Anyone ever used on of these on their skid steer? www.Starhilljawz.com I have a ton of small brush & trees and the chipper/grinder rental thing isn't looking too promising. Oh, and for a mere $3,895. USD
Are those shears or just grapples? What is your goal for the brush you mentioned?
I have a lot of brush made up of 1-3" cedars and privet that is in real rocky soil. Trying to push them out with a dozer or bucket just rips the rocks (12-18" diameter) out and makes a mess. I'm thinking that this "grapple" will let me grab & yank. Their website sounds neat, but the sales pitch always does.
imho those do not look like something i'd ever add to the rental fleet. the jaws look far too weak, i'd expect to have them come back from hire seriously bent. the unit would be better in my view if it had some strengthening to the jaws and that the jaws actually featured some bite rather than a wavy pattern. I'd be hesitant to load the ends of them as is frankly... still, if they were cheap and you were prepared to modify them as usage proves then they are probably the goods. i note i didn't bother looking at the website, i'm sure it'll tell me they are the bee's knees but history proves if there is a way for people to break something they'll find it soon enough!!
I think I would go with shear type grapple that would cut the tree at the ground.That way you get rid of the tree's and no hole's to fill in.
That's a lot of money for a very job specific tool. If this is a one time operation for you, I'd invest in either a 4 way bucket or grapple rake. I've clamped on trees the size you describe with both the 4 way and grapple rake and yanked them out of the ground. If you wait for extremely dry weather, there will be very little dirt on the roots. with the grapple rake you can further crush the brush, and then run it over until it's compacted to the size you want.
Steve, I have a root grapple that is the handiest thing as sliced bread regarding moving & stacking brush. But I've had no luck being able to grab & pull like a rake can. Most of these cedars are 10-14' tall- only 2-3" diameter, but tall. They are so close together they're growing up rather than out. THere's some good feedback here, any other options??
I was/am really hoping to find someone on here that has used one. There are two questions here- Is it tough enough? And can a machine rated at 2,000# have enough umphh to accomplish anything? Anyone out there??
Shear My concern is how many grow back? And can one cut it close enough to the ground that stobbing a tire is no longer a concern? What make & model of shears are popular?
It looks like it's been quite a while since there's been any comments on this but for what it's worth they are awesome . I've had two sets , first set was used and after a neighbor borrowed them he asked to buy them and I bought a new set . They are absolutely tough as nails I've closed them and used them like a spade to break roots on trees that were really to big. Pulled steel posts, picked up big rocks and iron on clean up jobs. As far as cedars they are the ticket , pull them out then lay them away from you and pinch the root ball to dislodge the dirt and either leave for later pick up with a grapple or grab again and go to the pile. I have them on a 90 kubota and it hasn't torn them up , neighbor who bought the first set uses on a t190 bobcat and has pretty well cleaned up a farm with them . If you ever intend to clean up sprouts/brush with a skid steer they are the fastest , cleanest thing I've ever used and I have a Bradco root grapple that I thought was slick till I used these .
Also in response to the toughness concerns, the jaws are laminated. 1" ar main jaw with 1/2 welded to the bottom almost the same size as top
I have one made by CLFab. Used it to clear about 75acres of locust, bois darc, and cedars, most was so thick you couldn't walk through it. Very useful tool and still looks good as new. I use it to pick up or pull anything the root grapple is too big for now. Also works great for clearing cedars and brush out from under bigger trees or picking limbs off of fence rows.