Thinking of getting a rotating grapple attachment

[gorman]

There's a few brands out there and I don't know if anyone has feedback for a guy about to sink 8K into a piece of equipment. Branch manager, Ryan's, and Beever Squeezer are the only one's i know about. I live in RI so naturally this might have to be shipped.

 

[Saw Dust Smoken]

equipment

The rotating part will add more weight. If weight not an issue - go for it.

 

[husabud]

Skid steer or Mini? For the mini forget the rotator, it adds weight and isn't really needed because the mini is more maneuverable.

 

[treeoperations]

yo what machine ya running this on cause im looking at fitting one to my T190 bobcat but im going to custom build it as ive already put one on my 323 mini excavator.

those saying forget the rotator are nuts, ive run mine both ways on my mini digger and the rotator only adds 16kgs but it saves so much hassle.

if your on a skidsteer type machine if you aint running rotator you may as well just have a grapple bucket, itll be damn site tougher then a grapple.

 

[treeman75]

I have a BMG on my mini and it works great. You do not need a rotater on a mini. The best thing to do is call Dave at Top Notch Equipment. BMAttachments2010's Channel - YouTube

 

[treeman75]

I think This is the right vid.No Rotators on Mini Grapples - YouTube

 

[gorman]

I have an asv sr 70 and I currently run a grapple bucket on it but I have a hard time orientating the logs long ways with it and the less I skid on the lawn the better. That's why I am leaning for a rotator, I just drive straight in and grab the log no matter where it lays.

 

[treeoperations]

That vid is filmed in ideal conditions, that machine would be F***ED here in nz with out a rotator, he would have been faster with a rotator on that machine he wouldnt have to make extra moves to line up the material being chipped. he made it look like it wasnt needed cause it was working on a nice flat road, if all the jobs you americans do are like that id love to come work over there, cause here in new zealand we just dont have that much space to play with

 

[ihatevines]

I have top notches big boss grapple. Run it on a Kubota 520. (a 10000lb articulating loader). Feeds the hell out of our Woodsman 18x and Morbark 2400. Any questions just ask.

 

[treeman75]

That vid is filmed in ideal conditions, that machine would be F***ED here in nz with out a rotator, he would have been faster with a rotator on that machine he wouldnt have to make extra moves to line up the material being chipped. he made it look like it wasnt needed cause it was working on a nice flat road, if all the jobs you americans do are like that id love to come work over there, cause here in new zealand we just dont have that much space to play with

To have a rotator on a mini you have to have an extra switch installed and when you use it you cant use other functions. Its hard to understand how easy it is untill you run one. I have the same grapple on a s600tx and a rotator is a waste of money. I guarantee you I would be faster with my grapple than anyone with a rotator on a mini!

 

[outofmytree]

That was a good demo video based on my own experience with grapples and grapple buckets. I have the same mini skid steer and agree that a BMG (actually they are an intermercanto grapple sold by BMG) is an awesome tool. When the logs are just too big, we swap the grapple over to a grapple bucket which being closer to the machine gives about another 100kg of lift and allows you to lift trunk sections over 300kg into the truck if you juggle em correctly.

If I had to choose just one grapple then it would be the BMG you see in that vid. It is by far the most flexible useful attachment I own.

If you want to see my lil skid steer BP over 300kg check out this movie I made a while back.
MEGAVIDEO - I'm watching it if you can't handle ACDC then just skip to 4.05 for the lifting.

Aww what the heck. Just to balance it out this is a grapple movie I made about the same time to demo what they can do for my clients.
There's a tree in my dam! - YouTube