Wicked 55

[papajoe]

Seems like the older I get, the less I worry about the cost of something and the more I can see how much work it can take off of my aching body. Does anybody here know what I mean? That being said, I called Rick at EA this week and ordered a Wicked 55 and a W. R. Long third function kit. I don't know if this will save me any work or just coax me into more projects.

 

[S-G-R]

I know exactly what you mean and I did the same for my body in July with my little orange monster. I never heard anything negative about the Wicked grapple and I'm sure it will be a time saver.

 

[Bmyers]

I'm there with you. We went from chaining and pulling everything to using the Wicked 55. We have commented more than once how much it has accomplished and taken the physical work off our bodies.

 

[MOOTS]

Used my grapple and 2610 a good bit yesterday burning brush. Was talking to the wife around the fire over a beer, how did I do this before?! You will love the grapple!

 

[DeepWoods]

Seems like the older I get, the less I worry about the cost of something and the more I can see how much work it can take off of my aching body. Does anybody here know what I mean? That being said, I called Rick at EA this week and ordered a Wicked 55 and a W. R. Long third function kit. I don't know if this will save me any work or just coax me into more projects.

I put the same grapple on the front of my B2650 this spring, and it spent most of its time there, till I put the snowblower on yesterday. I'm in agreement, one of the best time savers one could spend money on. Your body will thank you for buying one. I didn't think twice about spending the money on my tractor and implements. Like I've always said, If your going to New York, why stop in Cincinnati.

 

[Nicfin36]

Speaking from my experience, it will probably be the best implement for your tractor that you ever purchased.

 

[bird dogger]

Absolutely agree with all the above! Now that the kids aren't around to help anymore, the grapple is a real game changer for getting things done by yourself.....quickly and easily. I installed the Summit 3rd Function kit on my B2650 for the same grapple. The W R Long instructions seem to be identical. With just a few basic skills and tools you can easily do the install yourself. There's a write up on my install of the summit kit here on OTT.

 

[papajoe]

My 3rd function kit came in yesterday. Will install it next week. Spent yesterday evening breaking up a 1 acre watermelon patch. Spent today rowing it up and planting kale, spinach, lettuce, collards, radishes and beets. I already have a 2 acre patch of mustard greens and turnips. My wife thinks I should cut back a little, but I'm thinking that I should go bigger.

 

[bird dogger]

My 3rd function kit came in yesterday. Will install it next week. Spent yesterday evening breaking up a 1 acre watermelon patch. Spent today rowing it up and planting kale, spinach, lettuce, collards, radishes and beets. I already have a 2 acre patch of mustard greens and turnips. My wife thinks I should cut back a little, but I'm thinking that I should go bigger.

My wife cleaned up her large garden patch earlier this week. Lots of pumpkin, squash, and tomato vines along with other garden greens and flower residue. That stuff does get quite heavy in those bulky piles so I offered to help tote them to the burn pile. Grabbed the tractor and the grapple and in no time flat all that residue was gone! No aches or pain, and in a matter of a few minutes. I put the tractor away and went back to my other duties. Later that night the wife said, "Boy that grapple is handy!" I said yup.

Papajoe, with your vegetable farming that grapple will be a godsend!!

 

[papajoe]

I installed my 3rd function kit this evening after church. I wish that all projects could go so smooth. It was really enjoyable work. Looks neat too. Now the hard part, having to wait for the grapple.

 

[diesellucy]

Seems like the older I get, the less I worry about the cost of something and the more I can see how much work it can take off of my aching body. Does anybody here know what I mean? That being said, I called Rick at EA this week and ordered a Wicked 55 and a W. R. Long third function kit. I don't know if this will save me any work or just coax me into more projects.

Rick and Ttravis are great people to deal with . i had some shipping damage to my brush hog. made a call to Rick and the parts were on there way. they even paid me to install them. EA is top notch

 

[Nicfin36]

Awesome, you're ready to go now. Not to sound like a know-it-all, but make sure you grease it before you use it. I don't think it comes greased. Also, I have learned that I need to be careful more so with a grapple than using a loader. Try to always grapple with the weight distributed evenly. Doing certain things, I realize I could possibly tweak the loader using the grapple because if weight shifts, it cannot fall away as with a regular bucket.

 

[papajoe]

I talked to Garrett at EA yesterday. He said that my grapple should be built early next week. No rain in the forecast for the next seven days. Just maybe......

 

[Nicfin36]

Hmm, don't hold your breath, but I'm rooting for you.

Tractor work for me is essentially over here. The clay soil here is a sponge and I call the soil gumbo. Just awful stuff. To even drive on it right now would be a big mistake.

 

[Bmyers]

I talked to Garrett at EA yesterday. He said that my grapple should be built early next week. No rain in the forecast for the next seven days. Just maybe......

The waiting was the worst part. Yet, once you get it and put it to work, you will quickly forget about the wait.

 

[rAzkid]

The waiting was the worst part. Yet, once you get it and put it to work, you will quickly forget about the wait.

It certainly is! I ordered mine a month ago and called EA yesterday to see if the 8 week wait time was still in effect and was told at least that. Bummer!

 

[Mossy dell]

Seems like the older I get, the less I worry about the cost of something and the more I can see how much work it can take off of my aching body. Does anybody here know what I mean? That being said, I called Rick at EA this week and ordered a Wicked 55 and a W. R. Long third function kit. I don't know if this will save me any work or just coax me into more projects.

Papajoe, how did you pick that brand? I have just started shopping for a grapple for my B2601. Incidentally, I notice that you got a B6100E in 1978. That is the year my father bought his in Florida for his retirement business, a nursery. It became my first tractor.

 

[papajoe]

I choose EA because of their reputation for quality and service. I've spent several months researching, on several forums, and have not encountered anything negative about them. The old 6100's are amazing machines. I have two gear drive and one hydro. I ran a 7ft. Ford sickle mower on one of them over many acres.

 

[BMC330]

Papajoe, how did you pick that brand? I have just started shopping for a grapple for my B2601. Incidentally, I notice that you got a B6100E in 1978. That is the year my father bought his in Florida for his retirement business, a nursery. It became my first tractor.

You can go to YouTube and watch Ted at Everything Attachments do real world test on his products. He puts a lot of effort into trying to destroy them to find the weak points in the attachments. He usually uses a tractor that is larger than the recommended rating. It is impressive that he takes as much pride in what they build.

 

[Nicfin36]

You can go to YouTube and watch Ted at Everything Attachments do real world test on his products. He puts a lot of effort into trying to destroy them to find the weak points in the attachments. He usually uses a tractor that is larger than the recommended rating. It is impressive that he takes as much pride in what they build.

I watched that video and took it to heart when I was using mine the last time. I figured if their big tractor couldn't hurt it, it should be OK on my L2501. I pushed two small tree stumps over, working them back and forth until they came up, and nothing got bent. So, it passed the test.