Anyone operate or have any experience with grapple/debris trucks. One like this: http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/detail.aspx?OHID=1497976&guid=EA0A254405884381A67CD3E5809C5147 Looking at possibly adding a grapple truck to our trash business. It would be a good compliment to our roll-offs. I just don't have any experience with any of these grapple loaders. Robotec, Prentice, Petersen, Nu Life, etc. Just looking for some feed back. Now here is another interesting idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92_Plz_iZwg&feature=related We have 2 tandem hooks and a grapple/box mounted on a hook skid would eliminate another dedicated chassis. The ones like this I have seen before have pony motors, something I wouldn't be to thrilled about. Any info would be appreciated.
I can vouch for the Prentice brand of equipment, it's been around for a long time. I worked on these and installed them on logging trucks in Michigan's UP back in the seventies. They usually went on International 5000 models with lengthened frames, which we did ourselves at the dealership. Generally on the log haulers the grapple assembly went on the back, but we did some mounted to the front. Most of these had a PTO driven hydraulic system, but front mounted systems were coming into vogue, I don't know why anyone would need a constant hydraulic source of power with a grapple. I'd suppose that either one of the two lashups you have pictures of would be much in demand in Texas and Louisana right now for debris clean up. Only disadvantage I see is that you always have deadweight whether empty or loaded. They are not cheap either.
I've had quite a bit of experience using these type trucks, except it was for the railroad. Norfolk Southern uses these types of trucks extensively for material handling of all kinds. The railroad versions of course have a Hy-Rail system for on-track use, and most have a magnet for handling metal materials. Working for two different railroad contractors I've operated Prentice, Hood, and Rotobec loaders and I actually like the them all, with a bit of favoritism to the Rotobec. The Rotobec is fastest operating with the Prentice a close second. Of course fast usually means you sacrifice power, so the Hood, while being the slowest, is the strongest I've run. The truck you linked to is bass ackwards in my opinion. For the most versatility and ease of use (not mentioning saving some nasty dents in the truck cab) the loader needs to be mounted to the rear of the frame. Not only is it easier to back into the area to be loaded from, a rear mount will also let you pull a trailer to double your haul capacity. Some food for thought on these trucks: Get a good operator - A poor operator will destroy the truck and bed in a short time. Spring suspension not air - Air suspension must be chained up (or religiously dumped) when running the outriggers down to prevent blowing the bags. Double Frame - There's a lot of stress on the truck frames, don't skimp on frame strength. Consider your working area height restrictions - With the seat folded and joysticks lowered, the last trucks I ran with Rotobecs were 13' 2". Here are some pics of the 2007 Sterlings with Rotobec Grapples I ran previously. With the rear towed cart, you can see the added load capacity of a rear mounted grapple.
Wow! That's an awful load of ties on that truck! Not too often you see a tandem flatbed bowed down in the middle. I forgot to mention that all the trucks we installed bunks and loaders on were double-framed by us at the dealership. That meant we had to remove everything inside and outside of the original frame, install the new rails, then redrill and remount everything. These were fairly massive undertakings in those days, but no one was making double-frame truck models at the factory level at that time.
I would be using this grapple for a refuse application, such as brush, bulky appliances, general debris, etc. We get requests for bulky item pick up from our customers that don't want or necessarily need a roll-off or need a way to mechanically load their debris. I have seen the Prentice loaders around a while in the logging industry. The Robotec also looks like a good unit. Just doing some preliminary searching and market research. There are few good used ones out there, sometimes you can find a used municipal unit that is in decent shape. Definetely not adverse to running something a little older. Thanks for the info.:thumbsup
If you are buying used , check truck frame very carefully. Over the years have seen a lot crack where loader is bolted to the frame
Check this out... might be what u are looking for http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/roll...m14QQhashZitem270284360137QQitemZ270284360137
here in chicagoland, cornerstone runs some of these rigs for construction site clean up. they provide home builders with a large round plastic container, they look like 2000 water tanks halved. every home or two gets a skip and the grapple truck empties it about twice a week. on a large housing site this really helps keep things kleen. they have a couple young guys on each truck, one driving, one running the grapple, they fly. load the truck heavy and transfer to a bulk semitrailer on site to keep from road running. super efficient and real clean.
Absolutely, those loaders have to be tough on the truck, especially with a careless operator. I searched Ebay and missed that one.:beatsme There was another similiar unit a month or so ago that had a pony motor that was not in as nice of shape as that one, they were trying to get $25K or so for it. I wonder what his reserve price is ....... That is another market we would target when residential building kicks off again. My roots are in residential construction as a kid cleaning up job sites for the ol' man. Smaller, multiple containers would make it easier to clean up and keep clean, the subs might accidentally throw their trash in them. I saw a company in Dallas that was using a front load truck and boxes for job site clean-up. I just think that the bulky type construction wastes would play hell on a front loader. The grapple and box combination would be superior IMHO.
Yes, that load is slightly overloading the truck. What makes the noticeable bow in the bed and frame is the Hy-Rail system. It greatly extends the wheel base of the truck, making it bow much easier. When the company is getting paid by the tie, you have to move as much as possible, as quick as possible. My normal loads are piled even with the truck racks, and that greatly reduces the swag. CM1995 - There's nothing wrong with buying used but do your homework. Like OneWelder mentioned, check the frame for cracks where the grapple mounts. I know of a Mack truck with a overpowered Hood loader that the frame has been broke/patched repeatedly simply because the loader is way too stout for the truck. Also check the entire front suspension for excessive wear or breakage. Some numbskull operators will run the outriggers out so far that they lift the rears off the ground, then drop heavy loads into the bed. This put a lot of weight and stress on the front suspension. A 20K front axle is much better if you have that option. I actually wouldn't recommend buying a used railroad-use truck just because of the heavy loads they are subjected to. A ready-to-go refuse truck will likely be a better bet because they are rarely loaded anywhere near as heavy as a railroad-use truck.
Here is another idea my partner in the business came across - To me it looks like alot of crane for a hook lift platform.
definatly gives me some ideas for a simple hook lift .I think they are getting as popular as bobcats are .
Grab lorry / truck In the UK we call um Grab lorries and they are a very big business, never seen one on a demount / roll-on-off though !
Yeah that was the first time I have seen that type of set-up as well. On my travels through Europe I noticed that the articulating crane is very popular. I don't think there is a flatbed or dump truck in Germany or Austria that does not have a Hiab. It seems you guys get maximum utilitization from the truck cranes with buckets, forks, rotators, etc attached. One of the things I like about the articulating crane is it's ability to fold up behind the cab out of the way. No need to move the crane to dump the box. If there was a quick attach for a grapple attachment, you could fabricate a place to store the grapple on the truck and have it when you need it. Of course weight would be an issue when hauling heavy boxes but there is always a third drop axle.:cool2 Not having any experience with this setup, I wonder if the articulating crane would be as efficient as the 2 piece "boom type" loader I posted above? What type of articulating crane is the most popular in the UK?
For the service u are thinking of here, we have a special solution here in Norway. The transport firm got some trucks with 4 axles, often a triple at the back. Then they got some boxes with console holes at the back. A timber crane with a grapple on is mounted on a console and mounted into the box. Hydraulics is prepared with quick couplings at the back of the truck frame. Often the same as the ones for a trailer dump. A trailer is towed adding extra payload. If u need to empty the box u just park the crane on its legs and with the arm on the cround. Empty the box and connect the crane again. Found a example of the solution. Wount say that this is the most common wheelbase and crane. But it shows the solution, the console and the consept. Normaly they use a bigger box, a timber crane with a seat up on the crane and another type of truck. And this solution only adds a hydraulic line to the back, if its not there already. Here's also a pic of a parked crane, and the guys connecting one. Takes minutes to park/reconnect it.
I didnt even register that it was a boom type loader, then I see that is what MKTEF has in his post. I would say Palfinger, Atlas & Hiab are the most common or at least the ones that spring immediately to mind and all knuckle booms as you call them. An 8 wheeler I have been loading this week is a grab wagon and the first I have encountered where the bucket has been left in the yard and the arm folded out of the way behind the cab.
Around here u will rearly see a boom type on a crane truck.(they use folding types) The boom type of cranes are used on boxes like i posted and on timber trucks. The boom cranes are far quicker than the others. Like a turtle and a rabbit. Surch for timber loading on youtube and then u get to see some loading action with those type of cranes. Those type of cranes is also more stable when parked on the ground, because of the weight stretched out laying on the ground. Drawback is reach, as the timber lays close to the road u don't need reach to load it.... And Rob; the ones i've posted is folding cranes. Here is a short clip: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=vNMvScV4ieQ
grab lorry here is one i pilot sometimes at weekends sorry about the quality it was taken with my phone this has a hmf crane which is designed for this type of work cheers graham
MKTEF, that is a pretty slick setup, I have never seen anything like that before, thank you for the pictures and info. :thumbsup Now you have me thinking............. I know you guys "across the pond" have more experience with this concept and I appreciate the info. Of course more pics of the lorry grabs, please.
I found some pictures of my old hi-rail truck and that was one thing that I liked was where the front gear is mounted on it. I also found one of a load of logs I took off of a log car on its side. I thought I had one of it loaded with ties also but I can't find that one.
the company i work for has a chain type roll off truck with a crane type thing mounted to a flat bed roll off. we use this rig to set up our side boom cats at train wrecks i have ran it to set all the counter weights many times and it works very well. ill see if i can find some pics of it tomorrow.
That setup is slicker than whale poop off of an ice floe!
I have a 25 yard bed with a prentice loader on it. Its a dedicated grapple truck just like the first picture. It comes in REAL handy. The last few weeks I have been averaging 10 runs a week with it, and thats only running it 2 days. The other days im busy with other duties. A friend of mine has the setup though, he has 2 tri axle sterlings with galbreth rolloff hoists. When they bought the trucks they got extended frame trucks and had prentice loaders mounted on them as well. They can use the trucks as regular rolloff trucks (they have 12,20,and 30 yard boxes) as well as a grapple truck. When picking up concrete they leave a 20 or 30 yard can on it, but when its brush or trash, they pull up the 58 yard boxes they had fabricated by the same company who makes the rolloff cans. I have driven the trucks, and they can haul a LOT of debris fast. We cleared over 600 yards of debris in just over a day with the 2 trucks running and the dump was almost 30 miles away.
sundays work here are some pictures of the grab lorry i drive at weekends some times ,sorry for the quality but it was rainning and taken with a camera phone
Here you go CM some on rigids some on artics, grabs, block grabs and folded cranes, all from drive bys, wonder how I get any work done Not the best shot but both these trucks have arms on them, with the arm at the back it can load the trailer it is towing Our manual handling laws have led to a massive increase in palletised loads so cranes and attachments have become very popular to service this demand These two are more what you are after, grab loaders on tippers Heres a better shot of a rear mounted loader, as I am sure you are aware the grab bucket, block grab or hook are just an attachment like exc have different buckets, breakers etc
neatly folded Heres a couple on artic units neatly folded away :cool2
AAWWW, Rob, What cute little knuckle booms you got there.
Thanks for all the pics and info!:drinkup Unfortunately, due to the current economic situation, the grapple truck division is on hold. We have decided to expand the front-load business as it is the only one with any growth. Hopefully 2009 will be a better year.:usa
Now that might be a problem ................................. not many of those go by on the motorway to grab pics
I work for Petersen, so I'd say it's a pretty good unit. We've been doing the hooklift setup since about 97, although I would recommend the cable style rolloff as a little less expensive. What's a "pony motor"? What application were you planning on using this for just storm debris, or C&D as well?
The truck pictures was a municipal style grapple truck. It's set up better for street use. You can't hit the truck cab because in most cases the manufacturer limits rotation so that you can't swing over cab. It's also quicker to get to the operator's station with that set up. You just step out of the truck cab and onto the walk-thru platform. Keep in mind that a municipal style grapple truck is set up for route loading where the operator is back and forth to the operators station all day long, so top mount style seats don't work out so well. Height of a standard muni style grapple truck is only about 11'3" without moving any parts around.
I agree they are less expensive but we run 3 hooks currently and of course all our cans are set up for hooks. It's what we call an auxillary motor for an attachment. The majority of it's use would be C&D applications. We recieve a fair amount of calls for "load and haul" type jobs where taking a skid and a can out wouldn't be warranted. Now we just need the economy to get better.
Grapple truck (trash loader) This is what I operate on a daily basis. ointhead
that's a cool truck. and it looks like you are in a beautiful area, with lots of cool tropical trucks. so the bucket picks up debris on the roadside and you load it into the truck that way. where do you have to take it to dump?
We have two styles one called a satelite truck that is a trailer unit the other like in the picture is just a straight frame.All the waiste we pickup goes to either the landfil or the waist to energy plant on Hwy 231 bay county Fl
so the biomass gets burned to produce electricity? that is very green. don't know if i can handle that. what kinda stuff you pick up beside the road? don't residential and business customers have to fill the garbage in containers? How do you handle that with the grapple truck?