Texas Grapple Shootout

[IslandTractor]

Looking a bit further.
3rd function auxilliary hydraulic kits for all brands of tractors and loaders! purchase online, free shipping within 1,000 miles!!
That adds another 30% to the cost of your grapple.

I'd keep doing it the way you are now. But I'm a cheapskate.
I really wouldn't want a couple hoses with couplings on them up there if the grapple was not attached.
Then they'd have to be covered to keep the dirt off.

If you are referring to couplings on the FEL torque tube, If ends are loose, they can be easily hooked together so that they don't allow dirt in. If you mount them to a bracket then plugs would be needed.

 

[txdon]

If you are referring to couplings on the FEL torque tube, If ends are loose, they can be easily hooked together so that they don't allow dirt in. If you mount them to a bracket then plugs would be needed.

That reminds me I need to move some connectors around on the FEL and Grapple so I can connect them to each other. Caps on hoses on the FEL always seem to pop off for some reason out here.

 

[IslandTractor]

That reminds me I need to move some connectors around on the FEL and Grapple so I can connect them to each other. Caps on hoses on the FEL always seem to pop off for some reason out here.

Yeah. The other problem with caps is that they get dirty if you forget to mate them after removing from the quick connectors. I prefer to just hook hoses to each other.

 

[TomSeller]

Ted is great but his premise that "you're going to want to operate the grapple open/close and loader dump/curl at the same time" is debatable. Many of us do just fine with sequential operation.

I have a lot of grapple experience, yesterday alone I probably grappled 70 to 90 scoops. The vast majority of the time I am getting under/to the load I want and then securing it with the lid as two separate functions. Securing the load is sometimes done when I am driving/backing away with the load. So to that extent I have two operations going at once. The number of times where I can scoop and secure in one motion (eg where I don't even slow down, the "load" has daylight under it or whatever) is maybe 1%. IMHO, If a 3rd function works for someone, that is great and it is what they should have, but it is not necessary. If someone wants to save some $, they can use their rear remotes just fine. When dumping, I always curl towards me when approaching the destination, open the lid while driving and uncurl on the pile/fire as I reverse.

 

[jinman]

For $524 I can get a Kubota third remote added to my Kubota double stack. There is already an open slot for the remote lever next to the other two.

Don, if you can add a factory remote for $524, I say go for it. Having a Kubota brand on that remote means Kubota support for anywhere you go or to anyone whoever buys your tractor. That's a bargain in my opinion.

 

[jinman]

This Fasse kit looks pretty nice and is competitively priced. If you installed one of these, it could easily be moved to another tractor and allow a single grapple to easily be moved between tractors where all remotes were in use. Pretty slick!

 

[texasjohn]

I don't fully understand how the Fasse kit works. Looks like you plug it into a hydraulic circuit and electronically operated solenoids select one of two circuits. Does the operating lever have a detente so it selects circuit A or B (ie, NOT a momentary switch)? If so, then it would be mounted out of the way and operation would be done via the existing hydraulic circuit lever??

 

[txdon]

Jim, that does look interesting but I found the right rear OME Kubota remote package (L8303 plus L8307) for my tractor and the price for both is only $473. installing it is the big unknown but hopefully the parts will come with some directions.

 

[k0ua]

I don't fully understand how the Fasse kit works. Looks like you plug it into a hydraulic circuit and electronically operated solenoids select one of two circuits. Does the operating lever have a detente so it selects circuit A or B (ie, NOT a momentary switch)? If so, then it would be mounted out of the way and operation would be done via the existing hydraulic circuit lever??

It plugs into the existing hydraulic outlets, via the eccentric couplers (so it can match the spacing) and then the control box is just a bat handle toggle switch to control which solenoid which of the two circuits on the face of the hydraulic block are active. As you said you mount the box wherever you want and control the selected circuit with your existing SCV lever. They make several other models also, including a 3 circuit one that is not a whole lot more. And a stackable one.. well in fact they make dozens of different ones for diffferent applications.

 

[texasjohn]

Thanks, James. An interesting and portable option..

 

[jinman]

Thanks, James. An interesting and portable option..

Being portable is just icing on the cake. It really seems convenient to throw the paddle and then operate the remote SCV lever for the function selected. I'm thinking it could also easily be configured to run off of a momentary or toggle switch attached to the joystick since it is solenoid actuated. That way, you could have all the functionality of a 3rd function and/or the convenience of using the toggle for full-time operation. These valves seem to have many uses for those of us who never get enough remotes.

 

[k0ua]

Being portable is just icing on the cake. It really seems convenient to throw the paddle and then operate the remote SCV lever for the function selected. I'm thinking it could also easily be configured to run off of a momentary or toggle switch attached to the joystick since it is solenoid actuated. That way, you could have all the functionality of a 3rd function and/or the convenience of using the toggle for full-time operation. These valves seem to have many uses for those of us who never get enough remotes.

Like they say, it is useful for whatever your fertile mind can think up!

 

[texasjohn]

I noticed fasse has numerous 2 and 3 way options, some with/without connectors, with/without switches, etc.....prices varied for what looked like the same thing to me...interesting site, gotta use their search engine cleverly to find stuff.

 

[snakebitten]

Great thread on grapple's! I am looking at purchasing an Armstrong BGR72-11 or BGR86-13 grapple for our JD 5525 with JD 542 FEL. Armstrong is in Brenham, TX. Most local dealers stock Armstrong products. Any comments on Armstrong grapples would be appreciated. SB

www.armstrongag.com/Prodimages/BGR.pdf?

 

[mikim]

If you can go over there to buy it you can save some bucks.

 

[snakebitten]

If you can go over there to buy it you can save some bucks.

As far as I know, Armstrong does not sell direct to public. Please let me know, if you know different (?). Yes, I am close enough to drive to Brenham for a pick-up, which would be great...thanks!

 

[lostcreekranch]

My understanding is that AA only sells thru dealers.

 

[mark02tj]

TxDon - are you still happy with your grapple? I'm leaning towards one like yours for my tractor. I talked to Sam at The Rake Shop a week or so ago and got a price for one. I am a little concerned with the weight though. Sam did tell me that for my tractor they would go with a 60", 8 teeth, 3/4" thick. Mine should be a little lighter than yours, but still somewhere around 600 pounds.

I do have a dumb question about it though - do you use the "wedges" where the tines meet the frame to pull up stuff or do you just rely on the digging action of the rake?

THANKS!

 

[txdon]

TxDon - are you still happy with your grapple? I'm leaning towards one like yours for my tractor. I talked to Sam at The Rake Shop a week or so ago and got a price for one. I am a little concerned with the weight though. Sam did tell me that for my tractor they would go with a 60", 8 teeth, 3/4" thick. Mine should be a little lighter than yours, but still somewhere around 600 pounds.

I do have a dumb question about it though - do you use the "wedges" where the tines meet the frame to pull up stuff or do you just rely on the digging action of the rake?THANKS!

Mostly I just rely on the digging but if the tines do not get it, the second offense attack is the wedge. On the smaller brush I found the rake will rake past and the sometimes not get caught in the wedge. This is the only time I wish for a lower cross bar. However 90% of the time I use the long teeth for effortless deep easy digging under the root ball. If I come across an area with small brush I always have my ratchet rake I can put on my bucket.

The brush and wood does not weigh that much and the curvature of the bottom tines allows the bucket to rest on the ground and tilt back and use leverage while driving forward. My neighbor was wanting to buy a 30 hp tractor and a grapple to clear his brush. He came by to watch me work it on large Yaupon (20 feet tall and with a root ball of over 2' in diameter) and he decided that he would need a heavier tractor for more forceful digging when he saw my rear tires in the air. I have never felt tipsy while carrying a large load - only deep digging under a large root ball.

I had a 12" cedar tree 30' tall and my tractor could not push it over so I worked the grapple around the tree popping the roots and after 5 minutes could push the tree over. I grabbed the tree by the rood ball and drug it over to the brush pile and then grabbed it in the middle and set it on top of the pile.

I would not recommend a grapple for clearing a large area (5 acres) with big dense brush - a bulldozer with a good operator would be best. I use the grapple for clearing trails around the fence line and small areas. We had thousands of trees die several yeas ago and now they are falling on trails and fence lines and the yaupons are crowding trails. With the grapple I feel it rounds out my arsenal of tools available to do the least amount of hand work.

Everyone seems to think the weight of the grapple is important. I do not. A few hundred pounds will not affect how much brush you can carry. brush is light. I think the 3/4" tines are plenty thick enough but I would get the extra bottom tine to reduce the distance between the tines to 6 1/2". Large trees are heavy but most likely you will be dragging them anyways unless you have a 30' opening.

The only modification I have had to do is to notch out the cylinder protective cover so my grease gun would fit without taking off the cover.

 

[mark02tj]

THANKS for the reply, TXDon! I do have about 4 acres to clear, but my brush ranges from pencil thin to about 6" or 7". Most of the brush is under 3" though. And it's honeysuckle which is pretty shallow rooted.

My thing now is deciding how to space the tines and how wide to make the rake. I have a 60" bucket. Sam recommended the same width for the rake so the rake will cover the tire width. Also, the tines will be about 7" apart. I'd like to narrow the spacing a bit, but Sam is recommending to keep it there so that too much dirt/soil doesn't build up between the tines. But I'm leaning towards a narrower spacing so that it will pick up / dig out some of the smaller stuff.

You mention your ratchet-rake. I don't have one.... yet. :laughing: Do you think I should get one before I buy a root rake? Could it take out the majority of my brush? I do understand that the root rake grapple and ratchet-rake are two totally different animals but I'm wondering if I should spend $350 before I spend $2500.