Everything Attachments - Bankrupt?

[mcmxi]

GreensvilleJay,

My needs are bit of both. Roots on invasive Russian Olive and massive piles of thorn, brambles & blackberry that cover over an acre of my property.

It was along along my fence lines & several massive patches that I’ve cleaned up w chainsaws, loppers, steel rakes & machetes. The fence lines are now nearly completely cleared.

Also, my property is surrounded by woods on 2 sides - so I’m often dealing w downed trees after storms. In the past, I’ve used chainsaws and cut them into rounds where they fell and then loaded my trailer & truck w rounds to take to the splitter by my shed.

I’m thinking a grapple will simplify both uprooting grabbing invasive brush while saving my back moving longer lengths of cut trees to the splitter (or burn pile depending on the wood type)

Please keep it coming, I’m grateful for the input.

Take a look at IronCraft. I own an EA Wicked 60 which is great for me, but this company has a lot of models to choose from. I don't know if they're making these or buying them, or a combination of both, but IronCraft has had a good reputation.

Grapples

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IjxoMT48c3BhbiBzdHlsZT1cImZvbnQtc2l6ZTogMzRweFwiPklyb25DcmFmdDxicj48L ...

www.ironcraftusa.com

 

[bird dogger]

GreensvilleJay,

My needs are bit of both. Roots on invasive Russian Olive and massive piles of thorn, brambles & blackberry that cover over an acre of my property.

It was along along my fence lines & several massive patches that I’ve cleaned up w chainsaws, loppers, steel rakes & machetes. The fence lines are now nearly completely cleared.

Also, my property is surrounded by woods on 2 sides - so I’m often dealing w downed trees after storms. In the past, I’ve used chainsaws and cut them into rounds where they fell and then loaded my trailer & truck w rounds to take to the splitter by my shed.

I’m thinking a grapple will simplify both uprooting grabbing invasive brush while saving my back moving longer lengths of cut trees to the splitter (or burn pile depending on the wood type)

Please keep it coming, I’m grateful for the input.

Dusty, There is no doubt that having a grapple will make easy work of clean up duties! "BG" (before grapple) our two young sons and I would cut, load, and haul the brush/trees and then unload at the burn pile. When the boys graduated and moved out, I bought my EA 55" grapple. Now "AG" (after grapple) the cleanup is a breeze and the less time it takes is unreal. There just is no comparison between how much hand labor is involved compared to using the grapple.

Here's a couple of pics of feeding the burn pile and what the grapple can grab and haul. Sometimes it would be nice to have a tractor mounted periscope to aid in maneuvering through the woods with your load!!

 

[Dusty71]

Bird dogger, EvilTwin, mcmxi & MapleLeaf

Great feedback all

Your pictures attached are exactly how my truck & trailer look after hours w the chainsaw, machete, rakes etc …

Like you, my 2 teenage sons abandoned me for college & now I’m doing all the work by hand - just back breaking & brutal.

That picture is exactly what my goal is w the grapple - plus being able to move felled tree lengths that I’ve cut & need to be cut into rounds & moved to the splitter.

So the big question now seems

1) Root Rake Grapple
2) Root Grapple

I think the longer tines on the bottom may be a game changer w thorny bushes, briars etc …

I guess the question for you all is - is there a grapple that offers best of both worlds?

Or is it too bad - you need a cpl grapples to attack your brush piles, thorny / overgrown / invasive bush piles & another 1 to move 6 - 10 foot lengths of cut trees …

Please keep the comments firing away.

 

[Dusty71]

Birddogger,

Your picture is exactly how my truck & trailer look after hours w the chainsaw, machete, rakes etc …

That picture is exactly what my goal is w the grapple - plus being able to move felled tree lengths that I’ve cut & need to be cut into rounds & moved to the splitter.

So the big question now seems

1) Root Rake Grapple
2) Root Grapple

 

[Daferris]

I have an EA 55" that I have an extra horizontal bar welded in near the bottom to shear off the vines and thin roots.
The long or short bottom tines more a personal preference as both will work. I like the short bottom root rake style as I find it more useful in ripping out.
The one thing that I have found to be worth the money is the serrations on the tines as it helps hold very large loads from slipping. Attached is the photo of the mod I did to my grapple it really works well for what I use it for.

 

[mcmxi]

I have an EA 55" that I have an extra horizontal bar welded in near the bottom to shear off the vines and thin roots.
The long or short bottom tines more a personal preference as both will work. I like the short bottom root rake style as I find it more useful in ripping out.
The one thing that I have found to be worth the money is the serrations on the tines as it helps hold very large loads from slipping. Attached is the photo of the mod I did to my grapple it really works well for what I use it for.

I tried getting some steel shipped out from EA when they were offering the upgrade to the Wicked 55 but they wouldn't ship a section of material that I could cut and weld into my Wicked 60.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Bird dogger, EvilTwin, mcmxi & MapleLeaf

Great feedback all

Your pictures attached are exactly how my truck & trailer look after hours w the chainsaw, machete, rakes etc …

Like you, my 2 teenage sons abandoned me for college & now I’m doing all the work by hand - just back breaking & brutal.

That picture is exactly what my goal is w the grapple - plus being able to move felled tree lengths that I’ve cut & need to be cut into rounds & moved to the splitter.

So the big question now seems

1) Root Rake Grapple
2) Root Grapple

I think the longer tines on the bottom may be a game changer w thorny bushes, briars etc …

I guess the question for you all is - is there a grapple that offers best of both worlds?

Or is it too bad - you need a cpl grapples to attack your brush piles, thorny / overgrown / invasive bush piles & another 1 to move 6 - 10 foot lengths of cut trees …

Please keep the comments firing away.

What machine will you be using it with?

 

[Dusty71]

What machine will you be using it with?

A Grand L4060. I haven’t bought the tractor yet … I’m saving to knock out 50% & finance the rest.

 

[The Evil Twin]

A Grand L4060. I haven’t bought the tractor yet … I’m saving to knock out 50% & finance the rest.

Ah, ok. Yeah, a root grapple will be OK. I just asked because they do weigh more than a root rake. Don't want to give up too much lift capacity. You'll be fine there.
FWIW, my 2501 tops out with 15' of 22" diameter oak trunk using a 55" root grapple. Got it about a foot off the ground before she said "no more". Same one Maple Leaf has.

 

[Dusty71]

Ah, ok. Yeah, a root grapple will be OK. I just asked because they do weigh more than a root rake. Don't want to give up too much lift capacity. You'll be fine there.
FWIW, my 2501 tops out with 15' of 22" diameter oak trunk using a 55" root grapple. Got it about a foot off the ground before she said "no more". Same one Maple Leaf has.

Evil Twin, you wouldn’t perhaps know an old work friend of mine Bernie would you?

I’m tracking what you’re saying & I am grateful to you & other folks helping me sort through this information overload.

Thank you.

 

[Elliott in GA]

FWIW, a grapple may not be as effective against brush, especially thorny brush, as you might expect - at least as a tool to uproot the plants. For uprooting plants/bushes, I have found my bucket with a tooth bar to be more useful - privet hedge is a prime example. My soil is hard clay with lots of rocks; plowing along with a grapple leaves lots of plants/roots behind.

My grapple is amazing effective when used to claw down and drag out vines, brambles, multiflora rose and etc. I clawed down (grapple extended with front curved below the bottom) 5 foot tall multiflora rose patches by moving the grapple to the ground, and then putting the loader in float while backing up. These were patches that were so dense that I could not back into them with my rotary cutter. Afterwards, I use the rotary cutter to grind up the piles. and the remaining stems in the ground.

 

[Dusty71]

FWIW, a grapple may not be as effective against brush, especially thorny brush, as you might expect - at least as a tool to uproot the plants. For uprooting plants/bushes, I have found my bucket with a tooth bar to be more useful - privet hedge is a prime example. My soil is hard clay with lots of rocks; plowing along with a grapple leaves lots of plants/roots behind.

My grapple is amazing effective when used to claw down and drag out vines, brambles, multiflora rose and etc. I clawed down (grapple extended with front curved below the bottom) 5 foot tall multiflora rose patches by moving the grapple to the ground, and then putting the loader in float while backing up. These were patches that were so dense that I could not back into them with my rotary cutter. Afterwards, I use the rotary cutter to grind up the piles. and the remaining stems in the ground.

Elliot, thanks for the great intel. I’m going to add a Piranha tooth bar to the bucket … based on your experience - sounds like that may answer the mail.

 

[Daferris]

I tried getting some steel shipped out from EA when they were offering the upgrade to the Wicked 55 but they wouldn't ship a section of material that I could cut and weld into my Wicked 60.

I ended up paying for mine. Forget but think it was $75+- Not sure if it was a limited time but it's too late now. However It probably would not be too hard to duplicate I have a 4"+- piece left over that I could send you a drawing of if you want to pm me your email. Should not be too hard to get a bit of AR 400-AR450 to make it up with. As I recall each section is only about 8-9" long. The cutting has to be done with a plasma cutter is the only issue but in short sections it's not that tough to do.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Evil Twin, you wouldn’t perhaps know an old work friend of mine Bernie would you?

I’m tracking what you’re saying & I am grateful to you & other folks helping me sort through this information overload.

Thank you.

Hmm.....Bernie. Possibly, if he is a track addict. Lol. It's a small circle. You're not too far from me, or my home track- Summit Point.

 

[TheOldHokie]

Hmm.....Bernie. Possibly, if he is a track addict. Lol. It's a small circle. You're not too far from me, or my home track- Summit Point.

Know the Minors? They have been Summit Point regulars for decades. Flagging and timing, never driving.

Dan

 

[Dusty71]

Hmm.....Bernie. Possibly, if he is a track addict. Lol. It's a small circle. You're not too far from me, or my home track- Summit Point.

Oh he’s a track addict & a great guy. Please tell him Justin B from the HK days said hi.

 

[DDCD]

I was one of those that was trusting because I'd met the owner and saw the plant where they're made and had no reason to expect them to go bankrupt before delivery. I thought the reason for a 4 month delay was because they were so busy buy now it seems they were already having problems even before I ordered mine.

I beg to differ that nobody wins in this thread. If I can help just one trusting person from losing their hard earned money like me, then I think that's a big win for that person. I would hate to have someone else lose money. And maybe by others reading this they won't allow a company to take payment in full before delivery. I know I will never let it happen again no matter how much I want something!

I'm sorry I offended everyone with asking to close this. I was referring to the pattern of this thread and others involving ea.

Paying up front is dumb
No it's not you don't understand
Buy homestead (also requires upfront payment)

Repeat

 

[FTG-05]

My thanks to Admin and Mods for not killing this thread. Aw fuck it: [insert beer icon here]

 

[The Evil Twin]

Know the Minors? They have been Summit Point regulars for decades. Flagging and timing, never driving.

Dan

SCCA crowd? They used to flag our motorcycle races years ago. And pick us up when we fell off. Lol. Really good people.

 

[Daferris]

SCCA crowd? They used to flag our motorcycle races years ago. And pick us up when we fell off. Lol. Really good people.

+1 For SCCA also a shameless plug from a T&S chief for 2 different clubs and VSCDA in Michigan. Want to see a race plus get fed really good food (especially the BBQ dinner Sat nights at Grattan with WMR). Plus get a small stipend for gas (unless the car count stinks). Come out to GingerMan near South Haven May 4th & 5th for the VSCDA Spring Brake. Grattan Raceway near Grand Rapids (Belding, MI) June 15 & 16 for the WMR-SCCA regional. GingerMan July 6 & 7 for the SBR-SCCA Majors, Friday July 19 for the MotorSate Challenge (I need help in the tower with T&S) That's part of the Optima Ultimate Street Car series. and again at GingerMan July 27&28 for the SBR-SCCA Regional. In August VSCDA has a 3 day race at Grattan August 9,10&11 followed by the WMR-SCCA Majors on Aug 17&18
You do not have to be a member of VSCDA or SCCA to come out and help staff the race. We will VERY gladly train, welcome and feed you. It's getting harder to attract enough folks to staff all the corners, tech, race control, Course marshals, TIMING (Don't forget in T&S we have a roof over our heads and A/C LOL). It's a great way to have a fun weekend, meet new people and see some really good racing. A lot of the workers are getting up there in years and we really can use help. Even if your not near Michigan check out www.SCCA.com to find a region near you. The SCCA hosts around 2,000 events across the USA even if you only go once to check out an event. It's a great way to see/learn something new. most all of the regions have a website with a contact page. The "Race chair" or the "RE" (Regional Executive) are the best contacts as then can get you with the chief for the area that you would like to try working at.
Again sorry for the hijack but Nationwide ALL of the clubs are looking for volunteers to help!!!