Wicked 55" Grapple Hose Routing

[je1279]

not sure why they're so against fixing this clearly evident design flaw in the factory vs telling customers "its not been a problem in thousands of units"

I'm not sure why either but if they are willing to take care of it if it ever becomes a problem, I am ok with that also.

 

[Square_Root_Pharms]

I'm not sure why either but if they are willing to take care of it if it ever becomes a problem, I am ok with that also.

indeed and ill still buy a wicked grapple in a heartbeat lol

 

[mcmxi]

FWIW, EA and Land Pride grapples cost about the same. Go to the Land Pride website, and you can rotate a 3-D image of their grapple to see the mounting side with the hydraulic hoses and fittings.

I do not see any advantage to the EA grapple design. I am certain that no hydraulic hose manufacturer will tell you that inner shield (which is to prevent bursting under pressure) is suitable as a chafing/wear guard. The rubber/plastic outer layer is to protect the inner shield from the elements and wearing on hose chases; it is not supposed to be cut or otherwise compromised.

I am sure the EA grapple functions well as a grapple, but so do all reasonably well made grapples. It seems that people are willing to give EA every benefit of the doubt, but they would not do that with a major manufacturer

I had a Land Pride SGC0548 grapple for my BX which was a useful light duty grapple, but when it came time to order a grapple for the MX I compared EA's Wicked 60" (400lb) to Land Pride's SGC1060 (389lb) and SGC1560 (820lb). The 1560 is twice the weight of the Wicked 60" so that was out which left the SGC1060.

Comparing the SGC1060 to EA's Wicked 60" it was clear to me that EA's grapple was the better choice by a large margin. AR450 vs AR400, the top lid has a hinge in the center, the DOM passes through the one-piece lid tines, way more aggressive tines with serrations, tines are doubled up at hinge points, tines are gusseted at the DOM contact points and so on. I've had and have both Land Pride and EA implements and I try to pick the best model for a given situation and the EA grapple is the better choice.

 

[mcmxi]

I'm not sure why either but if they are willing to take care of it if it ever becomes a problem, I am ok with that also.

I agree that EA should make a change to the fittings used but I had to replace three hoses on the BX25 backhoe due to failure as a result if tight radii and insufficient clearance so it's not just EA making poor design choices. The hoses didn't wear through but they started leaking at the hose/fitting interface, and that was with fairly limited use.

I'll be interested to see if the Wicked 60" grapple has the same issue as the Wicked 55" shown. I would expect a similar situation but you never know.

 

[MOOTS]

I'll be interested to see if the Wicked 60" grapple has the same issue as the Wicked 55" shown. I would expect a similar situation but you never know.

I wonder if the 55 and 60 share hoses? And that is where the odd bend is coming from, a slightly too long hose. I'd be interested to see your 60 when you get it.

 

[Elliott in GA]

I had a Land Pride SGC0548 grapple for my BX which was a useful light duty grapple, but when it came time to order a grapple for the MX I compared EA's Wicked 60" (400lb) to Land Pride's SGC1060 (389lb) and SGC1560 (820lb). The 1560 is twice the weight of the Wicked 60" so that was out which left the SGC1060.

Comparing the SGC1060 to EA's Wicked 60" it was clear to me that EA's grapple was the better choice by a large margin. AR450 vs AR400, the top lid has a hinge in the center, the DOM passes through the one-piece lid tines, way more aggressive tines with serrations, tines are doubled up at hinge points, tines are gusseted at the DOM contact points and so on. I've had and have both Land Pride and EA implements and I try to pick the best model for a given situation and the EA grapple is the better choice.

I am glad your are pleased with your choice.

I think that most of the talk/claims about the ruggedness of grapples is misplaced. With tractors, especially smaller compact tractors, the tractor's loader is the weak link in terms of capacity and ruggedness - the loader/hydraulic system will probably be harmed long before the grapple is pushed beyond its limits. This does not apply to skid loaders and etc.

AR450 vs AR400 - probably not a meaningful difference.

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[mcmxi]

I wonder if the 55 and 60 share hoses? And that is where the odd bend is coming from, a slightly too long hose. I'd be interested to see your 60 when you get it.

Ordered 2/24 so it'll be 12 weeks this coming weekend. I'll be sure to post a photo or two when it gets here.

 

[mcmxi]

I am glad your are pleased with your choice.

AR450 vs AR400 - probably not a meaningful difference.

I'll be using the grapple predominantly to dig up and move rocks around so I'll take a more expensive and harder steel if it's available. There appears to be a lot more AR450 in the EA grapple than there is AR400 in the Land Pride grapple and the EA was less expensive, even with shipping.

I like Land Pride products and will buy more. Heck, I have a Land Pride GS2584 grading scraper on order to go along with the Land Pride RB3796 rear blade and EA 84" box blade I already have, not to mention the Land Pride RCR1884 rotary cutter that is simply awesome, and Land Pride hydraulic angle snow blade, quick hitch and pallet forks that I have. Clearly I'm a fan of Land Pride but the EA grapple is better. No big deal .. choices are good.

 

[Nicfin36]

I had to take off my EA grapple the other day to hook up my pallet forks. Later, when I thought about it, I looked at the hoses on the grapple. I have covered the hoses on the end near the bracket with old garden hose and zip tied it. While, EA's hose routing is not the most eloquent, I did not notice any chafing on the garden hose where it touches the lip of the steel.

 

[Slingha]

And now it’s a problem.

 

[mcmxi]

And now it’s a problem.

That looks like a different problem and similar to what I experienced with a few hoses on the BX25D backhoe. I didn't have any dramatic arterial spray like you but lots of oil dripping from the hose/fitting interface.

 

[je1279]

And now it’s a problem.

It appears that you have their twin lid grapple and that your leak was coming from the fitting at the cylinder. That's a different issue than I was worried about but a concern all the same. Could the fitting have been damaged previously during grapple work and it finally gave out?