Big Thumbs Up On The MTL 48" Economy HD Root Grapple

Titan17

Member

Equipment
L3901 TLB, Caroni RFM, Scag Wildcat ZTR, Piranha TB,York RE 96", MTL HD 48" grap
Jan 13, 2019
92
6
8
Uncasville, CT
Been a while since I posted but I read constantly.
Reviews and opinions on tools and attachments are helpful so I'd like to give mine on a recent purchase of the MTL economy 48" root grapple.
My tractor is an L3901 TLB so the 48" sounds small but in reality it's the perfect size for this tractor. A 60" or 72" in this brand of grapple is weight prohibitive. If I had big pockets I would have liked a EA 60" Their combination of engineering and a higher grade of steel makes for a really tough, light weight unit ($$$).
But this review is about the economy MTL ($). Their entry level model @ $1129.

Weight. Doesn't weigh much more than stock 66" bucket and doesn't stick out much further. On a BX you'll loose a lot of lift capacity but L3901 not much. That's important because they don't lift much either, it's not an L39.
Design. I like the long flat bottom. The CV-60 was another good option but for clean up purposes this scoops more I think.
Width. 48" is fine 54" would be nice but you still have to center long loads and you can't really grab anything more.
Strength of design. Gussets where they should be. Tubing the size it should be. Tines the thickness they should be. Pins/bosses the diameters they should be. Grease fittings, piston, hoses, fittings, etc. all quality. It'll take a beating.
Paint - who cares it's getting worn off anyway. Kubota paint sucks too.
Customer service was great. Text is best with one day response time on 4 separate messages.
Shipping time - 8 days from order to delivery. $40. lift gate residential service.
I didn't want to overestimate my tractor or my operator skills so spending lots of money would be foolish.
It's not a Blue Diamond but on the other end it's not an economy Tomahawk which was my last grapple (very cheaply made)
Overall a great homeowner grapple that's well suited to a chicken s### homeowner like me.
 

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Grindstone

Active member

Equipment
B2601, FEL, BH, MMM
Mar 10, 2022
170
107
43
CT
Very nice review. I too love the opinions/reviews of tools and attachments on here as well.
 
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Reactions: 1 users

fried1765

Well-known member

Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
Nov 14, 2019
6,808
4,295
113
Eastham, Ma
Been a while since I posted but I read constantly.
Reviews and opinions on tools and attachments are helpful so I'd like to give mine on a recent purchase of the MTL economy 48" root grapple.
My tractor is an L3901 TLB so the 48" sounds small but in reality it's the perfect size for this tractor. A 60" or 72" in this brand of grapple is weight prohibitive. If I had big pockets I would have liked a EA 60" Their combination of engineering and a higher grade of steel makes for a really tough, light weight unit ($$$).
But this review is about the economy MTL ($). Their entry level model @ $1129.

Weight. Doesn't weigh much more than stock 66" bucket and doesn't stick out much further. On a BX you'll loose a lot of lift capacity but L3901 not much. That's important because they don't lift much either, it's not an L39.
Design. I like the long flat bottom. The CV-60 was another good option but for clean up purposes this scoops more I think.
Width. 48" is fine 54" would be nice but you still have to center long loads and you can't really grab anything more.
Strength of design. Gussets where they should be. Tubing the size it should be. Tines the thickness they should be. Pins/bosses the diameters they should be. Grease fittings, piston, hoses, fittings, etc. all quality. It'll take a beating.
Paint - who cares it's getting worn off anyway. Kubota paint sucks too.
Customer service was great. Text is best with one day response time on 4 separate messages.
Shipping time - 8 days from order to delivery. $40. lift gate residential service.
I didn't want to overestimate my tractor or my operator skills so spending lots of money would be foolish.
It's not a Blue Diamond but on the other end it's not an economy Tomahawk which was my last grapple (very cheaply made)
Overall a great homeowner grapple that's well suited to a chicken s### homeowner like me.
Nice review.

I have the "Mid-State Attachments E-series root rake" (low cost) brand grapple.
I bought 60" because that equals the approximate width of my L48 TLB front tires.
The "E-Series" is a good design for my specific needs, but there are NO grease fittings.... NONE.... non-existent!
I modified that!

It is OK now, but if I had known it was built with NO GREASE fittings, I would never have ordered it!
 

UpNorthMI

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3200, L3901, MX5800, SVL75-2, KX040
May 12, 2020
850
566
93
Up North, MI
Also running a MTL compact twin lid grapple, it was $999 including delivery, during covid, for the price the quality is amazing, this is a great fit for my L3901.

Grapple 3.jpg


Grapple 1.jpg
 

Titan17

Member

Equipment
L3901 TLB, Caroni RFM, Scag Wildcat ZTR, Piranha TB,York RE 96", MTL HD 48" grap
Jan 13, 2019
92
6
8
Uncasville, CT
$999. Great price. It's $1290. Now, still a great price. That was my other choice.
You can't add a grapple to your bucket for any less.
Summit 3rd function and grapple less than $2000. They both support their products really well if something is legitimately wrong.