# grapple what type is most versatile and where is best price



## tom hoy

I just bought a new kioti ck4010 and i,m interested in a grapple what is the most versitile clamshell or the caged type with two separate clamps and most important who has best price


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## Thomas

Depends on what time of work you have to do.
Not to be a wise @ss more you spend the better the build...last longer.


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## Redlands Okie

Any idea what your trying to do ? Kind of work ? 

Picking up brush and limbs or loose debris in general the long tines at the bottom hold a lot when the top closes. 

Root type with short tines on the bottom dig better for roots and perhaps rocks. Works better as sort of a shallow plow. Probably not hold quite as much loose items. 

Picking up logs probably not matter which. 

Less weight means you can haul more. 
Closer spaced tines holds small stuff better but could add more weight. Depends on build. 

Single lid on top saves weight but perhaps does not hold irregular items or lots of bulk as well as a double lid. 

Every one has a opinion and it just depends on your needs. 

A screen or mesh in the back of the grapple is nice to keep limbs from poking through into your tractor.


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## Hoodoo Valley

I was at our local Kubota dealer and they had some brand, can't remember now but they had a heck of a deal. I know that Frontier sold at John Deere is a great brand, well made, still expensive on account of the fact that it touches John Deere's sales lot. If you have access to LS, (this is the brand name, they made many of the tractors for different firms and extremely competitive) they have about the most superb deals on well made implements like the clam shells and grapple loaders.


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## 515 Grove

Check everything attachments. They have good description of their design features to help you with your search. I am anxiously awaiting a 55 inch root grapple. I am expecting light weight yet high strength.


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## RC Wells

Hay grapple, rock grapple, root grapple, or overhead hooks for an existing bucket? They are all different, and have their own characteristics.

The overhead hook/clamp systems for existing buckets are almost always two different bent forks so they can grasp loads without bending a common frame. Can be handy, but if moving loose material like brush they can allow crud to roll back over the top and on the tractor.

The thing to be cautious of on a tractor is that rock and root grapples will easily exceed the pushing capacity of the front end loader frame. If you are looking for this type, most are skid steer quick mount designs and there are a number of US manufacturers with affordable pricing. A net search will bring up a host of choices.

If you are considering a root or rock grapple be sure you have the skid steer type quick mounting bracket on your loader frame. These implements do bend with use and can end up locked to the loader frame pins, requiring major surgery to remove if directly attached.

In either of these two types you will want the hydraulic clamps to be separate to avoid springing the clamp frame and ending up torching it off after it locks from grasping uneven loads. Also look at the spacing between the teeth/forks on the bottom platform. Sand uses narrow spacing, and loam requires wide spacing to allow the dirt to drop through.

For brush with logs, get one with log picker forks so you can clamp on to the end of a log and drag it out. Like in the picture.









Hay grapples are a different animal, as most are vertical squeeze clamps and as long as you do not exceed the loader and tractor front axle capacity you have a great deal of flexibility in choosing a solution. 

If you do not already have the third valve for operating a grapple or four in one bucket, you will be well advised to talk to your loader and tractor dealer to obtain the correct valve for the task.

There are electric add on third valve kits that are time wasters as the tilt will not work when the grapple is being opened or closed. Then there are OEM third valves that function as the tilt is being used. Do not attempt to use a rear spool to operate the grapple, it introduces "monkey motion" operator steps to the use of the grapple and can be dangerous in the event the grapple needs to be released immediately to avoid turning the tractor upside down (and, YES this happens with roots and rocks).


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