Educate me on how to pick a grapple

[mikester]

Thanks for all the input. After looking at different options from many manufacturers I decided to go with the Catawba 55 that appears to be the best built lightweight clam style grapple. I am impressed by the construction and extra center hinge. The additional rake bars are going to help my needs along with strenghtening it and cylinder shielding looks amazing. The tripled root teeth shouldn't bend and it has the built in stand feet I was told to look for. All at 300 pounds . In stock and ready to ship to my local terminal at competitive prices . Made and designed in the USA. I'll do an update when it arrives with pics. I told them don't rush because my tractor is still almost 3 weeks out. Never realized their are so many minor differences on grapples and this one seems the best for my needs. This is the one https://cattachments.com/product/ca...achment-for-tractor-with-high-strength-steel/

Post a review after using it a while

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

I found the hydraulic pressure gauge Neil was using in the video, I'd like to put a 1/4" female Pioneer coupling to a tee to a male Pioneer coupling, with the gauge plumbed into the center of the tee with a male quick-connect, essentially allowing me to take live readings with hold on my BX2370. I'd need around a 6-foot long hydraulic test hose so the gauge reaches the operator seat. I'm assuming I could then take readings off the front third-function valve (live), or turn the tee around and take readings off the rear top-and-tilt.

I do have an analog gauge from BXpanded, perhaps the digital one is overkill. I mainly want to make sure what I'm doing is "reasonable."

Since I have limited actual experience with hydraulics and fittings, am I best going to the local hydraulic shop, or can I order parts and put it together myself? (I installed the 3rd Fn and T&T,

 

[miket1]

Post a review after using it a while

I bought one for my L3901 a few months ago for my place in AR. I used it for various things around here ( my home place ) including standard limb/tree moving and moving other various things. I have had forks for years but the grapple makes so many things so nuch easier! It was my first grapple, so I cant compare to others but having one beats the heck out of not having one haha. Probably the most impressive thing was clearing brush around an old rotten stump. The huge tree died years ago and I just mowed around the stump. As usual around here, the youpons around it grew bigger and bigger until they were too big to mow after the stump finally mostly rotted away. Of course there were vines mixed in etc. I decided to try the grapple on it and pushed in deep under the roots ( youpons have an extensive root system and cutting the tops doesnt kill them, it can take years to kill them with a chainsaw and mowing ) and closed the lid while pushing. A few good tries and the massive root system came up and I carried it to the pile. A few more passes to get everything, then pulling some dirt in the hole made it all disappear in no time. Ridiculously easy considering it would have taken many hours to do it by hand.

Weekend before last I finally took it to AR. We are having power run to the homesite and the power company let me know the ROW cleared by my dozer guy was too narrow in places. Significantly narrow in some places. We spent 3 days cutting down trees and carrying them to a pile down the hill it ( Catawba 55 ) worked perfectly with the only hiccup being one of the hyd connectors on the 3rd function came unscrewed a little and let the oring poke out which caused a leak. This, of course was unrelated to the grapple. I guess I didnt tighten it up enough when I installed it.

There were a few times that the lid was tweaked while I carried limbs and trees of, obviously, odd sizes, but when I opened it to drop them it sprung right back every time. I may have been putting excess pressure on them, it was hilly and a several hundred yard run to the piles and I didnt want anything shifting, especially since many were on the verge of being too heavy ( btw I found out quickly the shredder on the back wasnt enough ballast when going down hill loaded despite being plenty here on my flat, relatively level home property, duh.. )

Just that one weekend made the grapple worth every penny.

Still not a long term review, but very happy with it so far

 

[Sidekick]

I bought one for my L3901 a few months ago for my place in AR. I used it for various things around here ( my home place ) including standard limb/tree moving and moving other various things. I have had forks for years but the grapple makes so many things so nuch easier! It was my first grapple, so I cant compare to others but having one beats the heck out of not having one haha. Probably the most impressive thing was clearing brush around an old rotten stump. The huge tree died years ago and I just mowed around the stump. As usual around here, the youpons around it grew bigger and bigger until they were too big to mow after the stump finally mostly rotted away. Of course there were vines mixed in etc. I decided to try the grapple on it and pushed in deep under the roots ( youpons have an extensive root system and cutting the tops doesnt kill them, it can take years to kill them with a chainsaw and mowing ) and closed the lid while pushing. A few good tries and the massive root system came up and I carried it to the pile. A few more passes to get everything, then pulling some dirt in the hole made it all disappear in no time. Ridiculously easy considering it would have taken many hours to do it by hand.

Weekend before last I finally took it to AR. We are having power run to the homesite and the power company let me know the ROW cleared by my dozer guy was too narrow in places. Significantly narrow in some places. We spent 3 days cutting down trees and carrying them to a pile down the hill it ( Catawba 55 ) worked perfectly with the only hiccup being one of the hyd connectors on the 3rd function came unscrewed a little and let the oring poke out which caused a leak. This, of course was unrelated to the grapple. I guess I didnt tighten it up enough when I installed it.

There were a few times that the lid was tweaked while I carried limbs and trees of, obviously, odd sizes, but when I opened it to drop them it sprung right back every time. I may have been putting excess pressure on them, it was hilly and a several hundred yard run to the piles and I didnt want anything shifting, especially since many were on the verge of being too heavy ( btw I found out quickly the shredder on the back wasnt enough ballast when going down hill loaded despite being plenty here on my flat, relatively level home property, duh.. )

Just that one weekend made the grapple worth every penny.

Still not a long term review, but very happy with it so far

Mine is on a truck heading north already. Should be at the terminal Wednesday. Can't wait to try it. Hopefully my tractor is heading north next week. I have axbunch of poison ivy roots to rip out.

 

[CGMKCM]

Yes, he made a video of bending his grapple. His treatment of the grapple does not indicate it's necessarily a bad product. He's butting trees with it!

On another forum it was posted that the loader frame assembly was damaged beyond repair. Loader was replaced at a cost of $7K+.

 

[CGMKCM]

This works, and quick to release.

My solution on a 1055 loader.

 

[Yotekiller]

This just popped up in my youtube feed

That top flap really looks flimsy on the one I looked at

The first thing I noticed is he is using the older style grapple. The new HSI Pinnacle grapple has a MUCH beefier cross bar in it now.

 

[Elliott in GA]

The first thing I noticed is he is using the older style grapple. The new HSI Pinnacle grapple has a MUCH beefier cross bar in it now. View attachment 134834

The FIRST thing to notice is that he is mis-using the grapple. He is putting loads on his loader and hydraulic system that will eventually damage both. If he had a stronger grapple, maybe the grapple would not have bent first, but it is just a matter of time until the loader/hydraulic system are damaged in a very apparent way. Back drag with your loader cylinders fully extended - it is only a matter of time until there is damage, no matter how tough your bucket is.

People wonder why major manufacturers do not show their equipment being abused to demonstrate toughness; the eventual/unavoidable damage to the implement/attachment or the tractor/loader is why. You do not want to encourage people to believe that abusing equipment has no consequences, and you especially do not want them think it is covered under warranty.

Putting a grapple, any grapple, on a tractor does not make it into a bulldozer. I have had my lighter duty grapple for 3.5+ years with no damage. I have: picked up tons of brush/trees, carefully popped large rocks out of the ground, clawed down high walls of multiflora rose that were too thick to back over with my rotary cutter and lifted heavy pallets using a lifting strap off 18 wheelers.

 

[NCL4701]

I hadn’t watched that whole video until this morning. (It’s raining here.) I didn’t see anything outside of what I’ve routinely done with my grapple for the past 5 years and a lot more than 13 hours until about the 9:48 mark. That is assuming he’s pushing in the trees, not ramming them. At the hyper speed of the video, kind of hard to tell if he’s pushing or ramming. At or about 9:48 he was trying to pull a stump with the center of the lid that has no center hinge; the weakest point. Whether in foresight or hindsight, that’s operator error as evidenced by the bowed lid.

The lids generally aren’t designed to take the force that the bottom will take. Even if there are some that will, it’s pretty obvious from a cursory glance, the one in the video was designed for the lid to hold stuff and maybe do some very light raking of loose material.

He really shouldn’t be going on about being disappointed in his grapple. He should be talking about how he did something stupid and what he learned about how to properly operate a grapple going forward. I’ve done dumb stuff and bent/broken things, too. At least I try to learn from it instead of jumping straight to blaming the equipment.

And he’s acting like the grapple is destroyed. As if it must be perfectly straight. It’s not a concrete screed. Bend it back good enough to be functional, learn a lesson on how to better operate your equipment, and carry on.

 

[Sidekick]

I hadn’t watched that whole video until this morning. (It’s raining here.) I didn’t see anything outside of what I’ve routinely done with my grapple for the past 5 years and a lot more than 13 hours until about the 9:48 mark. That is assuming he’s pushing in the trees, not ramming them. At the hyper speed of the video, kind of hard to tell if he’s pushing or ramming. At or about 9:48 he was trying to pull a stump with the center of the lid that has no center hinge; the weakest point. Whether in foresight or hindsight, that’s operator error as evidenced by the bowed lid.

The lids generally aren’t designed to take the force that the bottom will take. Even if there are some that will, it’s pretty obvious from a cursory glance, the one in the video was designed for the lid to hold stuff and maybe do some very light raking of loose material.

He really shouldn’t be going on about being disappointed in his grapple. He should be talking about how he did something stupid and what he learned about how to properly operate a grapple going forward. I’ve done dumb stuff and bent/broken things, too. At least I try to learn from it instead of jumping straight to blaming the equipment.

And he’s acting like the grapple is destroyed. As if it must be perfectly straight. It’s not a concrete screed. Bend it back good enough to be functional, learn a lesson on how to better operate your equipment, and carry on.

The way that grapple is made trying to straighten would crack welds. Then from the picture above they redesigned the lid and wanted him to pay $800 to replace his that had smaller tubing and wasn't strong enough. That says a lot about a company in my book. A properly designed tool should not fatigue, it should spring back to flat when operated in the HP range specified. Sure he pushed it hard but didn't look like abuse compared to some other grapple videos I watched. Bent and straightened tools will bend easier the next time and can be dangerous.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

It's a GREAT video ! Shows that when you ABUSE and MISUSE a piece of $$$ equipment , it'll cost you $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to replace !!!
Doesn't 'grapple' means to grab NOT 'use as a ramming bar to knock down trees' ??
He's using the WRONG tool for the job......

 

[rc51stierhoff]

It seems to me it could have ended a whole lot worse than a damaged grapple.

 

[NCL4701]

The way that grapple is made trying to straighten would crack welds.

Bent and straightened tools will bend easier the next time and can be dangerous.

Reasonable points. My suggestion a repair was in order assumed the individual repairing had some knowledge of when to use or not use heat, how to relieve stress, and ability to fix welds broken in the attempt to remove a stump with the lid or broken in the repair process. I should not have assumed any knowledge of steel repair or welding beyond complete ignorance. As with many things, if one is clueless, it would be advisable to either seek education or sub the job to others with more knowledge.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

The way that grapple is made trying to straighten would crack welds.

He put the lid against a tree and straightened it, then continued using it.

Chances are the tubes on a homeowner grapple are mild steel and can be bent back without cracking welds assuming the correct welding wire was used, and there's no reason a U.S. manufacturer...oh. wait...

As a note, Chinese steel is usually softer than ASTM or ASE specs to the point it's called "Chinese [A-36]" or "Chinese [1045]" in the industry. It's cheaper material and easier to work with from a drilling/machining standpoint, and the consumer gets a lower priced product that usually works fine for light usage applications.

With that said, he claimed he watched the Messick's grapple use video; from his video he did everything Messick's said not to do. He was gonna bend it.

 

[Sidekick]

Here's a. Good example of a company abuse testing a 56 inch. Compact tractor grapple. Properly made it will flex and not fatigue under hard use.

 

[Sidekick]

Here's another one to avoid. Wouldn't expect a small tractor to bend up an expensive Landpride

 

[Siesta Sundance]

Here's another one to avoid. Wouldn't expect a small tractor to bend up an expensive Landpride

I have a discontinued LP grapple, it's very strong, weighs almost 1k lbs.
I have ran it with rentals on a 100hp Cat skidsteers for probably 400+ hours, clearing land, very hard use and abuse, it took everything I threw at it. I have a couple bent tines, but it takes a lot of elbow grease and 20lb sledge to straighten them out.