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Message: <blockquote data-quote="bobbie-g" data-source="post: 6590" data-attributes="member: 26"><p>Bob, I have both a Thomas 60 inch 4-in-1 and a home-fabricated brush grapple. I have 20 or 30 hours on each one. Tazza will tell you that you ain't a real Bobcat person in Australia unless you have a 4n1 bucket! I would not be without mine. I think used ones go for $800 to $1400 on ebay. I like to use mine for pulling up shrubs, scrub oak, and picking up that last little bit of dirt that I can't get with a normal bucket. It will also do a bit of grading with the "clamshell" open, but it's impossible to see what I'm doing down at the work surface so I don't have the hang of that yet. It's just grand for grabbing things, and obviously works as a standard bucket also. I have done a great job of spreading gravel with it by getting a bucket full, then just cracking it open an inch or so and driving forward as the gravel trickles out. Works wonderful. However, it's not great for moving large piles of brush, as the "jaws" don't open really wide enough to get a good bite. Works best if you open the bucket, then rotate it forward and press down on the brush pile, then clamp it shut. But I've found for picking up big piles of brush, the grapple is supreme. I borrowed a guy's Bobcat brush grapple, and liked it so well I made my own. It can grab a pile of brush so large it makes the Bobcat a bit tippy. With both the grapple and the 4n1, you can dump brush on a pile, then push down on the pile to compress it, very handy. And the good part is, you can yank the pile apart again with either (more easily with the grapple), but it would be a mankiller to try to separate the pile by hand. -- Each bucket has its place, and both have a place in my lineup. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> ---Bob</p></blockquote><p></p>

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