how heavy is too heavy of a grapple

[twrex81]

I have a L6060 with the LA1055 loader. Im looking at the worksaver etg-26. My loader is rated for about 2300lb. The grapple weighs 525lb. I figure that the tractor can handle it but what is too heavy? Has anyone ever used that grapple? Any advice would be appreciated

 

[Yooper]

I think you are just fine assuming its for brush and similar stuff. I have an L3901 with loader rated for 1200 lbs and my EA grapple weighs about 400 lbs. Sometimes a log might be too heavy but otherwise it works fine for brush. Obviously you have a lot more capacity and there are times I wish I had the same

 

[GreensvilleJay]

you 'should' be able to lift/carry +-1700# of 'stuff'...

loader capacity(2300) - grapple weight(525) = +-1700#

 

[TheOldHokie]

I have a L6060 with the LA1055 loader. Im looking at the worksaver etg-26. My loader is rated for about 2300lb. The grapple weighs 525lb. I figure that the tractor can handle it but what is too heavy? Has anyone ever used that grapple? Any advice would be appreciated

I have a 525# grapple on a L3901. Its too heavy but useable. Given the size of your machine that should be just fine.

Dan

 

[Bmyers]

I have an EA 55" Wicked Root Grapple. The grapple weight effects how much you can lift and as others pointed you L6060 will be able to handle it.

 

[mcfarmall]

I would consider a grapple that weighs in at 50% of your loader capacity is too heavy.

 

[Hue]

I got a stump bucket grapple from Prime Attachments. I have it on a L4060 with LA805. It's 550 lbs. No issues so far.

 

[SDT]

I would consider a grapple that weighs in at 50% of your loader capacity is too heavy.

So would I.

Using up much of payload capacity.

 

[ken erickson]

Seems to me a a 525 lb grapple on a loader rated for 2300 lbs (less than 25 percent) would be a great fit.

LA1055 | Kubota Canada

kubota.ca

 

[SDT]

I have a L6060 with the LA1055 loader. Im looking at the worksaver etg-26. My loader is rated for about 2300lb. The grapple weighs 525lb. I figure that the tractor can handle it but what is too heavy? Has anyone ever used that grapple? Any advice would be appreciated

Caveat: I do not use liquid ballast for multiple reasons but do have the maximum of 3 cast weights on each wheel of my L6060 ROPS. I also use a ballast box filled with bagged playground sand for serious FEL work.

My L6060 has a 4-In-One-Bucket, which is considerably heavier than the standard bucket.

Without the ballast box, the FEL on my L6060 is just about worthless and dangerous on steep ground. Will not back up even slight incline with empty bucket unless in FWD and very easy to lift rear wheel and slide down hill on inclines even with empty bucket.

Weight of FEL attachment is not an advantage due to loss of payload.

 

[SDT]

I have a L6060 with the LA1055 loader. Im looking at the worksaver etg-26. My loader is rated for about 2300lb. The grapple weighs 525lb. I figure that the tractor can handle it but what is too heavy? Has anyone ever used that grapple? Any advice would be appreciated

2,300+ Lbs. rating is at pivot pin.

All weight of attachment and payload is in front of pivot pin.

Net payload is much, much less than 2,300 Lbs.

Net payload is reduced by weight of attachment.

 

[ken erickson]

i Find the vast majority of my grapple work that puts the most Stress on the grapple is done down low and when I am using the curl function . Your loader has over 2 tons of bucket Break out force. I would think it’s just as important to have a heavy enough and stout grapple to withstand these forces as it is to have maximum lifting ability at full height. The only time I lift a grapple load to full loader height is when pilling relatively light brush on a pile. Any heavy tree loads are kept low as possible

 

[Henro]

Since that grapple is used in place of your loader bucket (right?), don’t forget to subtract the bucket weight from the grapple weight when making you assessment.

 

[mcmxi]

I have a L6060 with the LA1055 loader. Im looking at the worksaver etg-26. My loader is rated for about 2300lb. The grapple weighs 525lb. I figure that the tractor can handle it but what is too heavy? Has anyone ever used that grapple? Any advice would be appreciated

That grapple weight falls within my rule of thumb when sizing a grapple. I like the grapple weight to be no more than about 25% of the loader max capacity at the bucket pivot pin when the loader is at max height.

So that's no more than 560lb for an MX/L6060 and no more than 730lb for an M60 or M4 with the loader in power position, or 620lb with the loader in height position. So a Wicked 60 at 400lb or that ETG-26 at 525lb is a good choice for an MX/L6060, and a Wicked 66 is a good choice for an M60 or M4.

 

[Fladogman]

I'm running a CID Xtreme grapple weighing in at #950+/-. It's a load but my MX handles it well. It's heavy duty so I don't worry about bending or breaking the grapple. I am concerned about the tractor though, so I'm very careful and I don't let anyone use it but me.

 

[skeets]

If the back wheels come of the ground its too heavy

 

[SDT]

I'm running a CID Xtreme grapple weighing in at #950+/-. It's a load but my MX handles it well. It's heavy duty so I don't worry about bending or breaking the grapple. I am concerned about the tractor though, so I'm very careful and I don't let anyone use it but me.

Good practice. I would not let anyone else tough it.

I have an Edge 66" grapple designed for a skid steer that I bought for use with a, since sold, NH T4050 Deluxe. Knowing that it was much more grapple than needed when I bought it, I bought it anyway because it was a good deal. This is why I bought a 66" rather than a 72". It weighs about 750 Lbs.

After selling the T4050, I used it with a MF 2635, which had lower HP but weighed nearly as much as set up. Again too heavy but useable with care.

The MF turned out to be a bad idea and was replaced with a Kubota M9960 ROPS.

I've not yet used the grapple with the 9960 but have attached it and moved it around a bit. Still too heavy but useable, though serious work will require attaching the ballast box filled with bagged playground sand.

If I used a grapple often, I would sell my Edge grapple and buy a lighter weight 72" grapple.

SDT

 

[mcmxi]

I'm running a CID Xtreme grapple weighing in at #950+/-. It's a load but my MX handles it well. It's heavy duty so I don't worry about bending or breaking the grapple. I am concerned about the tractor though, so I'm very careful and I don't let anyone use it but me.

There's no way I could have picked up and moved the boulder shown below if the grapple weighed 950lb or more. I could barely get it off the ground with the 400lb Wicked 60 as it was. Most of my grapple use is boulders and big logs with the occasional need to move limbed branches to a burn pile. I need strong and "light" and EA excels in that area.

I might order a Wicked 66 at some point and sell the 60 but it's not a priority.

 

[FTG-05]

When I bought my grapple, I thought I wanted a 60" or so. Fortunately, unkkonw to me, they were out of 60's and only had 48", 72" and 84". Hence, I bought the 48" version. I've never regretted it.

Could I have lifted and moved this this with anything other than a 48"?

 

[Fladogman]

There's no way I could have picked up and moved the boulder shown below if the grapple weighed 950lb or more. I could barely get it off the ground with the 400lb Wicked 60 as it was. Most of my grapple use is boulders and big logs with the occasional need to move limbed branches to a burn pile. I need strong and "light" and EA excels in that area.

I might order a Wicked 66 at some point and sell the 60 but it's not a priority.

View attachment 81515

View attachment 81516

Yeah, I often think I would be happier with a lighter grapple but this is what came with the tractor. The 72" is nice for branches and limbs as is the deep L design, I just have to be careful with big tree trunks. The width is also nice for raking roots and drag leveling. I often work in wooded areas so I have to cut everything down to 8 ft or less to fit easily down a narrow road or trail which limits the amount of product you can haul anyway .