Gravy
Platinum Member
I made a trip to Tazewell today. I came back with one of the new 33 inch grapples and a trencher. There are plenty of reports about the trencher, so I'll stick with the grapple. Sorry, no pix yet.
I've only had a couple of hours to play with it, but I'm pretty pleased with the grapple so far. Looking at the photos on the website, I was kind of skeptical about the design. It looked a bit flimsy, and I was used to seeing grapples that look much more heavy-duty. I'm pleased to report that the grapple is NOT flimsy. I measured the thickness of the steel plate used throughout at 7/16". It IS somewhat flexible, but in a good way. The springiness seems to help it hold better and conform a bit to tapered shapes.
The largest test log at the play area in Tazewell was reportedly weighed at over 1600lbs. I was able to get it a bit off the ground with the demo 425 & grapple as long as I kept the steering absolutely straight. The next smaller one is a bit over 1200lbs. The 425 was able to carry it around, although pucker was a factor at times. I already knew from experience that the 425 can lift more than it's 800lb rating, but I didn't expect those numbers. I was impressed.
When I got my new goodies home, I spent a couple of hours moving brush, logs, and rocks. I was very pleased at the productivity. It's a huge improvement over the 4in1 bucket, forks, or mini-hoe&thumb for that kind of cleanup work.
At this point, the biggest negative is that I wish it closed down farther. Instead of overlapping, the teeth touch tip-to-tip. I'd like to be able to clamp down securely over smaller items. It's not a big deal - most smaller items can be pinched "between the fingertips" pretty easily. It would also be easy to make some sort of insert for carrying smaller items. It would also be easy to add some stiffeners if needed. So far, I don't think they will be needed.
I chose the 33inch over the 45inch for several reasons: It's $200 cheaper, it weighs less which leaves more usable lift capacity, and it fits into smaller spaces. I think the wider grapple might be a bit better if I were mostly moving lots of lightweight brush in wide-open spaces. For me small is beautiful.
In other news, both Chris and Terry have said that there's a new 4xx prototype in the works. It sounds like it will have a fuel-injected Kohler engine of around 30 or 31hp, and use the wheel motors from the 1430. I already want one. More Power!!! (Too bad the budget won't likely stand it).
That's all for now.
Gravy
I've only had a couple of hours to play with it, but I'm pretty pleased with the grapple so far. Looking at the photos on the website, I was kind of skeptical about the design. It looked a bit flimsy, and I was used to seeing grapples that look much more heavy-duty. I'm pleased to report that the grapple is NOT flimsy. I measured the thickness of the steel plate used throughout at 7/16". It IS somewhat flexible, but in a good way. The springiness seems to help it hold better and conform a bit to tapered shapes.
The largest test log at the play area in Tazewell was reportedly weighed at over 1600lbs. I was able to get it a bit off the ground with the demo 425 & grapple as long as I kept the steering absolutely straight. The next smaller one is a bit over 1200lbs. The 425 was able to carry it around, although pucker was a factor at times. I already knew from experience that the 425 can lift more than it's 800lb rating, but I didn't expect those numbers. I was impressed.
When I got my new goodies home, I spent a couple of hours moving brush, logs, and rocks. I was very pleased at the productivity. It's a huge improvement over the 4in1 bucket, forks, or mini-hoe&thumb for that kind of cleanup work.
At this point, the biggest negative is that I wish it closed down farther. Instead of overlapping, the teeth touch tip-to-tip. I'd like to be able to clamp down securely over smaller items. It's not a big deal - most smaller items can be pinched "between the fingertips" pretty easily. It would also be easy to make some sort of insert for carrying smaller items. It would also be easy to add some stiffeners if needed. So far, I don't think they will be needed.
I chose the 33inch over the 45inch for several reasons: It's $200 cheaper, it weighs less which leaves more usable lift capacity, and it fits into smaller spaces. I think the wider grapple might be a bit better if I were mostly moving lots of lightweight brush in wide-open spaces. For me small is beautiful.
In other news, both Chris and Terry have said that there's a new 4xx prototype in the works. It sounds like it will have a fuel-injected Kohler engine of around 30 or 31hp, and use the wheel motors from the 1430. I already want one. More Power!!! (Too bad the budget won't likely stand it).
That's all for now.
Gravy
