Went grapple shopping at the local dealer

[Old Machinist]

What a joke. The guy that met me in the showroom couldn't answer any questions or provide pricing without leaving me and going in the private office for a 15 minute consultation. He said they usually priced all grapples WITH a third function install so he had to figure out how to sell one outright. Throughout the visit he left me waiting 3 different times. They didn't really have what I asked for and prices were more than I wanted to pay. I wished him a good day and went on down the road.

They were sure wasting a salary on that person.

 

[Bee-Positive]

I hate it when that happens. Must be he just started working there this past Monday.

 

[pigdoc]

One of the gambits they use is to ask, "Is there any reason you can't buy this (implement/tractor/car) today?" I respond by asking, "Is there any reason you can't SELL it today?" I'm sure that's part of the standard training...

-Paul

 

[Jsjac]

I have stopped by a few tractor dealers looking at grapples and skidding winches.
I would say there are two kinds of dealers.
Ones that want to help you find what you need and one that wants to sell what they have ( used car dealers)

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

This year I called Everything Attachments to see how things sorted out after the previous situation where things caught up with them, They were up-front, honest, helpful, so I put down a deposit and they delivered sooner than promised with no issues and the grapple has the durability of a tank though is quite light. I'd give E.A. a call.

Regarding the previous situation, I was no fan of what happened, however also figure they're not going to be able to make things right without customers, so I made the decision to give E.A. a chance and they did deliver. Good for them as I like to see quality products manufactured in the U.S.

 

[trikepilot]

Been on the hunt myself. I just stumbled upon a sweet deal on a set of pallet forks this AM so my full attention is now turned to the grapple hunt.

Grapple University

Ok… before this devolves into a typical thread akin to motor oil preferences and other arcane hijacking, let’s just say that this is a request for generic info on grapples as a whole. Let's also qualify that this is for compact tractors of around 30hp and below (Small Ls, Bs, and BXs) as I feel...

www.orangetractortalks.com

 

[Old Machinist]

I drove over to the LS, TYM dealer today and bought a Ironcraft Economy grapple. It's a fair looking piece but doesn't have greaseable pivots and came with a tie rod cylinder and off brand hoses. It also cost less than half that of any other quotes I got so I probably got what I paid for.

I don't even have anything on the ground to pick up with it and should have very limited use for a grapple going forward so it's not likely I will wear it out. The only reason I am adding one to the Kubota is I'm thinking about letting my daughter and her husband have my John Deere and it's grapple.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

I have stopped by a few tractor dealers looking at grapples and skidding winches.
I would say there are two kinds of dealers.
Ones that want to help you find what you need and one that wants to sell what they have ( used car dealers)

I see you are in NH…if looking for logging anything, I would start at Labonville and I think they either would have it or give some solid advice for recommend where to go get what you need. I have positive experience with them in person when I have been driving g thru and on the phone with orders and needing some help figuring out what to buy. A bit of drive but Hudson in NY is outstanding customer service IMO. I am sure there are others but I have had great experiences at both places and stop in any time I am driving thru. Happy shopping.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

....I don't even have anything on the ground to pick up with it....

I thought I'd be doing mostly brush, until the excavator operator went M.I.A., then I was picking huge (for a BX) rock parts out of the ground, root balls, digging through rocky soil where the bucket wasn't a good option, etc.

Should I have had to: NO!
But reality was different than expected.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Good help is hard to find. Quit going to the dealer for attachments if I need one. Am cheap so used is good enough for me and usually allot cheaper.

 

[Old Machinist]

This is the Ironcraft grapple I bought at the LS/TYM dealer. SERG48 economy grapple they don't show on their web site. 4' wide at 290 lbs should be all I need. I have the cylinder shield and hoses off in this pic. The hoses that were on it were cracking so they supplied a newer set off another grapple. The guy got some dirt in one when he took it off so I stopped him from doing any more and told him I would clean it up and install it when I got home. It's a decent looking grapple but the pivot points don't have grease fittings. Pretty sure that won't matter for the little use it should get. I am going to pull the cylinder pins and grease them and I might pull the pivot bolts and drill and tap them for zerks.