Bought a grapple

[Ausfahrt]

I looked at a lot of the popular grapples out there but most of them are root grapples. I didn't want or need the root grapple, I was looking for something that could handle logs and rocks more than roots.

I ended up buying one that I had never heard of before but that was at an equipment dealer near me. He made me an offer that I couldn't refuse and I hauled it home. My tractor is a Kubota B2650 and the grapple is rated for tractors 25hp and up so my 26hp Kubota barely made the cut.

This thing is stout. Here are a few pics of the Frostbite.

https://photos.smugmug.com/ManCave/Garage/i-SJQLFkc/0/a80fdae5/XL/IMG_1422-XL.jpg

 

[JeffKeryk]

Cool...

 

[eljefino]

Reminds me of a loyal Labrador Retriever that thinks it can haul an entire tree in his mouth.

 

[JimPghPA]

Keep the weight as low as possible if you are ever on any un-even ground, or hills. Weight up high in a bucket of a front end loaders can cause it to flip over if it is on uneven ground, especially if the ground slopes from left to right, or from right to left.

I wonder if adding some weight low in the back might be a good idea if you are going to be picking up big heavy logs.

 

[ecotourist]

Originally Posted by JimPghPA
I wonder if adding some weight low in the back might be a good idea if you are going to be picking up big heavy logs.

My dad was a farmer. He used to put some sort of water based mixture in the tractor's back tires. I don't know if that's considered good practice but it would be a relatively cheap way to add weight to the back end.

Good advice JIMPghPA on keeping lifted weights low and watching out for side slopes. Tractors do roll over and injure or kill their operators. It looks like there is some kind of roll-bar protection behind the driver. Good idea. I'd add a seat belt. The last thing you'd want is to be crushed during a roll-over by your roll bar.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Excellent!

 

[Dinoburner]

Have a grapple for the Kubota in my sig and quickly learned it`s easy to over load the front end.

 

[zrxkawboy]

Saw the title, and thought you'd been to the grocery store!

https://www.grapplefruits.com/

 

[JimPghPA]

It sounds so simple that it is often dismissed or forgotten or overlooked, let me put it another way. The ONLY difference between the operator who does not roll over his loader, and the one that does roll over his loader and get killed is that the front bucket was up in the air with some weight in it when it was on un-even ground on the one that rolled over, and was very low with weight in it when on the same un-even ground on the one that did not roll over.

Weight up in the air on un-even ground is a VERY BAD IDEA.

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by JimPghPA
Keep the weight as low as possible if you are ever on any un-even ground, or hills. Weight up high in a bucket of a front end loaders can cause it to flip over if it is on uneven ground, especially if the ground slopes from left to right, or from right to left.

I wonder if adding some weight low in the back might be a good idea if you are going to be picking up big heavy logs.

I was wondering about weight in the back , too . May depend on how much weight the front hydraulics can lift .

 

[Ausfahrt]

Thanks for the replies, fellas. Yes I am going to be careful with this until I get the hang of using it. My Kubota dealer did fill the rear tires with a non corrosive liquid that they called ballast star when I bought the tractor in 2018.

 

[dlundblad]

Do you have a heavy implement you can carry while doing grapple work as well? The weight hanging behind the rear axle would take some strain off the front.

Don't let the ROPS police get you either. Keep that thing folded up given the kind of work you're doing.

 

[IndyIan]

I don't think you are going to break that grapple! What does it weigh? A brush hog is a good but big counterweight. I like my box blade as its shorter and its not going to break anything on the tractor if it runs into stuff. For in the woods you might just want to make a concrete barrel weight for the back.

 

[wwillson]

My dad was a farmer. He used to put some sort of water based mixture in the tractor's back tires.

Yes, I grew up on a farm. Farmers very cleverly called it "fluid". It adds weight for traction and stability, the downside is the added weight compacts the ground.

 

[BlakeB]

Yes, I grew up on a farm. Farmers very cleverly called it "fluid". It adds weight for traction and stability, the downside is the added weight compacts the ground.

It used to be a calcium based fluid but now we use a methanol and water mix, it is essentially windshield washer fluid according to our tire guy. It’s non corrosive or at least not as corrosive as the stuff they used to use, the calcium stuff would ruin a steel wheel in short order.

I think our guy uses about 1/3 of the methanol stuff and 2/3 water in our tires, if I’m remembering right. It’s been over a year since we’ve had to have one done. Here’s a pic of what he used the last time:

Edit: I also found this: