.
I bend the 4" trees on purpose to break them to get the upper part out of the way, don't know why I just do and then attack the standing 4" trunk which I get out with the JDUNN Grapple by going back and forth and curling the bucket back and forth. It grips, I'm not slipping off of the trees just breaking on purpose.
I'm sure you know an L3901 does not have the balls/traction/weight to pull out of the ground anything much over a 4" rooted tree, if you've ever done any tree "pulling" instead of using your backhoe to dig them out. I see you have some bigger, heavier tractors with BH at your disposal. I wouldn't use a BH, even if I still had one of them, for the 2" to 3" sapling since this JDUNN Grapple just grabs them and pulls them out of the ground quicker than I could set up the feet and get the seat turned for BH use.
Sorry you think I'm getting defensive about an implement that I just paid near $2000 for that works better than I expected and fits my needs perfect and have actually used for a few hours (Like actual hands on experience) instead of judging it's strength, use, limitations and abilities by watching one youtube short video. My invitation is still open for you to come try it yourself and then give your opinions of what it is or isn't.:thumbsup:

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

The original pics from page one or two (Have added them to this page on a later post.show dense trees and only the end of the camper could be seen before. Also woods was to dense to drive a tractor past the edge. This is after 2 to 3 hours rough tearing down and moving and when the tear down is completed I'll clean it with back dragging RatchetRake ready for grass seeding and then grappling up the piles.

Will have to upload a few at a time.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Keeps uploading previus pics and then brings up the ones I tried to upload. Will just go forth till they're uploaded.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

One of the brush piles

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

OK, only 3 more.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Original pics show dense trees and only the end of the camper could be seen before. Also wwods was to dense to drive a tractor past the edge. This is after 2 to 3 hours rough tearing down and moving and when the tear down is completed I'll clean it with back dragging RatchetRake ready for grass seeding and then grappling up the piles.
View attachment 520991View attachment 520992View attachment 520993
Will have to upload a few at a time.

Hope these load. They are taken from the same spot pre JDUNN Grapple work.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

OK, only 3 more. View attachment 521005View attachment 521006View attachment 521007

There was no way to get back to these remaining trees and beyond other than on foot going between dense saplings prior to this about 20 minutes with the JDUNN Grapple removing the hardwood saplings and they popped out so easy. I was grabbing two to three at a time they were so close and sometimes one of them would escape but always come out when just one grabbed.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

View attachment 521008View attachment 521009View attachment 521010View attachment 521011 Hope these load. They are taken from the same spot pre JDUNN Grapple work.

The bottom three pics are the pre Grapple pics. The camper was only visible at the very end.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I truly would love to come use it. It would be a blast. I also really did not mean to rain on your parade so I will quickly answer a couple of your queries and then leave your to rejoice in your new toy (of course I mean tool).

All of this is IMO of course: Yes, for big trees (i.e. > ~10") a full size machine or backhoe is really needed for efficiency. However, for >4" saplings your L3901 or my MX do a pretty good job WITHOUT DESTROYING EVERYTHING within 10ft of the tree. So a lot less vegetation recovery time and erosion problems.

I have a Bradco Jawz (the larger one) that I have used extensively on my MX but that is the limit of my tree and post puller experience. I have put it on a friends CTL and pulled/pushed over some 12" DBH Ash in Wet soil. The jaws are 1-5/8" thick (I think) and meet squarely so that even bitter root vine (pencil thickness and fragile) aren't generally severed by the jaws. That is a good thing if the object is to pull the plant up not cut it in two!

I think you will find that soil conditions, especially moisture, make a huge difference in what you can pull.

What mine does not do which would be really nice is it does not pick up the large pile of pulled trees to transport. That is a very nice feature of yours.

Cheers, good luck, and I repeat my apology.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I truly would love to come use it. It would be a blast. I also really did not mean to rain on your parade so I will quickly answer a couple of your queries and then leave your to rejoice in your new toy (of course I mean tool).

All of this is IMO of course: Yes, for big trees (i.e. > ~10") a full size machine or backhoe is really needed for efficiency. However, for >4" saplings your L3901 or my MX do a pretty good job WITHOUT DESTROYING EVERYTHING within 10ft of the tree. So a lot less vegetation recovery time and erosion problems.

I have a Bradco Jawz (the larger one) that I have used extensively on my MX but that is the limit of my tree and post puller experience. I have put it on a friends CTL and pulled/pushed over some 12" DBH Ash in Wet soil. The jaws are 1-5/8" thick (I think) and meet squarely so that even bitter root vine (pencil thickness and fragile) aren't generally severed by the jaws. That is a good thing if the object is to pull the plant up not cut it in two!

I think you will find that soil conditions, especially moisture, make a huge difference in what you can pull.

What mine does not do which would be really nice is it does not pick up the large pile of pulled trees to transport. That is a very nice feature of yours.

Cheers, good luck, and I repeat my apology.

View attachment 521043

Never seen or heard of the Bradco JAWZ before. I'd probably be excited about it if I had one. How much does it cost in dollars? How much does it weigh?

 

[628pm]

You guys keep talking about your new tools making me wish i had some wooded area, larger tractor and one of these pulling tools. Maybe someday!