Wicked 55" Grapple Hose Routing

[je1279]

I picked up my Wicked 55" grapple from the freight terminal yesterday and its construction is definitely as advertised. However, one concern that I have is how the upper hoses are routed to the cylinders on the sides. There is a 90+ degree bend and the hose is resting on the edge of a metal support bracket. I would think this would lead to chafing and failure of the hose over time. Has anyone with one of these ever had a problem with these hoses?

 

[Elliott in GA]

You might want to view this Daveknowshow youtube; he had the same issue. Despite the title, he has mostly good things to say about it.

 

[Nicfin36]

I put some old garden hose over mine and zip tied it.

 

[Elliott in GA]

I know many here absolutely love EA, but I see a somewhat crude product. My Land Pride Grapple has angled fittings and a very clean run for all of the hoses; it is a well engineered/designed product.

EA might be made of heavy duty steel, but it does not seem to be well finished/designed. The Daveknowshow video is a couple of years old, and EA is still making the same mistake. A mistake that could be solved by using different fittings.

 

[je1279]

EA might be made of heavy duty steel, but it does not seem to be well finished/designed. The Daveknowshow video is a couple of years old, and EA is still making the same mistake. A mistake that could be solved by using different fittings.

I don't disagree with your assessment. I think it is a great product overall but if customers identify a problem area, one would hope the manufacturer would make the necessary modifications to address the issue.

 

[Nicfin36]

I know many here absolutely love EA, but I see a somewhat crude product. My Land Pride Grapple has angled fittings and a very clean run for all of the hoses; it is a well engineered/designed product.

EA might be made of heavy duty steel, but it does not seem to be well finished/designed. The Daveknowshow video is a couple of years old, and EA is still making the same mistake. A mistake that could be solved by using different fittings.

I can't disagree. I do like mine, but they could have made some refinements.

 

[je1279]

My hoses do not have any play like the ones in the video. I'm either going to figure out how to correct it with fittings or cut a bit of that bracket off on each side so the hose doesn't rub on it.

 

[MattN03]

Have you sent a message with EA with pictures? Maybe this would prompt them to update the way they route hoses/fittings used.

 

[MOOTS]

Was one complaint when I had mine. That hose routing is stupid, toss a 45 or 90 on there and call it done. wrapping mine seemed to help some.

 

[je1279]

Have you sent a message with EA with pictures? Maybe this would prompt them to update the way they route hoses/fittings used.

I could but my guess is this has been reported to them previously and they chose to leave it as is. Seems like a pretty easy fix as others have mentioned but maybe they do not feel it is an issue.

 

[tthorkil]

I just sent an email to EA and linked to this thread. Travis called me within 10 minutes to assure me that it has never been an issue and that is how they have been built for years so I guess that I will put protective wrap where it seems like a wear point as soon as it is delivered.

 

[je1279]

I just sent an email to EA and linked to this thread. Travis called me within 10 minutes to assure me that it has never been an issue and that is how they have been built for years so I guess that I will put protective wrap where it seems like a wear point as soon as it is delivered.

I ended up emailing Travis also as I realized the rubber portion of the hoses was already cut after I zip tied them. He called and emailed me within 5 minutes and sent me the picture below showing that the hoses have a wire wrap under the rubber portion and that they have never had a problem with them. I will likely still add either spring protectors or a thicker hose over it but apparently that's not necessary.

 

[Elliott in GA]

I am sorry, but that is a terrible answer. All hydraulic hoses have a braided inner layer (wire, synthetic fibers or some other tough material). Although the inner layer is tough, it is not impervious - especially not to rubbing under tension on steel. Could be it takes several years to rub through, but the key to a well designed product is not to have unnecessary wear points - especially on hydraulic or fuel lines.

Why would you not simply solve the issue with an angled fitting - like other manufacturers?
Why would you not acknowledge an issue (at least as a poor design) and correct it?

I do not know that much about EA products, but I really cannot understand EA's response.

 

[greg86z28]

Maybe this design flaw will be rectified before mine is built in 75 weeks

Either way, I'll be doing some sort of workaround to prevent that hose from getting cut through on that steel.

I think Travis is actually a member on the TractorByNet. Perhaps starting a thread over there with some significant following would get some action on this issue.

Grapple for new L2501

Getting a new L2501 before months end. Will be grapple ready. What does everybody like for smaller grapples? I see MTL grapples seem to be the price leader. Everything Attachments and Landpride also out there. Thank you in advance for your comments!

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[je1279]

The voice mail he left sounded like he gets asked about this quite frequently. Not sure why they wouldn't just change the design to eliminate the issue but to date, they have elected not to do so.

 

[greg86z28]

The voice mail he left sounded like he gets asked about this quite frequently. Not sure why they wouldn't just change the design to eliminate the issue but to date, they have elected not to do so.

Who knows. Could be that they have 10 pallets full of a certain fitting and switching the design gives them no use for those fittings so they are trying to burn through them first.

 

[ctfjr]

Just a 'tip of the hat' for posting this. I have one of these coming (some day soon) and will definitely attend to this rubbing issue.
Very disappointed in EA's response.

 

[davidmem]

I too would like the more refined fittings so everything just looks clean. I'm going to order a grapple later this year, not sure which one, but leaning toward the wicked 55 That said Travis asked me to post this for him:

.

 

[greg86z28]

OTT is on the map guys!

 

[Elliott in GA]

I too would like the more refined fittings so everything just looks clean. I'm going to order a grapple later this year, not sure which one, but leaning toward the wicked 55 That said Travis asked me to post this for him:



View attachment 60040 .

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