Tooth fork and/or grapple?

[Dunbar]

I have a 55" EA Wicket Root Grapple on order for my new L2501. I have seen videos and testaments on this forum on the advantages of a tooth bar on the loader. Question is, will the grapple replace the functionality of the tooth bar or are they do different jobs? I have sandy soil with lots of roots in places. I see some folks leave the tooth bar on all the time so their must not be too many downsides to leaving it on.

 

[Beaudeane]

Don’t know on the tooth bar but the grapple is a back saving time saver. I have the 60” one. It has it limitations as far as the root rake part goes but will do a lot. EA was swamped and build time on my grapple was a couple months or more. Hope u get yours much sooner than I did. U are gonna love it when u get it home

 

[lordulrich]

A tooth bar and grapple (even one with a rake like the EA grapple) do different things. A tooth bar is really about making your bucket better at digging. The teeth act like little fingers that help break apart the soil as you start putting the edge into the soil. A tooth bar will help with ripping out brush and stuff but not really the purpose. The grapple is really for brush and stuff.

 

[Cpcareyct]

I got the 60" wicked root grapple

Its the best

 

[Hook]

I have an EA 60 inch wicked root grapple and it does an excellent job of pushing up brush and saplings. I also have a tooth bar on my loader bucket. The tooth bar works great on brush and saplings also. If the spot I'm clearing is gnarly and thick I use the bucket for pushing the brush into a pile and then move it with the grapple. I feel there is less chance of tearing up a hydraulic line or something else when using the bucket in heavy brush. I also use a box blade to help with the root removal after the area has been cleared. As others mentioned the tooth bar is also excellent for digging.

 

[edritchey]

I got a grapple and it came in real handy clearing brush behind my place in the woods. I was able to put a walking path in with the help of the grapple and the woods stump grinder got a nice area cleaned up.

 

[Dunbar]

Thanks guys. I'll put a piranha bar on the list of early additions.

 

[Creature Meadow]

Two different animals serving different purposes.

The tooth bar aids in digging and ripping small stuff up. Today I used my piranha tooth bar to dig 3 holes, rip some privets up at the end of my food plots and to break some limbs that were sticking out over the plots. I also used it to back drag a path that had some holes along it that held water.

The grapple is more for grabbing things, lifting, and uprooting roots.

The grapple would not have performed the needed tasks today.

Just 2 different beasts with different purposes.

The few hundred I spent on the tooth bar has been money well spent. So far my best investment for my L4600

 

[edritchey]

I've never used a piranha bar but I have and use on a regular basis a regular tooth bar that has replaceable teeth and it is awesome for what it was designed for and easy to put on and take off when not needed.