New Kuhns hay grapple earned its keep

[powerscol]

Moved 252 bales of hay yesterday with my grabber unit, my 23' PJ GN trailer and a lot of luck. The tractor lifts and pulled the trailer easily in mid range. Only had a short distance to go, but handling was fine. NO HAND WORK. Once I got the hang of it I was able to load and unload and re-stack pretty well. Only problem was calibrating my depth perception:thumbsup:

I have the 205 model found here Grabber | Kuhns Mfg LLC

Took about 4 hours from start to finish and just as I got the tarp secured it started to rain. This was one of my better decisions

 

[TomSeller]

Very, very nice. Saved you time and kept your hay dry just in time.

 

[powerscol]

Also save my back and that it even better:thumbsup:

 

[RedNeckRacin]

We have a 510f grabber and although it is less labor, you are still handling individual bales. If you drop a bale it gets old real quick getting down off the tractor. Do you have a place set up to get your tractor into to unload the hay? That was the biggest challenge we had.

 

[cat fever]

Very nice.
I assume you have 1 maybe 2 more cuts for the year?

 

[TomSeller]

It is so amazing to think of the progress over the years. I recall countless fields like that, bucking one bale at a time onto the flatbed. I mostly do round bales, but seeing those fields sure brings back memories.

 

[powerscol]

I probably will get one more cutting this fall when we run out of irrigation water. As for a place to unload without having to do the hand work, yes. I am building a 20 foot addition to my barn with a clear span so I can maneuver the tractor. The width fits the grapple perfectly

 

[powerscol]

I added a spring loaded hose holder today to keep the hoses from rubbing on the QA adapter. Should work well.



Also last week I got softhearted and helped a neighbor out at no cost to move another 180 bales. The poor kids were dieing in the heat. When I showed up and stacked 4 bales on the trailer without them touching them the look on their face was priceless. They surprised me with a gift card to TSC.

 

[westcliffe01]

Sir, could you reveal how much that grapple set you back financially ? I am in the market for something similar and have no idea what they cost ? My Backhoe can handle 2000lb but would prefer not to push things too far since the property I am on has some serious hills...

 

[powerscol]

Sir, could you reveal how much that grapple set you back financially ? I am in the market for something similar and have no idea what they cost ? My Backhoe can handle 2000lb but would prefer not to push things too far since the property I am on has some serious hills...

WOW:confused2::thumbsup: calling me Sir :thumbsup: Thank You :cool2:

Contact information is John Byler [mailto:john@kuhnsmfg.com]
Please give John a call 877 296-5851 as prices probably have changed. For my unit I think the price was 3K (special order) with 12 hooks, but that was last year. It was well worth what I paid and probably more. The competition was $$$$ more and I have posted the responses I got, or lack of it before.

Excellent build quality and great service. To me with my bad back this unit is Priceless. I used it today to move a brush pile (took off the side bar) Worked great.

Please look at their matching systems - accumulator and grapple. ( www.kuhnsmfg.com ) There are other systems out there, but for my needs and their willingness to do a custom unit - which I did not need other than extra hooks on a stock unit, once the numbers on the weight panned out, They have a great selection on units to fit your needs, and that is key, as they want to fit your needs. Follow up customer service cant be be better either.

I am old school - and you pay for what you get, and these folks are honest and responsive. In talking with John and others at Kuhns, they wanted to be sure the unit I got fit my tractor specifications and MY needs and his advice was very correct.

How often do you get to talk to the engineer designing the unit? With these folks I did. I have a perfect fit for my tractor and operation. And no I don't get anything for saying this - just a great company and operation. Call their competition and see what response and pricing you get, you will be back talking with John.

Nuff said!

Hope this helps - Keith