lumberjack
Young man on the go
I thought I posted on here a couple days ago from my phone, but I guess it disappeared!
Some random thoughts on the subject:
I bought a big grapple truck, 76 yard bed, 500hp, 18 speed, tandem with a tag axle, rear mount 27' Rotobec 80 loader with a 76" Rotobec debris grapple. I'm also playing with the idea of building grapple trucks through Compact Equipment Store. It seems like a logical progression considering I usually try to sell what I use to do tree work.
Most grapple trucks are going to end up being roughly the same height as most loaders are going to end up being around 13' tall. I wanted to build the truck under 12'6" tall, but that's not terribly practical so I figured the bed height might as well be as tall as the loader (or a pinch higher to protect the loader).
If I was wanting a "medium" grapple truck, I would still want a tandem. I'm also a big fan of rear mounted loaders. I was on the fence HP/Transmission wise on my truck, but now that I have it, I would hate to be without. The truck will need a double frame or a hd single frame to take the stress of the loader. I prefer to have a smooth exterior for easier signage and the like. I've yet to sign mine, I'm repainting the bed and work has got in the way to finish that.
Loader wise, I'm planning on getting to a Palfinger Epsilon M13A98 which has ~32' of reach and can outfit Rotobec handily. Aside from the reach (and shorter retracted length with it's two stage arm), the protected hose routing is also alluring to me.
Even on a medium truck, I still think I would have a tag axle. A tag is behind the drives and a pusher is in front. With a tag you can move the drives farther forward, shortening the wheel base and making the rig more maneuverable. Also, you can still tow a heavy trailer behind the truck without overloading the drives or making the steer uncomfortably light.
I have a 30' pintle trailer with a hydraulic dovetail on order which will be here in a couple weeks. (I have a dealer license now for everything but new light vehicles). That trailer is going behind my grapple truck to haul two machines behind the truck so I'll have a one truck wrecking crew for most of our jobs. I can haul the lift with the excavator or track loader, or the excavator and track loader, as well as a mountain of debris in the truck and two people in the cab.
A medium sized truck could save a fair amount of empty weight, giving you more payload than a larger truck. With a rear mount you also have the option to tow a trailer to load debris in as well, although given my truck's size, that proved to be a little much to be practical for most jobs (155 yards combined) considering the empty weight.
Some random thoughts on the subject:
I bought a big grapple truck, 76 yard bed, 500hp, 18 speed, tandem with a tag axle, rear mount 27' Rotobec 80 loader with a 76" Rotobec debris grapple. I'm also playing with the idea of building grapple trucks through Compact Equipment Store. It seems like a logical progression considering I usually try to sell what I use to do tree work.
Most grapple trucks are going to end up being roughly the same height as most loaders are going to end up being around 13' tall. I wanted to build the truck under 12'6" tall, but that's not terribly practical so I figured the bed height might as well be as tall as the loader (or a pinch higher to protect the loader).
If I was wanting a "medium" grapple truck, I would still want a tandem. I'm also a big fan of rear mounted loaders. I was on the fence HP/Transmission wise on my truck, but now that I have it, I would hate to be without. The truck will need a double frame or a hd single frame to take the stress of the loader. I prefer to have a smooth exterior for easier signage and the like. I've yet to sign mine, I'm repainting the bed and work has got in the way to finish that.
Loader wise, I'm planning on getting to a Palfinger Epsilon M13A98 which has ~32' of reach and can outfit Rotobec handily. Aside from the reach (and shorter retracted length with it's two stage arm), the protected hose routing is also alluring to me.
Even on a medium truck, I still think I would have a tag axle. A tag is behind the drives and a pusher is in front. With a tag you can move the drives farther forward, shortening the wheel base and making the rig more maneuverable. Also, you can still tow a heavy trailer behind the truck without overloading the drives or making the steer uncomfortably light.
I have a 30' pintle trailer with a hydraulic dovetail on order which will be here in a couple weeks. (I have a dealer license now for everything but new light vehicles). That trailer is going behind my grapple truck to haul two machines behind the truck so I'll have a one truck wrecking crew for most of our jobs. I can haul the lift with the excavator or track loader, or the excavator and track loader, as well as a mountain of debris in the truck and two people in the cab.
A medium sized truck could save a fair amount of empty weight, giving you more payload than a larger truck. With a rear mount you also have the option to tow a trailer to load debris in as well, although given my truck's size, that proved to be a little much to be practical for most jobs (155 yards combined) considering the empty weight.
L
Levi
Guest
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #53
I was hoping you'd post on here Carl. That's a lot to go over but I will certainly heed any and all advice that you give. Thank you sir!
pantheraba
More biners!!!
haha...I had to read that several times to cipher it...I thought it was some kind of auto correct madness at first.
Enjoying your thread, Levi...some good info being thrashed out here.
lumberjack
Young man on the go
I'm sure I can come up with more! We had a storm two weeks ago so we've been slammed with that. Today I got the contract with the county to haul the debris from that storm which starts Monday. In between I'm getting married Saturday evening!
I would think about your budget, mine definitely went up from where I was first thinking, but I'm happy with here I ended up for my first truck. I can only imagine my next will more (newer chassis perhaps).
pantheraba
More biners!!!
And he CASUALLY mentions he is getting married!!!! Carl....you ARE a rascal. Congratulations, brother...glad for you.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
I was wondering where Carl was...
treebilly
Student of the Jedi. OH-7106A
Congratulations Carl. Enjoy the weekend
lumberjack
Young man on the go
Haha thanks guys!
Levi, another thing I would normally recommend is to put the loader far enough past the bed so when you spin around your seat/controls don't swing over the bed. It's not the end of the world if you don't but it also makes a jam up place to put 4x8 Alturnamats which are a jam up thing. I bought 30 whites a couple weeks ago and ordered 50 more blacks today. (I'm a dealer for them also). I'm going to double them up and drive the grapple truck across a soft yard to move ~5-6 loads of debris out to the street (so I can haul it for the county)
Levi, another thing I would normally recommend is to put the loader far enough past the bed so when you spin around your seat/controls don't swing over the bed. It's not the end of the world if you don't but it also makes a jam up place to put 4x8 Alturnamats which are a jam up thing. I bought 30 whites a couple weeks ago and ordered 50 more blacks today. (I'm a dealer for them also). I'm going to double them up and drive the grapple truck across a soft yard to move ~5-6 loads of debris out to the street (so I can haul it for the county
)
L
Levi
Guest
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #60
Yeah congratulations.
As we think about it more the budget definitely grows. It would be nice to have a truck that could make money if or when the residential work slows down.
As we think about it more the budget definitely grows. It would be nice to have a truck that could make money if or when the residential work slows down.
L
Levi
Guest
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #61
That's what I'm talking about, Dutch Door action!
SouthSoundTree-
TreeHouser
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2014
- Messages
- 4,941
Congratulations Carl!
lumberjack
Young man on the go
We have done a clearing job, 40 trees, took less than 18 man hours to remove them stump and all, for $6k. I like the grapple truck! It wold have been 12+ loads in my gooseneck dump trailer, adding at least another full day.
Thanks, Sean!
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
That's great, Carl, happy for the nuptials. You being a good daddy for those kids too.
Merle Nelson
TreeHouser
Ha, congratulations Carl!!!
lumberjack
Young man on the go
I have 30 whites, the 50 blacks were available now and I am in a hurry for them.
Thanks, Jay and Merle!
Thanks, Jay and Merle!
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Carl is the MatMan!
rangerdanger
TreeHouser
FYI, Eric has his 'baby' grapple for sale atm, KW T800, Prentice 120C loader, 20' box, tandem axle.
Keep it simple, Levi. Buy that truck. 
Dan Mayer who runs the rather legendary Mayer Tree Service in Mass., says, "when you are buying a piece of equipment, when you sign the note, if it doesn't about make you nauseous, you didn't buy enough."
Tree guys ask him, 'how can you afford to buy these massive cranes??' He tells em 'these cranes get so much work done so freakin fast, I couldn't possibly afford not to buy them...'
Same with your new grapple truck.
Dan Mayer who runs the rather legendary Mayer Tree Service in Mass., says, "when you are buying a piece of equipment, when you sign the note, if it doesn't about make you nauseous, you didn't buy enough."
Tree guys ask him, 'how can you afford to buy these massive cranes??' He tells em 'these cranes get so much work done so freakin fast, I couldn't possibly afford not to buy them...'
Same with your new grapple truck.
lumberjack
Young man on the go
I may sell them after I use them and replace them with whites. I'd prefer whites, but with all that we have going on currently, if I catch a break, I need to have the mats to use.
When I bought the first ones I was trying to decide between 30 and 50 (50 being the most on a single pallet). I went with 30 whites... should have went with the 50!
littlenick
TreeHouser
When purchasing a grapple truck I would recommend going as big as possible. A medium sized truck sounds appealing, but in reality another 5' is not really much when your talking about the difference between 37' and 42' (from tip to tip). You can change your axle placement and will be able to navigate the truck the same despite the change in length. If you are purchasing a new truck I would recommend calling Terry at Hubler Brothers, if you are purchasing a used truck I would contact Carl or Eric.
I built a grapple last spring. It has a 25' box on it, roughly 77 yards. Before you purchase a truck I would look into Colorado's Bridge law and see what you need as far as axle placement and see if you will need tag axles and how many you will need on the truck. Most grapples weigh roughly 43-45k pounds empty.
I built a grapple last spring. It has a 25' box on it, roughly 77 yards. Before you purchase a truck I would look into Colorado's Bridge law and see what you need as far as axle placement and see if you will need tag axles and how many you will need on the truck. Most grapples weigh roughly 43-45k pounds empty.
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