Is a ratchet rake redundant to a grapple?

[missesalot]

Hey all, seasons greetings!
I have a 45hp tractor with a backhoe, FEL and bucket, and a grapple. I do a lot of brush clearing. I'm considering a ratchet rake for light weight grading of lawn areas, as well as stone driveway, in addition to its purported capabilities around brush grubbing etc. My question is, will a ratchet rake end up being very redundant to the capabilities I have in the grapple? The grapple I have is pictured here.

 

[jumpin]

I have both a rock grapple and ratchet rake for my 65hp JD, all purchased in 2014. I find little duplication with one exception - back dragging. My top grapple element has teeth every 6 inches (similar to your lower element). By raising the open grapple and tilting it under I can back drag loose material in a manner similar to the ratchet rake.

One of my most useful jobs with the ratchet rake is rough pruning trees in a pasture. The rake engages the limbs while the weight of the tractor basically breaks it loose from the trunk. Not pretty but very quick. I clean wooded hedge rows like this every couple of years before i burn. Need good rear ballast and care to do this safely.

I normally leave the rake on my bucket all the time since I use it so often. Hope this helps. I would easily buy both implements again.

 

[oosik]

I don't have a ratchet rake. I DO use my grapple to back drag as jumpin does. I have to keep my eye on the ball when doing this. My grapple is quite heavy - 800 pounds - tends to dig in if I'm not on the ball.

 

[nyone]

I have done some land clearing of tree tops and small trees. I used a grapple and also a mini ex. If I didnt have to drag the brush far I would just use the mini ex.
Either way a landscape rake followed by a chain harrow worked really well for getting something decently flat that a normal residential lawn mower can mow.

My landscape rake has every other tooth removed and after useing it like this il never put the other half back in.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I have done some land clearing of tree tops and small trees. I used a grapple and also a mini ex. If I didnt have to drag the brush far I would just use the mini ex.
Either way a landscape rake followed by a chain harrow worked really well for getting something decently flat that a normal residential lawn mower can mow.

My landscape rake has every other tooth removed and after useing it like this il never put the other half back in.

I did the same thing with my landscape rake, using it for the exact same purpose.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Hey all, seasons greetings!
I have a 45hp tractor with a backhoe, FEL and bucket, and a grapple. I do a lot of brush clearing. I'm considering a ratchet rake for light weight grading of lawn areas, as well as stone driveway, in addition to its purported capabilities around brush grubbing etc. My question is, will a ratchet rake end up being very redundant to the capabilities I have in the grapple? The grapple I have is pictured here.
View attachment 834750

No

 

[Pixguy]

I use my ratchet rake for ditch cleaning, gettin leaves and rocks out. Good tool for that issue.

 

[missesalot]

I ended up buying a Ratchet Rake following the responses here. I was confident that it would be great, but after using it for the first time this afternoon I can say it’s significantly better than I thought it would be.

 

[old and tired]

I plan to dig my ratchet rake out of the corner of the barn and see how well it works on a rear blade. I hate the fact that with it on the bucket, you can't pick up dirt or debris.