MTL Grapple Review

[justman777]

Thought I would do a video review of the MTL 60 inch HD grapple for anyone interested.

MTL HD 6 inch Grapple Review - YouTube

Overall, i'm satisfied with the build quality for what I paid for it. There are some things I would change about it, particularly the paint job.

 

[goeduck]

Nice video! Also nice to see a good value grapple.

 

[MAD777]

Thanks for that video. I need a grapple soon & MTL is on my short list.

 

[shooterdon]

I bought the same unit a few months ago. It is all I need for a lot less $$ than a "quality" grapple. Mine is stored indoors and so far so good.

If I was using a grapple a lot and I was younger, I might be able to justify spending double or more. I am in my late sixties so I doubt I will wear it out but if I do they are simple to repair or I can buy another "cheap" one and still be ahead.

 

[goeduck]

There is a lot to be said for inexpensive Grapples for moving brush and medium jobs. They can get crazy expensive and manufactures try to look make them look wild to sell better. But who cares for moving brush with smaller to medium utility tractor? It is a frickin Grapple that sits in the barn most of the time. The heavy duty ones are great for skid steers and larger loaders, but the much of what I see on TBN is not that. I have 3 grapples and probably more Grapple time under my belt than most and I would not buy some of the ones I see at those prices. I have never had a grapple fail and I have had 2 of mine for going on 10 years.

 

[buck12]

Great video.

I purchased the same grapple in orange about a month ago. I think MTL probably has the best bang for the buck in grapples at this time. The paint is horrible but it’s a tool. I have a 48” Wild Kat grapple on another tractor. The Wild Kat grapple is several years old and has hundreds of hours on it and the paint is in better shape than the MTL grapple with maybe 10 hours of use. Also my MTL grapple was delivered without the 90 degree fittings that were supposed to be included. I have contacted MTL but they have not returned my message about the fittings. With all that said I would buy the MTL grapple again given its price and the fact that it was so much less expensive than anything else I considered.

 

[flashpuppy]

I have a 66 inch MTL in my M7040. I have had it for nearly a year. I have absolutely not been nice to it. It has been probably much much harder than intended considering the size of tractor it is on. 100% satisfied with the purchase.

 

[TractorGuy]

I bought the 60" RK5 for my JD 4310. In hindsight I should have bought the 50" single lid but I will make do with the heavier one I have.

My ears for the cylinder rod ends are straight so somebody was having a bad day when they built yours. They need to add grease fittings for the cylinder pivots. I sprayed mine down good with dry moly.

I'm not crazy about the JD quick connect design they use but it fits and it's functional.

As far as the finish goes they claim they are using powder coating which IMO is a terrible choice for implements. Paint would work better but you can spray over the places where the powder coat chips off easy enough. Implements are going to get scratched up either way. After the first use I don't bother trying to keep paint on the bottoms of any of my stuff.

The MTL stuff is the best bang for the buck.

 

[relkins11]

***BUYERS BEWARE*** I purchased a 78” HD tooth bucket for my skid steer from MTL Attachments. It looked very well made when I received it. After 1 hour of digging a hill side of relatively soft dirt I noticed the blade was snapped in half near the center of the bucket. Obviously the heat treat was incorrect making the blade very brittle. The blade should bend before it breaks! I contacted MTL Attachments and they kept giving excuses like my machine was too big, (old 1999 New Holland Lx885 60 HP) which it is not. Then they said I had over the tire tracks on it which disqualified it for the bucket. The tracks where on to keep me from getting stuck in the soft and muddy dirt I was digging in. Then they said it was the wrong bucket for my application. Said I needed a “ track loader bucket “... Just one excuse after another.
The bottom line to me is the heat treat on the blade was faulty making it too brittle.
There used to be a time when made in the USA meant something. My Chinese bucket though might have been bent a little never broke after years of use. My recommendation is look at Titan, Spartan Equipment, Everything Attachments. The bucket I purchased from MTL Attachments is nothing but junk and unusable now. I guess you get what you pay for. Message me if you want pictures of my broken bucket and you will see for your self.

PS: Just look at the owners responses to the negative reviews on Google. That’s all you really need to see...

 

[fried1765]

***BUYERS BEWARE*** I purchased a 78 HD tooth bucket for my skid steer from MTL Attachments. It looked very well made when I received it. After 1 hour of digging a hill side of relatively soft dirt I noticed the blade was snapped in half near the center of the bucket. Obviously the heat treat was incorrect making the blade very brittle. The blade should bend before it breaks! I contacted MTL Attachments and they kept giving excuses like my machine was too big, (old 1999 New Holland Lx885 60 HP) which it is not. Then they said I had over the tire tracks on it which disqualified it for the bucket. The tracks where on to keep me from getting stuck in the soft and muddy dirt I was digging in. Then they said it was the wrong bucket for my application. Said I needed a track loader bucket ?.. Just one excuse after another.
The bottom line to me is the heat treat on the blade was faulty making it too brittle.
There used to be a time when made in the USA meant something. My Chinese bucket though might have been bent a little never broke after years of use. My recommendation is look at Titan, Spartan Equipment, Everything Attachments. The bucket I purchased from MTL Attachments is nothing but junk and unusable now. I guess you get what you pay for. Message me if you want pictures of my broken bucket and you will see for your self.

PS: Just look at the owners responses to the negative reviews on Google. Thatç—´ all you really need to see...

37 reviews on Google for MTL.
Complaints are primarily about owner, and others who answer the customer service phone.
2 complaints out of 37 reviews are specifically about product quality.

Makes me wonder a bit.
First post on TBN is to bash a manufacturer?

 

[DingDangKid]

I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. I ordered a 48" Root Rake Grapple on 3/10 and had it was delivered to my work on 3/13. The total price after tax was $943.40 via eBay. It was 100% plug-n-play with the Land Pride 3rd function kit on my Kubota L3800. I have not had a chance to weigh it yet but have no problem picking up 6-foot lengths of 3" concrete sidewalk. Its main purpose will be to be move logs to my portable sawmill and have carried y 9-foot x 20" Ash and Oak logs so far with no problems.

 

[fried1765]

I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. I ordered a 48" Root Rake Grapple on 3/10 and had it was delivered to my work on 3/13. The total price after tax was $943.40 via eBay. It was 100% plug-n-play with the Land Pride 3rd function kit on my Kubota L3800. I have not had a chance to weigh it yet but have no problem picking up 6-foot lengths of 3" concrete sidewalk. Its main purpose will be to be move logs to my portable sawmill and have carried y 9-foot x 20" Ash and Oak logs so far with no problems.

An excellent inexpensive grapple producer is Mid-State Attachments, in Denton, NC.
Mid-State and MTL are often confused by buyers.
Mid-State does have better reviews.
Grapples made by Mid-State are also sold by others on E-Bay, but calling Mid-State directly, will get a MUCH better price.

 

[DingDangKid]

Interesting, I see the 48" on their website but not on their eBay page. They are priced slightly higher though $1k + shipping vs $890 w/ free shipping. Your advertised price should be your last, best, and final price. I'm not going to call around every vendor out there for their prices.

 

[fried1765]

Interesting, I see the 48" on their website but not on their eBay page. They are priced slightly higher though $1k + shipping vs $890 w/ free shipping. Your advertised price should be your last, best, and final price. I'm not going to call around every vendor out there for their prices.

"I'm not going to call around every vendor out there for their prices."

Manufacturers, may or may not also be vendors.
The direct from manufacturer delivered price for my grapple from MS Attachments is $1,152.
The E-Bay "vendor" delivered price for the exact same unit, from the exact same manufacturer, is $1,294.
The $142 dollar difference(for the exact same item) does make a phone call or two worth it to me.
Perhaps you spill more than $142 at suppertime daily, so it may not matter to you.
I try to be a bit more careful with my dollars.

It may also have something to do with why I retired 20 years ago..... at age 60.

 

[TYM 474 Owner]

Which grapple did you purchase and are you pleased with it so far? Thanks

 

[fishingtiger]

I had a very similar experience with the purchase of my 5 ft root rake grapple this year. Terrible customer service! It took numerous attempts to get someone to get back to me and when they did, they said "you broke it, you fix it" via text. I was simply just trying to figure out how to get the replacement part. I have given up dealing with these folks and will never do business with them again.

 

[MSUBulldog]

I just bought a 54” HD tractor grapple from them. The one I chose was supposed to weigh approximately 360 pounds. When I got it, the serial number plate listed a different model and a weight of 530 pounds. Since they don’t read email, I was forced to text the owner. My text inquiring about the accuracy of my order was sent within business hours. I received a reply about an hour later informing me to put it on my tractor and use it. If I didn’t like it, I could send it back. He then made a point to say that I had contacted him after hours. I promptly sent him a screenshot of the time the text was delivered (4:38 EST to be exact) and blocked his number. He never answered my questions or verified that the unit I received was correct. I have read other posts where he would got into a cursing fit if you questioned him. Really didn’t want any part of that. I will never do business with them again. Their service/response after the sale is garbage. My advice, go with Everything Attachments or another reputable company. Many of the others have good reviews with regards to customer service. MTL, not so much.

 

[fried1765]

I just bought a 54” HD tractor grapple from them. The one I chose was supposed to weigh approximately 360 pounds. When I got it, the serial number plate listed a different model and a weight of 530 pounds. Since they don’t read email, I was forced to text the owner. My text inquiring about the accuracy of my order was sent within business hours. I received a reply about an hour later informing me to put it on my tractor and use it. If I didn’t like it, I could send it back. He then made a point to say that I had contacted him after hours. I promptly sent him a screenshot of the time the text was delivered (4:38 EST to be exact) and blocked his number. He never answered my questions or verified that the unit I received was correct. I have read other posts where he would got into a cursing fit if you questioned him. Really didn’t want any part of that. I will never do business with them again. Their service/response after the sale is garbage. My advice, go with Everything Attachments or another reputable company. Many of the others have good reviews with regards to customer service. MTL, not so much.

The owner of MTL has been widely reported as being a complete A-hole!
As an alternate, Mid-State Attachments in Denton, NC is known to be a good company to deal with.
I have a Mid-State Attachments grapple.
Of course if cost is not an issue, EA makes the very best of everything!

 

[MSUBulldog]

I just bought a 54” HD tractor grapple from them. The one I chose was supposed to weigh approximately 360 pounds. When I got it, the serial number plate listed a different model and a weight of 530 pounds. Since they don’t tead email, I was

The owner of MTL has been widely reported as being a complete A-hole!
As an alternate, Mid-State Attachments in Denton, NC is known to be a good company to deal with.
I have a Mid-State Attachments grapple.

i really wish I had reached out to you everyone here first before buying. I know that in general retail, one deals with a lot of customers who want to play the victim. However, those who buy equipment tend to know what they are looking for, know what they are looking at, and generally don’t fall into the “always a victim” category. Therefore when a company they do business with treats them like they are incompetent or doesn’t support the product they sell, that raises a red flag. In this case, there is some legitimacy behind the complainants against the owner of MTL. Oh well. Lesson learned.

 

[MSUBulldog]

**Update** I just received a call from Cliff (owner) who proceeded to accuse me of being ticked that they didn’t respond when I texted. He also assured me that I got exactly what I ordered while talking over me the entire time. And lastly informed me that a 1* review would void the warranty of the grapple I purchased. He then hung up. I think that the above description sums this guy up. Once again, steer clear of this company.