That's part of the reason I started looking at Homestead instead of EA. Their 60" grapple was quite a bit cheaper at the time, and also lighter. Then I ended up getting a 55" (where the price difference wasn't as much) to have smaller tine spacing but with the same construction.
Looking at grapples
- Thread starter mdhughes
- Start date
I have the LP on the 2601, did I need it,,, well I didnt think so, but yeah I use it more than the bucket. EA is top shelf stuff, though I hear their wait time is kind of crazy, as well as most manufacturers ,, And remember this no matter what you get, if one of them teeth aint bent you aint usin it 
My EA teeth aren't bent. But then again, they use better steel.I have the LP on the 2601, did I need it,,, well I didnt think so, but yeah I use it more than the bucket. EA is top shelf stuff, though I hear their wait time is kind of crazy, as well as most manufacturers ,, And remember this no matter what you get, if one of them teeth aint bent you aint usin it
I slightly bent a tooth on my Land Pride grapple the first use! It was my first real use of my LX2610 too. Removed a 500 lb boulder imbedded in one of my trails. As @skeets said, if they ain't bent you aren't using it.
Maybe EA uses better steel, but the way I use my tractor, as a tractor and not a toy, I could bend an EA grapple up plenty! LOL
Maybe EA uses better steel, but the way I use my tractor, as a tractor and not a toy, I could bend an EA grapple up plenty! LOL
mcmxi
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
The Wicked 60 or 66 with its center top hinge, Hardox 450 steel, DOM tubing, tine spacing and gusseted teeth is one of the toughest and yet lightest grapples on the market. I regularly use mine to dig up and pick up large boulders and have yet to do any damage to any of the tines. If I ever decide to "upgrade" there's no doubt it'll be another Wicked model, most likely the 66.I have four implements from EA including the grapple, a box blade, a land leveler and a tooth bar and have nothing but good things to say about their products, and that goes for Ted and Travis too. Great guys making great implements.
I watched a YouTube video last week in which TTWT bent the lids on his grapple. I wasn't impressed.
I've said this many times, but there's no company out there demonstrating their products being abused the way that EA does. And no company even comes close to EA in terms of their transparency. Who else gives regular tours of their facility on YouTube? You can see where the products are made, how they're made and who's making them. That means a lot to me.
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Bingo.
Weight is not a good thing vis a vis grapples to be used with tractor/FELS.
Heavy/durable grapples are great for skid steers but weight significantly detracts from payload when used with tractor/FELS.
Thank you for this info. I'll look into EA deeper when I'm ready to buy a rototiller. The one's I saw on their website, are all out of stock.
I have four implements from EA including the grapple, a box blade, a land leveler and a tooth bar and have nothing but good things to say about their products, and that goes for Ted and Travis too. Great guys making great implements.
I watched a YouTube video last week in which TTWT bent the lids on his grapple. I wasn't impressed.
I've said this many times, but there's no company out there demonstrating their products being abused the way that EA does. And no company even comes close to EA in terms of their transparency. Who else gives regular tours of their facility on YouTube? You can see where the products are made, how they're made and who's making them. That means a lot to me.
Anyway, I pulled out my manual for my 54" Land Pride Grapple last night. (The one I bent a tine on). Anyway, it says in a nutshell, it's for removing shrubs / bushes and / or moving cut vegetation. NOT for digging out stationary heavy objects. I bought it to move logs and saplings, not dig out boulders, but I tried it anyway and it worked with very minor damage. An EA would probably have been a better grapple purchase, but I wanted to get as much at the K zero apr as I could.
Thanks again for the information. A future EA customer here.
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Elliott in GA
Well-known member
Equipment
LX 2610SU w/535,LP RCR1860,FDR1660,SGC0554,FSP500, DD BBX60005
No grapple suitable for a compact tractor - no matter how "tough" - is appropriate for digging out heavy (like a big rock) or highly embedded/connected (like a stump) things. Your tractor's FEL and hydraulic system will suffer if you do it; they are not designed for those kinds of loads/stresses.
People must have a very different definition of "digging out" an object. Unless you are in very loose soil/sand, the teeth of a grapple will not penetrate into the ground beyond the first lateral reinforcement bar/tube - so only a few inches. Unlike a bucket, the grapple cannot remove the soil to allow for a deeper cut on the next try; the grapple could break up the soil slowly with repeated tries. You would never use a grapple to dig down into the ground.
Even if one grapple was meaningfully tougher than many others, it would not be able to do meaningfully more work due to the limitations of the tractor's FEL and hydraulic system. Putting a stronger chain on your tractor's tow bar will not enable your tractor to tow more than with the prior chain that exceeded the tractor's tow capacity.
Respectfully, here in NW Wisconsin where I'm at, the soil is almost black. Soft. You could shoot an arrow and it would bury itself 1/2 it's length in the ground.
That being said, I lived in clay soil, desert like conditions for most of my life. I wouldn't have been able to break the surface with a grapple.
Circa 1980... I remember doing a job for a customer in Moreno Valley, CA. It was clay. He wanted his front and back yard rototilled. I took out my B7100 and did the job. I started with brand new tines on the tiller, after the job, that one job, the tiller blades were shot! Looked like pointed sickles. I lost lots of money on that job.
More recent, I used my grapple to go under and pull out a large boulder. The lower tines sunk down under the boulder in the first pass. About 16". Low range - slow thrust. This ground is almost too soft.
So, I do appreciate your comment. But although I am not a pro, this isn't my first rodeo. I'm still learning from you folks. And I appreciate that.
Soil type determines application.
EDIT; Did I abuse the grapple. Sure. But it worked wonderfully, minus a slightly bent tine.
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mcmxi
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
I seem to remember digging out this rock with the grapple. More than half of it is still in the ground. It was around 3ft long once I removed it. For the most part, the rocks I move are visible and are therefore partially submerged. Some are substantial weighing over 1,000lb and the grapple and loader are just fine.
Elliott in GA
Well-known member
Equipment
LX 2610SU w/535,LP RCR1860,FDR1660,SGC0554,FSP500, DD BBX60005
You can see from the dirt line that the slab like rock was about 1/3 - 1/2 exposed. People use terms differently, but I would not say that you dug that rock out of the ground. To me, digging something out of the ground means that it was mostly covered, and it extended much more deeply into the ground than the exposed portion. I would say that you pried a partially exposed shallow bedded rock from the ground.
I have a 66" Pinnacle series. Works fine. No problems after 1 year of use.
Thank you wsurff for your input. I didn't mean this to become what it has, I was looking for comments on the Pinnacle series grapple.
If there are any other Pinnacle owners, I would like to hear from you too.
I saw the video and thought that the guy was asking too much of the lid of the grapple. I bought the Homestead Pinnacle 55" grapple after seeing the video and have no regrets. The tool has worked for everything I have needed so far (have not tried pulling out a tree or a boulder...) and no damage.
Since I bought mine I think they have made the lid stronger. If I could ask for it to be better at all I would like to have grease fittings on all of the moving joints (the pins at the end of the cylinders don't have fittings IIRC), I just use "penetrating grease" on those.
When you do buy one (or anything else that has to be shipped by truck) make sure to completely inspect it before signing off for the delivery. I bought a land plane from Homestead, didn't pull all of the plastic off when I received it and it turned out to have one panel bent. I didn't have any claim since I signed it off, luckily it only effected cosmetic appearance and not the function (I love that tool, too!)
Whichever you decide on you will love it!
Since I bought mine I think they have made the lid stronger. If I could ask for it to be better at all I would like to have grease fittings on all of the moving joints (the pins at the end of the cylinders don't have fittings IIRC), I just use "penetrating grease" on those.
When you do buy one (or anything else that has to be shipped by truck) make sure to completely inspect it before signing off for the delivery. I bought a land plane from Homestead, didn't pull all of the plastic off when I received it and it turned out to have one panel bent. I didn't have any claim since I signed it off, luckily it only effected cosmetic appearance and not the function (I love that tool, too!)
Whichever you decide on you will love it!
“Anybody have any experience with the Homestead Pinnacle grapple?”
“Get the wicked”, “I have the EA, best there is”, “Hardox”, “derp”, “Buy the wicked”, “Everything I have is EA, you should do the same”, “derp”. Like clockwork every single time. Lol.
“Get the wicked”, “I have the EA, best there is”, “Hardox”, “derp”, “Buy the wicked”, “Everything I have is EA, you should do the same”, “derp”. Like clockwork every single time. Lol.
ScottHam
Member
Equipment
Kubota L3560HST-LE 4WD; R4 tires; Armstrong Ag BRG-mini grapple; 1272 box blade
Shopping for a buying tractors/implements is so fun......I have just purchased my first tractor (L3560LE with LA805 loader) which is set for delivery next month, and I am also researching grapples (and box blades, and pallet forks...). I am leaning strongly toward an Armstrong AG BGR-mini 60" grapple which is manufactured here in Texas and I can pick up at a variety of local dealers. It is heavier than the EA, Pinnacle or Landpride at 440lbs, but with the 1,715lb lift capacity of the LA805 loader, I do not anticipate that to be an issue for the brush clearing I have planned. The $1,850 price tag and immediate availability compared to ~$2,200 - $2,600 plus shipping/waiting for Pinnacle or EA is another important point. It may be a little heavy for a L3901 though. I don't have any actual experience to share yet, but figured I would share my thoughts with the group.
fried1765
Well-known member
Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
So for anyone that comes later and reads this thread, I have ordered a Homestead 55" Root Grapple Pinnacle Series.