Grapple Advice Needed Please

[MasterBlaster]

 

[rskybiz]

Good to hear it's going so well Carl but would expect no less from you

 

[lumberjack]

Thanks! It's odd to think I've been doing trees for 13 years as well as how far it has come in that time!

 

[MasterBlaster]

Thatsa mah boy!

 

[pantheraba]

So let me get this straight...if'n I go buy a good grapple truck I'll end up with a nice new truck, too???

I am ALL in fo dat!!

It's been fun watching you navigate the shoals.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

So reading this thread had inspired me to build another grapple truck.

Got a grapple crane sorted already and a chassis in the pipeline. 2 axle 18tonne cabover, going to rearmount the crane.

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[Levi]

Ah man, congratulations! I'm green with envy.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

I used to run 4 axle grapple trucks, 2 drive and 2 pusher axles.
As most of my work these days is much smaller, a 2 axle truck will be fine for my needs.
Should give me a 22k# payload.

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[Levi]

Very nice. We were looking at an Isuzu chassis that would have given us around 17k after the loader. About 22' stem to stern, perfect.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Of course you know you will have to share that build via pictures Ed.

 

[Bodean]

I seen some cheap ones. But this one looks good....flatbed, doubt it dumps.

 

[lumberjack]

I got the trailer in for the grapple truck in Wednesday and put it to work Thursday. While it will be too big to get into some areas, being able to move tree debris, the 70' lift, and a loader or excavator or CTL and Ex or whatever in one trip.

 

[Bodean]

Holy Moly, Guacamole!
Serious business.

 

[littlenick]

Is the trailer air breaks or electric??

 

[MasterBlaster]

Kingpin Carl!!!

 

[lumberjack]

I'm a dealer for Load Trail trailers, fwiw.


Nick, air brakes of course. I've got aluminum wheels to get mounted, maybe this week. It's a hydraulic dovetail, 30'er, tandem 15klb axles, and a remote control for the tail.

 

[littlenick]

Hawt damn! Thats a nice trailer! Are you going to put any kind of log bunks on it?

 

[lumberjack]

I might build some for it, but it's not a pressing need at this point as best I can tell. I'm not exactly sure how I'd design them.

(Thinking out loud)
Making C sections for bunks from square tubing is obvious. I could stack 3 on the front of the trailer with the bottoms to the front and not give up much of any hauling capacity, but then you need something to hold them in place vertically. Stake pockets are one idea, but not terribly robust. I could make a 3 bunk rack with framework in between that we could haul in the grapple truck on jobs that required it, but then again I could have some stakes for the pockets that yield the same result and are easier to transport and install. To get around the strength issue, just use more in the stake pockets... I'm liking that idea best at the moment.


This was the first job we used the trailer on, removing a failed oak and felling a pine. 2 hour job including working around the bees we found in the oak! We only needed the ex, which gave us room for the one chunk we couldn't fit in the truck.

 

[FJR]

That is sweet. How was driving the truck fully loaded with a loaded trailer? Do you end up having to use a few more gears?

 

[Merle Nelson]

Log bunks are plentiful and cheap in some parts of the country. Just buy them and chain down in place for use. A friend has to have logs 13 foot 6 inches on his self loading log truck. For shorter pieces he self loads on a third bunk and chains it in place.

 

[lumberjack]

That is sweet. How was driving the truck fully loaded with a loaded trailer? Do you end up having to use a few more gears?

Yeah, you split more gears as you row along, depending on how big of a hurry you're in, it comes naturally. Driving wise isn't much different, I spec'ed the trailer's wheelbase to follow the truck well (only slightly to the inside) of the truck's radius). The dovetail has a 4klb haul rating on the front half of the dove (10klb lifting capacity) so I got it two feet longer than my existing gooseneck dovetail.

I'm liking the idea of stakes in the stake pockets, perhaps 4-6' long. Aluminum stakes would be nice as well for reducing handling weight, thinking something like the European log truck's stakes. The idea behind the could stay on the trailer all the time and be there when I need them without being in the way.

 

[rangerdanger]

That is sweet. How was driving the truck fully loaded with a loaded trailer? Do you end up having to use a few more gears?

You definitely end up splitting a few more gears and jake braking a little more but generally its about the same as a loaded truck. Thats been my experience at least when I've pulled our pub trailers.

 

[rangerdanger]

And sweet set up Carl! You're really rolling deep now!

 

[lumberjack]

It depends on how heavy you are is the main thing I've found that changes the shifting, but the shifting is natural. When heavy, I'll split the low gears to keep the RPM up. Empty I can go 2-4-6-7-8-8 split.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Rollin fine Carl. Sweet set up man.
Hard to roll up here in the hills that heavy, but there are ways around the highways to keep the grades more gradual. Sometimes, not so much