A no dangle grapple

[Jehinten]

There are old threads on here but nothing has been added to them in recent years pertaining a preferred mini skid grapple.
I currently have a knock around bmg and I do like it, however after owning it 5-6 years I am wondering about buying a different style to compliment it. The BMG is great for feeding chippers and snaking brush around corners, however I think a different style would work better for areas that are wide open and I no longer chip debris.

What is your favorite fixed grapple for brush and logs?

 

[Mick Dempsey]

Mine is made by a company called Klou, not available in the US.
But other companies make the same, has two useable position, ‘dragon’ and ‘bearhug’
You can use it loose for dragging, but it’s a bit limited at that.

 

[Jehinten]

Dragon and bear hug is simply rotated 90°? Does it use a locking pin to hold it there or is that a hydraulic function?

I like the ready to use towing adapter.

 

[Mick Dempsey]

Yes, you use a locking pin to hold it in position.
You can always not lock it and leave it free for dragging, but as I said, it’s not ideal for that.
But you can carry brush vertically.

 

[Mick Dempsey]

Heres a advertising thing for the newer version.
A lot of the photos he’s using are of me.
5 minutes long, worth a look.

 

[climbhightree]

Looks very similar to the Vermeer grapple with a few upgrades like bollard, hitch, and hose pass through rings. I wonder if the locking pin holds up better on it than the Vermeer.

I have always been a non powered BMG fan, but there are things I do like about the Vermeer grapple and this one too...I'd probably lean towards this one after watching video.

 

[Bucknut]

Yep- big fan of those center-routed hydraulic lines. We have ruptured our lines at least twice thru no real operator fault. Bad design. Hoses get pinched or stretched with the old BMG, which we have.

Lucky to have a Parker Hannifin shop nearby who can replace hoses in literally 5 minutes. But it’s not cheap.

 

[Jehinten]

I like the klou. However, I was originally thinking something along the line of these

I thought these might be better for cleaning up homeowner brush piles, or trees that are brushed out without cleaning up as we go. This happens fairly often with a grapple loader truck, as you don't have to sort the logs and brush afterwards and the brush offers a crash pads for logs reducing yard damage without having to rig.

The larger width should help straighten up brush that isn't exactly stacked neatly and the multiple tines might be better for picking up rakings.


Neither of these could do some of what was shown above, but I feel they might be better at some things too.


The internal routing of the hoses is nice too. Typically not a problem, but mine did get hooked on my mt100 at only 10hrs on the machine and ripped a hose as well as bent a bracket on the bobcat. That had never happened on the vermeer. Slight differences between the machines...

 

[southsoundtree]

I have a 8 y.o. bmg and got the grapple in the first picture for under $1000. It's been useful. I like it.
The grapple doesn't open far enough to be optimal.

I think that the second looks better.