Need help with Grapple 101...

[IslandTractor]

If you shop around on the grapple you can do better than $1000. My Wild Kat grapple was less than $700 delivered in January. I am sure there are better grapples but for the money but I couldn't find anything that met my needs for less.

I think they finally wised up to the fact that they were under pricing those grapples. They cost close to a grand delivered now I believe. Still the best deal around (so long as they have switched from 1/8" to 1/4" top square tube).

 

[buck12]

I think they finally wised up to the fact that they were under pricing those grapples. They cost close to a grand delivered now I believe. Still the best deal around (so long as they have switched from 1/8" to 1/4" top square tube).

I do seem to remember someone posting a price increase. As to the tube issue I plan to use the grapple until something breaks then I will add whatever additional support is needed. To the OP any grapple is better than no grapple A grapple makes a tractor so much more useful.

 

[daugen]

I was in the same boat as you, never used a FEL before, and wanted a grapple mostly for wood clearing and firewood activities. I have only used my grapple for a week, but what was very, very clear to me is that having enough weight in the rear is really important. My Kubota 5740 is light, for its power, and can pick up the back end easily while lifting a moderate sized tree, even with a full ballast box. I have wheel weights on order, and if they aren't enough, will fill the tires. But I worry about trailer weight also. One way to manage this is to cut the trees in smaller lengths, but just be really careful to balance your load.
The JR Long grapple I got was heavy duty, and I'm sure I could have done with the lighter model. The grapple can/likely will add more weight up front, adding to the balance issues. Once you lift yourself up in the air, it's a real wake up moment.
Btw, I'm delighted with the Long grapple, but probably overbought. Drew

 

[IslandTractor]

The JR Long grapple I got was heavy duty, and I'm sure I could have done with the lighter model. The grapple can/likely will add more weight up front, adding to the balance issues. Once you lift yourself up in the air, it's a real wake up moment.
Btw, I'm delighted with the Long grapple, but probably overbought. Drew

WRLong is a great company. I own one of their 4n1 buckets. They have also been in the grapple business a long time. Nelson Long is very experienced too. Given all this it continues to amaze me that they sell much heavier and heavier duty grapples to CUT owners than is optimal. Maybe you ordered through a dealer and they were in experienced. The basic problem is two fold. First, people typically think a grapple should be as wide as the standard bucket, a reasonable but incorrect assumption. Secondly, dealers tend to size according to skidsteer rather than CUT requirements. Skidsteers are commercial machines typically using grapples in construction related work and they do need fairly heavy duty equipment. CUTs typically use grapples in brush clearing or moving logs. Those sorts of activities are not nearly as stressful on the grapple so a lighter duty design works just fine. Another factor is that most of us tend to associate "heavy duty" with higher quality in the tractor world but when selecting a grapple that causes problems. Heavy duty equals heavier implement which lowers net lift capacity and requires additional counter ballast. Small is beautiful.

 

[daugen]

Ed, boy are you right on here.
I originally asked for a 66 bucket, which is what I remember the Long info recommended, and was told everyone gets a 72 for this size tractor. Ok... What that meant
in real terms was that everyone gets a standard 72 bucket, the grapple part weight wasn't much, if any, of a consideration. My guess is the Long bucket all by itself is a bit heavier than oem Kubota also.
And, since this is my retirement bucket list, do it once tractor, and I asked for "the best", just like you mentioned about higher quality. So I got a serious piece of equipment,that works beautifully btw, and long term,
if I balance properly, I will likely be happy with. But I sure was surprised when I got the bucket full of 3/4 clean gravel and then had to tippy toe the load, kept as low as I could, over to the road I was fixing.
The feeling of poor balance is not pleasant and if the ground was not level, I never would have tried it. 400+ pounds of wheel weights going to be installed next week, and I hope that helps.

I was trying to accomplish everything with one bucket grapple combo; looks like the optimum solution would be to have two buckets. And at $2500 for this Long bucket grapple, the comparable price of two smaller buckets may not have been that much more. Drew

 

[Piston]

That is surely a beefy bucket and I'm sure very heavy. The same size bucket on an open bottom grapple design would make a world of difference! Then your OEM bucket would be there when you needed it. I find I rarely ever use
My regular bucket.
The
Extra width is really nice now that firewood season is upon us. I can fit a lot more wood on my 66" open bottom grapple that I could
With a smaller one.

I really think as far as sizing a Grapple to a tractor, you really need to know how much you realistically want to accomplish with it. If your just moving small brush and small logs around then you could easily get by with a B series sized tractor. However, I wouldn't go any smaller than something comparable to an L if you have larger things to move. For brush, a small grapple will fit just fine. I believe they are selling a 36" grapple now and that should do everything you want if it's mostly just brush.

 

[PapaPerk]

Ed, boy are you right on here.
I originally asked for a 66 bucket, which is what I remember the Long info recommended, and was told everyone gets a 72 for this size tractor. Ok... What that meant
in real terms was that everyone gets a standard 72 bucket, the grapple part weight wasn't much, if any, of a consideration. My guess is the Long bucket all by itself is a bit heavier than oem Kubota also.
And, since this is my retirement bucket list, do it once tractor, and I asked for "the best", just like you mentioned about higher quality. So I got a serious piece of equipment,that works beautifully btw, and long term,
if I balance properly, I will likely be happy with. But I sure was surprised when I got the bucket full of 3/4 clean gravel and then had to tippy toe the load, kept as low as I could, over to the road I was fixing.
The feeling of poor balance is not pleasant and if the ground was not level, I never would have tried it. 400+ pounds of wheel weights going to be installed next week, and I hope that helps.

I was trying to accomplish everything with one bucket grapple combo; looks like the optimum solution would be to have two buckets. And at $2500 for this Long bucket grapple, the comparable price of two smaller buckets may not have been that much more. Drew

A lot of your weight is the bucket. So it reduces overall payload of loader. That bucket is too heavy and strong for a L series tractor in my opinion.

You may consider selling it and buying a lighter duty grapple. Yours appears to be made for a heavy weight skid steer loader. I'm sure a contractor around your area would love to have it.

 

[RMRDallas]

I thought I would give everyone an update. I am married to "Mrs. Douglas". We have been researching tractors for months and have recently been visiting dealers and very briefly test driving specific tractors. We have come to the conclusion that a Deere 4520 and Kubota L5740 (both open stations) would be perfect for what we need/want. I have received a price quote from the regional Deere mega-dealership in this area (north Texas) and a price quote from one of three small Kubota dealerships. I have loaded both tractors with all the extra valves and extra remotes to operate the grapple and give us as much flexibility as possible in using additional implements down the road. The 4520 came in $3,000 more than the L5740 if we pay cash and only $1,500 more if we use the 0% financing (Deere's price is the same regardless). I'm still not through pushing each to do better on price but I was surprised they came in this close based on what so many other people have found where the Deere is much more expensive. The Deere dealership is a huge regional dealership that has 12 locations and just dominates the area. The 3 Kubota dealerships in the area are all small, low overhead dealerships that are so small that I (not so much Mrs.) worry a bit they can put everything together properly and be there down the road for service and parts if needed. All in all, the 4520 and L5470 are so close that we would be happy with either. If we had to pick based purely on tractor, we would probably go Kubota but the dealership strength (future parts, service, ..) pushes me to Deere. The Deere dealership is so big that they even have 4-5 servicing trucks that roam the area.

I would appreciate any additional words of wisdom to get us off the fence so I can sleep better at nights. Thanks.

 

[IslandTractor]

I thought I would give everyone an update. I am married to "Mrs. Douglas". We have been researching tractors for months and have recently been visiting dealers and very briefly test driving specific tractors. We have come to the conclusion that a Deere 4520 and Kubota L5740 (both open stations) would be perfect for what we need/want. I have received a price quote from the regional Deere mega-dealership in this area (north Texas) and a price quote from one of three small Kubota dealerships. I have loaded both tractors with all the extra valves and extra remotes to operate the grapple and give us as much flexibility as possible in using additional implements down the road. The 4520 came in $3,000 more than the L5740 if we pay cash and only $1,500 more if we use the 0% financing (Deere's price is the same regardless). I'm still not through pushing each to do better on price but I was surprised they came in this close based on what so many other people have found where the Deere is much more expensive. The Deere dealership is a huge regional dealership that has 12 locations and just dominates the area. The 3 Kubota dealerships in the area are all small, low overhead dealerships that are so small that I (not so much Mrs.) worry a bit they can put everything together properly and be there down the road for service and parts if needed. All in all, the 4520 and L5470 are so close that we would be happy with either. If we had to pick based purely on tractor, we would probably go Kubota but the dealership strength (future parts, service, ..) pushes me to Deere. The Deere dealership is so big that they even have 4-5 servicing trucks that roam the area.

I would appreciate any additional words of wisdom to get us off the fence so I can sleep better at nights. Thanks.

Kubota sells more tractors in the CUT size in this country than Deere. Kubota's bread and butter is CUT tractors..JD's bread and butter is serious Ag equipment. I would be shocked if the Kubota dealer went under and if they did there would clearly be a new Kubota dealer instantly. Unless you intend to have the dealer do all routine service, there is rarely a need for tractor dealers anyway. My dealer is 300 miles away. I do my own fluid and filter changes and have never needed to take the tractor off my property for service.

 

[RMRDallas]

Good point on the popularity of Kubotas keeping dealers in business. On the service side, I don't worry about the routine service chores but do worry a bit about the freak accidents like running over a log and having it puncture something vital or even simple things like flat tires.