Yes. Very easy to do. If you have a "heavy duty" grapple, you can pick the logs up from the end as well so it sticks straight out in front of you. (Bonus: If you're old like me, it does a lot for your male ego driving around this way! lol). I wouldn't suggest this method unless you have the proper equipment with counter weights in the rear. I have two independent claws on my grapple and over the years have bent them slightly (only cosmetic) using this method to move 1500 lbs. logs up narrow trails. Of course smaller logs are no problem.[/QUOTE]
It’s hard to explain but I will do the best I can. If you let the log come all the way into the grapple then I cut off each end and drop the log and finish bucking it. But what I try to do is grab the log in between the teeth of the bucket so it’s being held by the points on the teeth. If I get it like that I can buck it all the way before I drop it. I have a clam style grapple so I think it makes a difference what style you are working with as well. I will try and get some pictures if my description is as clear as mud.
When I was using forks only, I used a 6 foot length of chain wrapped around the fork frame and log (between the forks) and a simple lever style chain binder. It was plenty of tension to keep the log from tipping off.
So lets get this figured out. Benefits of using a grapple are enormous! Benefits of a sub-compact tractor are easy in and out of woods. So, if the sub-compact has the grapple......and the grapple has a log in it.......aren't the trails a least 8' wide for carrying that log out? Then......if the trails are at least 8' wide to be able to use a grapple carrying a log, Why do you still need a sub-compact tractor.....just get a larger sized tractor and avoid many of the upgrades.
Bigger equipment = bigger load...longer logs....wider trails. It's a vicious cycle as to which came first the chicken or the egg. I've grabbed many logs by the end and dragged them up narrow trails driving backwards. It's a spendy sport we've fallen into.
Your one of those guys ? One in every crowd ! I cut my logs 5 to 7 foot wide...shorter in tighter spots...larger for field edges and open areas. So I need a bigger tractor for what ? Deeper ruts ? Banging into trees ? More fuel ? Maybe height issue in woods to. Plus ..a bigger tractor to mow with a midpoint mower and rut my yard up ! We also have a larger 40hp tractor and skid steer. Not one machine does everything well !
Or the guys that pee on other guys equipment. Maybe it does double duty between acreage and a residential lot. Maybe it's all that could be afforded. Fact is..I can do just as much and no one can barely tell I was there..which is important to me. It's all good fellers..to each his own !
If you cut to a multiple of your desired length, in my case I like 4'. I then can grab a few and zip out of the woods. I have a compact so a little bigger but I still can turn pretty sharp. I used to use a larger tractor and you are always negotiating your way through, getting trapped and getting smacked in the puss by at least double the branches. You would need a LOT of firewood to be slowed down by a sub compact.
Pull yer horns in there HoneyFuzz !!! Don't get your shorts ruffled over something like this. Kubota is my tractor of choice and one will soon be parked here. And no, I'm not gonna pee on anything! We good now? I have been to 3 different kubota dealers to look at the BX line. Specifically, the 23S. I want the backhoe for shoreline work and something with a 8' reach at best is borderline. I don't want buyer's remorse the instant I get it home. The last time I went was just before they opened, I stopped by the unit and I just couldn't remember it being so danged small. I didn't even get out of the car to look it over..... Basically, a little larger than my cub cadet riding mower.... I read many great things about the potential the BX has. I was very happy to see/read your posts regarding your BX. I agree completely about the small footprint it would make on the lawn and the necessity for wide trails through the woods. I also read all the improvements and additions you have made to it. It's at this point that I think it would have been better to pick maybe a compact instead of a sub-compact. There seems to be a lot of after purchase $$ spent over the years you've had it improving the strength and usefulness of it. The larger engine associated with the compact tractor will use more fuel I spose, but the PTO run at lower engine RPMs and the hydraulic pumps have greater output. 6 of one, half dozen sort of thing. It's considering all these things (while still considering the BX) that I asked you back on page 3 of this thread to give me a PM regarding prices. All I wanted to know is your opinion on the one I may get. I'll ask again, please give me a PM.
Or a branch you duck under...then the ROPS kicks it into the back of your head for good measure lol !
After reading this and the previous posts I get the feeling you would be happier with a compact. Buyers remorse will happen the first time it fails the task you think it should do.
Can't disagree with this , I have wished mine was bigger ( story of my life but that's a different story ). Anyway... Mine is just a small sub-compact but is all I need. I don't live on a farm and my yard is not all that big so I just couldn't justify anything bigger. It has come in very handy spreading topsoil , moving firewood , unloading items from truck and trailer , plowing snow and moving logs to the mill ; saving time and a sore back. In a nutshell I am very happy having it and for my application just perfect.
Sounds like you did a good job thinking about how you would use the equipment and sized it accordingly. I gotta agree with Screwloose from what you’ve said yooperdave you probably want to step up to a compact.
Sometimes true. I think the times I wish mine was bigger is under 5% of the time. To me..thats not worth it to upgrade. Sometimes I think the go up another size..was made up by tractor salesman lol. Other times..its necessary. Our goal here was to get this BX...pay it off....then relegate it to lighter stuff like mowing and mulch around the house. Then get a Kubota mx for the heavier stuff...and stuff we want to get into later on in life. But if that plan doesn't work...the bx will handle it.
I agree also. Especially when u go in thinking it might not..it probably won't. When I get on my lil tractor...I think it will...and it does !
Nobody is hurt here. But I feel the need to stick up for the subs.. as people scoff..disrespect...or overlook the subs. The machine is capable...and in my case...the operator is too. I think I can..so I do ! It works for me. What I don't like..is the perception that anyone who's looking at a bx should just upgrade ! That stuff is exaggerated by tractor sales people looking fir a bigger commission. For some..the bx is a gateway drug. For my family...it was what fit in the first part of the plan. Do I want to work the pudding out of my bx for the next 20 years ? Not really. I'm hoping in two years it'll be mostly used for mowing....mulch...lighter grappling. Then get a bigger tractor for the heavy stuff...and for work we plan on doing. Smaller farming kinda stuff. I don't believe one tractor does all things well ! And for the part about upgrades...most upgrades would be done to the next size bigger tractor that your talking abt.. at least for my situation. So it's not saving anything in my book. I'm not sure what a bigger tractor would do better for me most of the time. Just cost more ! If I was needing a backhoe..id get a mini excavator. That's a way to get more done and save a ton of time. Just to repeat...im not mad or sad or anything..ive got better things to do..like plow and stack snow. It won't stop up here ! Too big a tractor....and it won't fit between these in town houses very well...or fit through the door of the detached garage height wise. There's alot of variables. Heck.. like low foot deck height....deluxe seat...
A good operator can make anything work for there needs. Whether the machine can handle it in the long run....well...who knows ! MY BX could snap in half...or have 4000 hours of trouble free operation before I retire it. Its all a gamble...and all fun ! My bx will always grapple wood out of the woods. It's so easy on the surroundings. But it will be nice someday to make a pile of logs just outside of the woods with the lil kubota....then transport back where we cut split and stack with a bigger machine. That's part of the 5% I wish it did better !
