treeman75
Addicted to ArboristSite
I am buying a grapple truck and looking for some input on them. I am not sure if I want one with a single or double axle and not sure on the brand of loader. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
grapple truck help
- Thread starter treeman75
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2treeornot2tree
Dont cry, just do it
I would get one with the biggest capacity that you can expecially if you have a cdl. It doesnt take long to rake up the pounds with logs.
treeclimber101
UNCLE BUCK
I saw a grapple trailer working Friday on the side of route 70 towards LBI grabbing up 20ft or so pine logs , granted they were match sticks but that grapple moves lightning fast and can grab them almost 15 ft from the trailer , I mean I was jealous for a minute , sat there and watched the guy til the trailer was full and cruised past and told how impressed I was 
capecodtree
ArboristSite Operative
grapple
go ten wheeler, mack, rear mount, log bunks. you can do alot more than haul logs with the right operator.
go ten wheeler, mack, rear mount, log bunks. you can do alot more than haul logs with the right operator.
treeman75
Addicted to ArboristSite
I know a guy that has a grapple trailer and it seems to work ok. I have decided to buy a grapple truck just not sure how big of a truck to get. Some guys have a single axel and some have doubles, just looking for input. I have my CDL too.
mattfr12
The Bulldog
Tandems get heavy on driveways i have a tri-axle with a prentice and the regular knuckle boom. your not gonna put that tri-axle on a driveway the smaller k-boom with 38kGVW has never had a problem with a driveway truck weighs 21-22k. Tandems plates in PA are like 1200 a year insurance and everything is more. I can haul a solid 10-12 ton in my single axle 4400. It has an engine brake that helps out a whole lot.
When I'm hauling a lot of wood i pull a 22gvw dump trailer behind it and can haul more than a tandem. Trailer has air brakes, haul close to 20 ton between the two 17-18 comfortably.
When I'm hauling a lot of wood i pull a 22gvw dump trailer behind it and can haul more than a tandem. Trailer has air brakes, haul close to 20 ton between the two 17-18 comfortably.
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mattfr12
The Bulldog
Call up timberland jack mounts the 80.2 model for right around 20 grand if you have a decent truck to put it on he has them in stock and can slap one on in a hurry with top seat controls and around 30-40 feet of reach. Put some pictures of the big boy in here for you to but we don't use it on much residential its just to heavy especially once you start loading it. my kboom if you don't get stupid with it is hard to overload you cant get enough wood in the bed endless you heap it up like a mountain. ive had it packed with oak and only weighed in at 36k. the tri-axle i can get 20 ton on it in a hurry with the stake body.
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You got any pics of that tri-axle with the prentice loader we can see ??
mattfr12
The Bulldog
ya i just posted them above along with some of the kboom and hooklift. i keep looking for them on my comp and putting them in photo bucket the advertisements really tick me off every time i upload something someone is singing in an ad.
What jobs do you mostly use the prentice loader on??
mattfr12
The Bulldog
the prentice is alot faster but cant lift half of what the kboom can. and only goes out like 22 feet.
mattfr12
The Bulldog
we do a lot of tree removal like in some places 50+ trees sometimes hundreds for development and other reasons so it has hauled some wood in its day. We are cutting roads for gas drillers almost 24/7 at the moment. we have taken out hundreds upon hundreds just on one road.
in residential situations ill go out with it to grab the but logs at the end of the day. but we usually use it for when we are doing alot of removals in one spot.
With the amount of wood it hauls if you made that truck dump it would destroy any dump body you can put on it. id have the sides blown out in like a week.
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mattfr12
The Bulldog
That truck was more of an impulse buy local logging yard was going out of business and it had low miles on it so i picked it up at a pretty good price. I wouldn't get rid of it now we use it for all kinds of stuff. Another mill will pay for us to haul wood off sites for them with it. If i remember correctly its an 2004 or 2005. its got 425hp and a 13speed truck is a rocket ship. Plus we use huge chippers like the son of a beast bandit on some jobs we need a truck like that just to tow that kind of crap around. I need air out of the back for most of the stuff i tow other than our smaller chippers.
i dont think you need a tandem tho a heavy spec single is gonna be a lot cheaper for you to own endless you want one for sure. i think the plates for the tri axle are a few thousand a year.
i dont think you need a tandem tho a heavy spec single is gonna be a lot cheaper for you to own endless you want one for sure. i think the plates for the tri axle are a few thousand a year.
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How much does a truck like that usually cost ??
mattfr12
The Bulldog
The tri-axle i got for 60k it had 60-70k miles on it when i got it. new they are closer to 140-150- the truck alone without loader is worth over 120-130 new with that kind of HP.
Nice looking truck.
mattfr12
The Bulldog
thank i appreciate it
if you get a single axle setup do your self a favor now and put a small enough body on it so you cant go over weight easy :msp_biggrin: we run tandem setups and we got caught once 3K over and it wasn't even heavy wood and we have been weighed a few more times since and we are always just under and we don't even load the trucks full anymore... just curious whats your budget for the truck? and is the difference in cost of plates and 4 extra tires that big of an issue for you, to the point of that making the decision for you?
mattfr12
The Bulldog
Tandems just get big for residential, sometimes your better off making more trips. I say this and i own single axle, tandems, and tri-axles. anything bigger than the single's don't go on driveways. tandems weigh in around 25k empty with a decent sized bed on them so keep that in mind, my Bucket truck weighs 16-17k. Thats why i don't have a whole fleet of tandems i don't really feel like i cut myself short by running a lot of single axles. hauling close to 10-12 ton is good enough for me. Also your not gonna get a decent tandem to cheap big price difference between a single ive found cab and chassis with 100-150k miles for 40-50g's that where in ok shape 2005-2007, you can save around 10-12k on the single.
