POOR MAN’S GRAPPLE VS GRAPPLE: WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE? ?
Thank you folks let's compare a set of Pallet Forks versus a grapple there's Pros and cons sometimes you hear pallet Force called a poor man's grapple but Can they really do everything a grapple Can do now I kind of came up with four Different major criteria maybe you guys Will think of something else Um but four criteria to consider if You're trying to decide between a set of Forks and a grapple so let's go over Cost requirements on your tractor Versatility and control of whatever it Is you're picking up okay so it goes Without saying you need to size whatever It is you're buying appropriately for The tractor right you can get forks for Big and small tractors same thing with The grapples you'll want to have Something that matches up with the Loader capacity all right because Whatever the weight is of the grapple or The forks you have to deduct that from Whatever you can pick up so if you get Way too big of a set of forks it's just Going to come off however much you can Pick up with those Forks the same thing With the gravel so Forks of course are Going to be a lot cheaper than a grapple And that's going to be for a couple of Reasons number one you really don't have Moving Parts yeah these tines slide I Left it right on here but a basic set of Forks is
Pretty basic by Design whereas a grapple You have well it needs to take a lot More stress out on the end so you have a Lot more engineering that goes into it Reinforcement you have hydraulic Cylinders that are on there too so There's just a lot more that's kind of Built in and engineered into the grapple Itself not to mention the extra Requirements to use a grapple that we'll Talk about next so there are a couple Ways though to make Forks a little bit More expensive and we actually have a Prototype here of our versaforks which They have a few more features built into Them they're going to be able to be Mounted on the front end loader and on The three-point hitch both so there's Just extra steel and components that go Into it costs a little bit more because Of that but gives you added versatility And of course if you want to step it up Even more you can get hydraulic Forks so That the tines just hydraulically shift Left or right or there's even side Shifting completely on the carriage There too and those can get really Costly and normally you'll see those on Bigger machines you know I have them for My skid steer you know for forklifts for Telehandlers for loaders all that kind Of thing now on the flip side with the Graph Apple there are some ways to get That cost down so we're going to talk
About those additional requirements that Are needed but if you want to avoid that Requirement and you have a quick connect A skid steer quick attach or a John Deere quick attach you can get something Called a brush Crusher it's a mechanical Grapple doesn't require those extra Connections and you can still have a Grapple-like function all right so Additional requirements you're going to Be looking at these hoses right here and They connect to another hydraulic Circuit that's on your tractor not going To be standard for most tractors out There Summit does include this third Function as standard but John Deere Kubota most of the oems out there are Not going to so you can add that on as An option when you order your tractor From the dealer or from the factory but Let's just say you have a used tractor You know you bought it second hand There's a hand-me-down or whatever the Heck it was and you don't have those Hydraulics you can get a cheaper DIY Solution from Summit Hydraulics website You save five percent with code GWT you Can get it done in about a couple hours All right and so I talked about it Earlier you need to have a quick attach In order to have a grapple or do you Well you see this gets your quick attach Here the John Deere quick attach over Here but a lot of folks again kind of in
The older tractors and or maybe their Dealer didn't tell them when they're Ordering it new they have a pinned on Bucket so you can't quickly take that Bucket off and put a grapple on or put a Set of pallet Forks on well Precision Manufacturing has a couple of solutions There you can get an add a grapple you Can get one that just bolts right onto Your bucket gives you a top jaw so you Can clamp down and secure a load and in Fact they also have an option for pallet Forks you can add on a grapple function To Pala forks too easily slides on and Off you do have to have the additional Hydraulic connection on there to make it All work but if you have a pinned on Bucket there's a solution for that If you're thinking man I really just Need a set of forks but maybe I want to Add on a grapple at some point down the Road maybe look to that added grapple For the forks too folks if you're Watching this there's a good chance you Own a tractor and you're going to need More attachments in the future check out What we have to offer at Goodworkstructors.com we sell and ship All over the country every day of the Week folks we are proud to be sponsored By rim guard Solutions a liquid ballast Weight it goes right inside your tires Completely hidden we're big on safety on This channel these tractors are just too
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You need to do a set of forks will work Just fine okay so I think Forks win the Versatility between these two you know Of course you can pick up pallets right And you can put whatever you want on a Palette right you can store attachments On there move them around if you have Softener pellets that you want to Stack Up and take down to your walkout Basement if you Want to take bundles of wood you know Piles of wood and move it from point A To point B in your big bins and moving Around it just goes on and on logs you Can move those around with pallet Forks Your swing set hang your deer up from it Whatever you want to do there's just so Many things you can do with pallet Forks The list is endless and everybody has Their own creative ideas and uses for it But I'll tell you nobody ever regrets Getting a set of forks okay so a grapple Not quite as versatile you know and some Folks never take their grapples off and They find ways or maybe their setup is Is a way where they just It works for everything right but a Grapple like this you've seen us kind of Rake along so if you're doing debris Cleanup you can a short bottom jaw Grapple like this you can kind of push Along the ground and just kind of rake And clean up everything you have this Bar in between here too
If you need to really kind of get into a Pile say you have a pile of logs like What we have it's really hard to pick Out the log you want with a set of forks And get it on there but with a grapple You can kind of reach down on top and Just pluck it off of there and easily Kind of reposition and re-center Yourself it's also going to securely Handle that load right so if you are Moving on uneven ground bouncing around Then I'd take a log for example where You're hoping you have the weight Centered on there but if something's Rocking a little bit because everything Is is moving and dynamic then it's nice To have a secure hold and clamp on it With a gravel now we've used grapples For a lot of different things right We've we've plucked rocks with it put it Along our driveway up there move Logs With it of course big old brush piles if You have maybe Trash cleanup you know we've got we've Got a pile of old old steel scrap or Whatever the heck it is from Generations Ago that's back in the woods I found Recently I want to get cleaned out of There I'm expecting a grapple is going To be the right tool for that kind of Work too so There's certainly a lot of uses for a Grapple and I don't want to Discount That at all but if I'm picking a winner
On versatility I'm going to give it to The forks now if you're thinking uh Mechanical grapple is not for me I don't Want to invest or deal with the hassle Of getting the extra hydraulics on there Well there is a electric grapple option As well and we sell that as an All-in-one kit you still have to have a Skid steer quick attach or a John Deere Quick attach but you get the wiring Harness you get a controller that goes On your joystick it's a do-it-yourself Solution you can have that all done in An hour or two and ready to go no trips To the dealer required okay as far as Control goes we alluded a little bit to It with kind of picking a log off the Top with a grapple that is a big benefit And the same thing if you want to set That log back down or it could be a Boulder if you want to set something in A specific spot you're going to have a Lot better chance to do that with a Grapple over a set of pallet Forks but You do have a little bit of control Right you have some adjustment side to Side on these tines so if you have Something that's wider that you need to Pick up or maybe you want to maybe there Is a boulder that you want to pick up And it's kind of like a sort of a Triangle paper cone shape and so you can Narrow these ties up a bit and kind of Scoop right underneath it and still be
Able to pick that up and carry it along You do have some ability there to do so But it's going to be hard to beat the Control you can get from a hydraulic Gravel all right so as far as what we're Talking about forks and grapples while We sell this stuff at goodworks Tractors.com we ship it all over the Country too so a set of pallet Forks These are our Versa Forks as of January 2023 there's still a prototype they're Going to be coming out in the future They're not available yet but I'm expecting them I don't know for sure Yet because we haven't finalized Everything they're going to be a little Bit more than our ultralight Forks that We sell from HLA a great option out There we sell standard Duty Forks heavy Duty Forks all that kind of thing for John your quick attach just a quick Attach and even Global quick attach on Grapples this is going to be the summit Grapple it's available from Summit Tractor's website an awesome grapple set Up we've done a whole overview on this One specifically it is made in the USA Which I really like too we do have a Couple other made in the USA grapples That we sell on our website from Worksaver again a hydraulic version and An electric version of that one we offer A lot of made to order very quick right Now just a couple of weeks turnaround
Time on Precision grapples that's where You can get that added grapple for the Bucket too if you want or even the added Grapple to the pallet Forks or just a Standalone hydraulic rifle they have That option as well and then again don't Want to forget about the brush Crusher Too another made in the USA option so a Lot of really good made in the USA Options we try to feature as much of That as we possibly can and we've done Videos on just about all this stuff or If we haven't there's certainly other Good content out there on YouTube and I'd always encourage you to check that Out before investing in a purchase like This all right so my own opinion you'll Have yours that's fine I think Forks Obviously win cost I don't think that's A debate requirements again I think Forks on a base set of forks are going To be winning the requirements game they Only need a quick attach versatility Again I'm going to give it to Forks not That grapples don't have a lot of Versatility But control which is critical A grapple is going to win that now Fortunately I'm blessed to have both so I don't have to decide and a lot of you Guys are too but it's a pretty common Scenario to start out with a set of Forks they're a lot cheaper and again You'll see the comments down below
Nobody regrets having a set of pallet Forks around and you can always graduate Up to a grapple down the road if you Need to so on that note I want to thank You for stopping by if you haven't Watched our other videos we have over 600 other videos out there so make sure You check those out and hit that Subscribe button down below to see more No matter what tool you use make sure You are planted firmly to the ground Have plenty of ballast wood on the Backside you'll get your jobs done Quicker and get home safe Foreign
