Grapple width

[Smokeydog]

Many high quality grapple manufacturers now. Some have pushed envelop on innovation with stronger steel and modern manufacturing techniques. My bigger tractors and Bobcat can handle the 860# , 72” skidsteer grapple made of T1 steel made 30 years ago. My little tractor can’t but the Wicked EA is a perfect fit. It’s a challenge for the manufacturers to educate the customers the benefits of their products construction to meet the applications.

 

[nyone]

I tried a cheap - $1800 -grapple & it folded like tinfoil picking up RR timbers; so I took it apart and just use if for a rock rake/bucket
Then I bought and waited 14weeks- for my EA Wicked Root grapple 60" Dual lids & this sucker is sturdy and highly capable....Certainly worth the wait. W Antifreeze&water in the rear tires, it lifted a 30'x24" cedar to the burn pile, and is great for downing & moving trees in the woods up to 12"+.
I would suggest going with the width of your tractor or one size narrower for mobility in tighter spaces....Would not recommend going any wider than your tractor- totally unnecessary
View attachment 762797

I dont have a $1800 grapple but a $1300 tomahawk at current prices. Bought the tractor with it and its definitely been used. It's on a tc40 with loaded rears. Havent had an issue even useing it to dig up 4in beech trees to moving boulders so big the machine could only pick them up dumped. Not a bend or wrinkle in anything. I'm not sure how a more expensive version would be 2x the price.

 

[twowoode]

Check out expresssteel Express Steel Inc | American-Made Snow Pushers, Hoppers & Attachments

 

[twowoode]

I bought from express steel outside of Indianapolis. Pricing was good and good quality grapple, heavy duty for the price. I picked up a smooth bucket at the same time. Got both of them for less than others wanted just for the grapple. I saved more by picking up. Customer service and warranty, had a leak on a cylinder, are great Express Steel Inc | American-Made Snow Pushers, Hoppers & Attachments

 

[beenthere]

I've been looking to get a grapple (which isn't easy with the backorder situation) for my LS MT3 tractor and have been pondering the pros and cons of the width I should buy. I'm looking at getting a rake grapple and have mostly looked at grapples between 60-72". My tractor front tire track width is 72". I'm also trying to keep the weight of the grapple down so I can actually lift more. I'm thinking a 66" would work OK. Is there some advantage on going wider?

I wanted a narrow grapple to go over my forks to secure logs and brush against the forks. Very happy with "The Thumb" and all it can do. My thinking, is much better to grapple (grab) in the center for better balance of the load on the FEL.
Also is light weight, and I can move it around by hand when I pull the pins to remove it, or mount it. Plenty robust for my 430 FEL and JD 4300 tractor.

 

[sd455dan]

Grapples are stocked at many places. Many of them are good and stout and I would not pay all that much attention to brand. Do some searching within a couple hours drive and then go look at the actual grapple in person. About width: I have found that nearly all the time I am picking up limbs and tree trunks, etc. and rarely would a wider grapple be of any help. The narrower grapple is noticeably more maneuverable. Only if you are scraping a wide area would the wider one be better -- even then if you have a lot of scraping to do use a landscaping rake.

I bought my Wildcat model at Auctions Done Right! - McGrew Equipment in PA. They seem to stock a lot of these. Not just an auction place. I have to think there are similar places within a couple hour drive of you there in Wis that stock grapples. I found a quick pickup truck trip does the trick (they fit in the bed OK) and I like seeing what I am getting before buying it.

Agree with everything you stated.

Don't even know what brand my grapple is... was left behind in a pile behind my sis's house and they had no means to modify it to fit their skid steer so they gave it to me.
They Bought a Stout brand dual lid for the Bobcat T250. It has worked very well for their uses.

The no name unit I have has picked up a Good sized stick or two over the years lots of other uses as well. I agree there are a Lot of Good brands of grapples out in the market. I am intrigued by the Faver Brand offerings.


ANY Grapple is better than None

 

[nyone]

I bought from express steel outside of Indianapolis. Pricing was good and good quality grapple, heavy duty for the price. I picked up a smooth bucket at the same time. Got both of them for less than others wanted just for the grapple. I saved more by picking up. Customer service and warranty, had a leak on a cylinder, are great Express Steel Inc | American-Made Snow Pushers, Hoppers & Attachments

I have a set of there pallet forks. They are built like a tank and shipping was easy and free. They ship freight to a residence for free. The forks where a few hundred less than a chinese made set. Express steel is actualy a US manufacturer and not a middle man like alot of these big names.

 

[Rmart30]

Ive used 60,66, 72" models. The 72" to me has no advantage over a 60" for my tasks.

 

[shooterdon]

I run a 60” MTL on a 72” wide tractor. Actually regret not getting a narrower unit as I do a lot of log picking off stacks of logs and a smaller one would be easier.

Mine is what many would call a “low end” unit...$1000 three years ago. But it works for my needs...processing firewood. I do not do much brush/limb clearing.

Identify your jobs first. If you need $3000 grapple get it. I doubt many folks need one so the less robust units have a place.

 

[LoneStarLandMan]

I dont have a $1800 grapple but a $1300 tomahawk at current prices. Bought the tractor with it and its definitely been used. It's on a tc40 with loaded rears. Havent had an issue even useing it to dig up 4in beech trees to moving boulders so big the machine could only pick them up dumped. Not a bend or wrinkle in anything. I'm not sure how a more expensive version would be 2x the price.

My EA grapple is thicker steel; reinforced at all stress points, better design, larger cylinders- with better mounting style; protected springed hoses....all around a much better design than the cheap one....a decent welder could build a great grapple for under $2k I suspect.

 

[Rockbadchild]

a decent welder could build a great grapple for under $2k I suspect.

No ... unless your are the Decent welder and don't count or charge for your hours.

 

[nyone]

My EA grapple is thicker steel; reinforced at all stress points, better design, larger cylinders- with better mounting style; protected springed hoses....all around a much better design than the cheap one....a decent welder could build a great grapple for under $2k I suspect.

Yet its lighter? Have the link to the EA one?

 

[LoneStarLandMan]

Everything Attachments Wicked Root Grapples

Grapples that are designed to be strong enough to grapple any brush or logs, yet light enough to give your compact tractor a grapple

www.everythingattachments.com

It is not lighter; it is stronger and considerably more capable;
Saving a few pounds on equipment that will not perform as you need is wasteful and will be disappointing, as it will not be able to do what you bought it to do.
Do you use deWalt quality or Harbor Freight; do you trust Duramax or a kia.....you have to choose. Different quality & $$ levels have short and long term benefits.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

There is a huge advantage to going wide. I use my 72" wide to grab brush and it wouldn't be the same if it were only 60 or 66" wide.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

The width is needed for maximum grapple brush width effectiveness.

Brush is so light that if it weren't awkward I'd prefer a 96 or 104" wide grapple.

That same grapple in that picture has picked up a 40' telephone pole with ease and also a 20' x 20" diameter solid oak log that was heavy enough to tip over the tractor if I wasn't very careful.

That's a land pride grapple. Made of ar400 and I have bent several tines, even the 1/2" end tine. Not sure how I did that. It is about 400-450lbs.

 

[nyone]

View attachment 764058

The width is needed for maximum grapple brush width effectiveness.

Brush is so light that if it weren't awkward I'd prefer a 96 or 104" wide grapple.

That same grapple in that picture has picked up a 40' telephone pole with ease and also a 20' x 20" diameter solid oak log that was heavy enough to tip over the tractor if I wasn't very careful.

That's a land pride grapple. Made of ar400 and I have bent several tines, even the 1/2" end tine. Not sure how I did that. It is about 400-450lbs.

That lid looks very weak at the pivot and I wouldnt be doing what your doing in the pic.

 

[JWR]

That lid looks very weak at the pivot and I wouldnt be doing what your doing in the pic.

Agree. I suppose the main thing to preface any such discussion is that each of us has different circumstances and different tools will fit. As I said in an earlier post, if your chore is raking a rock base road get a landscaping rake rather than using the grapple. And for grapples used as grapples they need not be very wide (to pick up tree parts, logs, debris, limbs, trash, brush, etc.) and in fact are more maneuverable and handier when a little more narrow.

That Landpride grapple in the MechanicalGuy photo sure does not look like something I would want to use for phone poles or 20' x 20" diameter solid oak logs. To be honest it looks to be very light duty compared to most grapples on the market. The Landpride data sheets do not want to load tonight for some reason but this looks like a SGC1600 model (except for the lid being narrower than the underside on the 1600.) Anyway intended for brush apparently.

By the way, a red oak 20" in diameter weighs 137lbs per foot of length. That's 2740 lbs for the 20ft log. An LA1065 loader (usually on an MX5200) is spec'd to lift 1691 lbs at 20" from the pin or 2275 lbs at the pins. Breakout is 3102 lbs at 20" out. The tractor is said to weigh 3700lbs. Now lets subtract the 400 to 450 lbs of the grapple from the 1691 to 2275lbs ... do the math. Being down south I hope it was not Live Oak as they are much heavier per cubic foot.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

That lid looks very weak at the pivot and I wouldnt be doing what your doing in the pic.

It's not particularly strong for sure, although it is made of ar400. I use the float detent so that it's only the weight of the loader bearing down on the lid. It is a very effective means of scraping up brush and gathering in a handful. I've been doing this for 3+ years with great success.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

Agree. I suppose the main thing to preface any such discussion is that each of us has different circumstances and different tools will fit. As I said in an earlier post, if your chore is raking a rock base road get a landscaping rake rather than using the grapple. And for grapples used as grapples they need not be very wide (to pick up tree parts, logs, debris, limbs, trash, brush, etc.) and in fact are more maneuverable and handier when a little more narrow.

That Landpride grapple in the MechanicalGuy photo sure does not look like something I would want to use for phone poles or 20' x 20" diameter solid oak logs. To be honest it looks to be very light duty compared to most grapples on the market. The Landpride data sheets do not want to load tonight for some reason but this looks like a SGC1600 model (except for the lid being narrower than the underside on the 1600.) Anyway intended for brush apparently.

By the way, a red oak 20" in diameter weighs 137lbs per foot of length. That's 2740 lbs for the 20ft log. An LA1065 loader (usually on an MX5200) is spec'd to lift 1691 lbs at 20" from the pin or 2275 lbs at the pins. Breakout is 3102 lbs at 20" out. The tractor is said to weigh 3700lbs. Now lets subtract the 400 to 450 lbs of the grapple from the 1691 to 2275lbs ... do the math. Being down south I hope it was not Live Oak as they are much heavier per cubic foot.

Do the math on weighted wheels, water in wheels, implement on the back, loader on the front, and magically the 3700lbs you think you understand, turns into 7300lbs.

It's okay, a lot of internet experts do that with tractor weights. They forget about loaders and such.

I didn't say I was lifting the log overhead and loading into a second story loft. I was barely lifting the log to tote it out of the pasture, without flipping my tractor forward. Maybe I should break out some pictures and tape measures so as to satisfy your curiosity.

Since you were so wrong on the tractor weight, let me offer some consolation on the log weight; maybe it was closer to 15' than it was 20'? It's long gone now. I'd have to hunt up pictures to find a more accurate accounting now.

The telephone pole is still around though. It handles like a toothpick by comparison.