Root rake or flat bottom (rock) grapple?

[deerdown]

What do you guys find most useful day to day?

Thinking about a rock grapple to move trees and pile up.

It "looks" like a flat bottom grapple would allow more material to be moved, but I've never used either.
Something like in the pic is what I'm thinking..


Or, is there something else that works as well, but has more usefulness for other things?

The attachments I currently have are a toothed bucket, and tree shear.

Tree puller is on the list, but my shear is pulling double duty for that at the moment..

 

[Sligh1]

Does your tree shear have a grapple? I ran one a year ago that had grapple so after cut tree - could hold & move it. Could think of swapping to that but then again- maybe doesn’t make best sense.
I got same dilemma as I was just borrowing the sheer with grapple. Right now I have: vail mulcher, grapple & the saw that rotates & sprays stumps. I have a CL fab tree puller. Cl fab did just come out with a grapple + tree puller that’s interesting. So many ways to accomplish same goals …. If I did it again, loosely speaking, I’d get an attachment where one attachment did the job or 2 others if it ever made sense for the $. I run the vail but if I run the saw- I need to come back after with grapple. Which is fine, just more $ & more time. The one thing about the vail- I’ll never have to replace it- I don’t even think I am capable of destroying one & I push stuff hard!!! Cheap skid steer attachments drive me to insanity!!!!
Vail stuff: https://vailproducts.com/products/land-management-attachments/?category=compact-track-attachments


CL fab I mentioned:

GRAPPLE GUARD COMBO : CL Fabrication

clfab.com

CL fab has “good reputation” I think. They are no where near the quality & build of vail though. Not even close. That’s pry not a knock to CL fab as much as just saying “vail is built at another level”.


Here’s tree shear & grapple i used for a few weeks:

M&M Attachments HC16/TG16 Tree Shear & Grapple | S&H Farm Supply

16

www.shfarmsupply.com

I probably would NOT buy the shear & grapple
For that price unless $ to burn … Too limited of use for that much $. Could look for used one though.

 

[deerdown]

My tree shear does not have the grapple attachment, it's just a shear, and in my limited use, a 4" tree is about the max I can shear with it, even though it's rated for 8" trees.

If it won't shear it, I use it as a tree puller and rock the tree back and forth and lift. Yeah, hard on the shear, but my personality wills me to get the tree out now...

I have a line on a CL FAB Dominator puller, but it weighs 1020lbs and my SS is only rated for 1750lbs lift, so I'm concerned there's not enough lift left after putting that behemoth on... unless I get their lighter version (the Challenger)...

I'm thinking rock grapple is the most versatile of the grapples at this point. Just wanted to hear some real world experiences.... the puller is another discussion but likely a necessary one since my shear, likely it's my SS, is only capable of 4" trees.....

 

[westwind]

X-treme Grapple Rake | CID

cidattachments.com

I have the tractor version of this one. Very heavy duty. I like that I can get rid of dirt down through the slots.

It works great for clearing brush and moving trees and brush.

What it DOESN’T work for is moving cut firewood or taking garbage cans to end of driveway or carrying chainsaw/gas/toolbox/trimmer to timber. I swap my bucket with toothbar and this back and forth, they really complement each other.

I have never run any other grapple so I honestly don’t know how it compares to other set ups.