mini skidsteers and grapples

We had a Boxer 526 which was a great machine for about a year. Then we had a chronic problem of the lift arms losing pressure at inopportune times (lifting a big log into the trailer). We and, our local dealer, struggled with the problem for a long time (6-12 months) with NO help from Boxer. Finally it came out that Boxer admitted to the 526 being designed with a faulty hydraulic pump system, and that the model wasn't capable of handling the stress of tree work. I would not recommend Boxer to anyone due to their poor handling of our situation.

Now we have a Vermeer mini. I've been on it maybe 1-2 times. Our guys prefer it to the Boxer machines and the customer service is the best.

The Branch Manager grapple is the bomb. You need one.

And some forks.
 
Vermeer 600, pay the extra for the diesel motor and the rubber tracks. we have the vermeer brand grapple and it does everything we need it to do. manual swivel, 35 inch width, and I am amazed what it will lift onto our truck and dump trailer.
 
Most of the mini's cost around 20k and the grapples will run about 2k.

I lucked out and got a new Ram Rod for 8K on ebay though, so if you're patient, you can find really good deals.
 

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I also bought a boxer, the little 320. It fits through a gate and I too am surprised at what it can drag and lift. It is a great addition. The Branch Manager grappel works great!!!

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I bought the same combo. The Boxer was $10k.

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that is a cool little combo Dan.

You buy the Boxer from Dave?

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Thanks.

I tried to but Dave's company sent me to my local dealer. The branch manager came from my local dealer, too.
 
Dan got a great deal.

I have the old generation BM Grapple. It works well.

Call me crazy, but I didn't like the swivel action. With different contours in the landscape and the nobby treads, I found that the loads would bounce out of position a lot. I din't like carrying stuff through a narrow passage to watch the thing bounce out of place. And when it came to lifting the loads into the trailer, it would sometimes swivel and mess up the load. I had it welded permanently to haul perpendicularly to the mounting plate. It is rigid, but the loads never move.
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My preference would be to customize a 360 cont. rotation unit from scratch. From scratch, you can price out the parts very reasonably.
 
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When I replace my Thomas, the current plan is to get a Boxer 427 on tires.

Jamin, you's crazy!

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Carl. Why do you want a wheeled machine?

And thanks!
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I company I used to work for had a Bobcat MT-52 with a home-made grapple. The biggest benefit that we realized was being able to add an additional job on some days because we wern't as tired from dragging brush and carting wood.

The mini will definitely be your best employee, never late, doesn't piss and moan about the crappy bid or job from hell. It also works well when it's still drunk from the night before.
 

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Hey Zac. Did you help with the design of the grapple? I like the taller boom on that. Does the taller boom allow for the logs to rest the butt ends up against the attachment plate vs. under it? I can see this a benefit to have the lift all the way down to maximize lifting capacity.

But, I have 2 observations; the metal on the grapple itself looks like it needs to be beefed up. Mine bent up pretty bad. And secondly, the flat sheet metal, which attaches to the pins for the rams to open and close, should be replaced with channel. Mine also got bent up good. The channel will give no problems.
 

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I'm not really a fan of vermeer products,mainly because they seem to be built cheap.But I will check out there mini,maybe demo one.

That really sucks that boxer wouldn't stand behind one of there machines,but then again it seems most manufacturer's are like that these days.
 
Tires are easier on grass and a good bit smoother riding than Boxer's track tread. It's pretty rare that tracks would be an advantage for me, and the 427 is impressive in its practical lift capacity.
 
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Tires are easier on grass and a good bit smoother riding than Boxer's track tread. It's pretty rare that tracks would be an advantage for me, and the 427 is impressive in its practical lift capacity.

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True. They create a lot of vibrations...
 
Does anyone know if there is a company would makes smoother tracks to reduce tearing up lawns and vibrations. I've searched high and low online and I can't find anything...
 
Is there an advantage to a track machine vs. a wheel machine?If your mostly working on lawns (i think most of us are)why would you need tracks?tires are a lot cheaper than tracks and under carriage parts.
 
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