After market attachments

[switzforge]

I was wondering what company/brand of after market atachments are good and which are bad? I will be looking for a root grapple to rmove weedy scrub oak this spring. there seem to be dozens out there and of course everybody says theirs ids the best. I'd hate to buy a lemon just because of a good sales pitch, so any experienced advise is welcome. Thanks

 

[skidsteer.ca]

John
Now there's a tough question. While I have always been a firm believer in "you get what you pay for"' these days with hundreds of attachment manufactures it is tough to know who's best (if there is such a thing) and best for who, as everyone has slightly different needs, and who is just trying to make alot of $$$
I try to honestly ask myself, How much will I use this piece? How hard do I need to be on it to get my job done? Of course the price is a concern for most of us in there some where as well. If I use it alot, I can justify letting someone make a few more dollars off me.
One thing about being a member of a forum, you have access to alot more feedback.
I can't say that I have every had a truly bad attachment. But I can say I have alway got what I paid for. If it was cheaper, when it arrived I could see where they saved a few bucks.
I bought some pallet forks out of North Carolina a few years back. They were 500.00 each. They incuded in free freight to Mn on 5 units. The Brick gard was 1/4" material where my Bobcat forks are less then 1/8" The tines where made in Germany, and to my knowledge no one has broke one yet. (I sold 4 of them) But on the downside. The holes in the brickgard where torch cut and not ground smooth, (wear gloves) the top hook for the fork to slide on was 1/2" (I had one noname set that was only 3/8) where as the better sets are 3/4 and machine on a angle to match the hook on the tines. The sharp edge on these made the tines hard to slide back and forth. Finally the paint job was poor quality. Did I get what I paid for, absolutely. They were 150 to 200 less then some of the bigger companys, and I give them credit for cutting corners on things I could live with. They are tough forks, but I do curse them a bit when I have to get the 6lb hammer out to slide the forks.
Price wise there are the big OEM's like Cat, Case, Bobcat etc you will get a good attachment, but your paying to have that name on there too.
Next in line would be the attachment only companys Like Bradco, Erskine/Quick Attach, Loflin, Sheyenne, Ati,... who make a OEM quality attachment, sometime better in their specialty area, but the price should be a bit better.
And there are hundreds more small shops that do custom build individual pieces and small production runs of the most common attachments. Some are excellent, some are light duty only, This is a real good time to ask about quality of steel, thickness of critical parts. Look for grease zerks (or the absence of) , bolts instead of pins, tie rod hydraulic cylinders instead of threaded barrels, hose wraps, protection and routing.
Now don't get me wrong, there are some of these shops that are very good, but as a whole their market is the customer with the least amount of money to spend. So there will be some corners they have to cut.
Hope I have'nt offended too many..
Regards
Ken

 

[A.G.]

I haven't seen your weedy oaks, so its tough to make a good recommendation.
I have bought some weird tools or made them, for site clearing.
The most bullet proof grapple I have is the Gregory Grapple. It might have too great of spacing between the tines for your application. But it can do many different things, and is far more versatile than any other tool that have.
A land clearing rake can do good in brushy stuff, and mine is made by Attachments International, it is really tough, and does well in thinner stuff, and for backdrag raking. It is so durable, to unload it sometimes I just tilt my dump trailer and dump it out! It is like an Anbo brand rake. The Anbo has a better shape than mine, on the bottom of the tines for engaging the surface, moving forward. Remember with these rakes, that skid steers aren't bulldozers. They don't have a lot of tractive force unless you have a track model or over the tire tracks. Also, short wheelbase machines on tires are tough to rake with on uneven surfaces. They bob up and down and gouge the surface easily.
For small trees, I made a grapple that picks everything vertical, like fenceposts. For lack of a better description, it looks like giant Vise Grip. It piches to zero at the tip, and the middle has a greater opening for fence posts on the end, or small trees. This is a neat tool, because it capitalizes on the loader's lifting ability, and its precision. There are other commercial grapples that have come out since then, but something like this isn't too tough to make. There is one good one, for sale but right now I can't recall its name. I think its made in Texas called Brushstar or something like that. It was made for mesquite brush.
You can check out many tools online, and most will also send you demo DVD/CDs so you can check them out if there isn't a dealer near you.
Buyer beware though, there are some cheap units on Ebay, or sitting in auction yards that bend easily. They either suffer from poor materials or workmanship. If they did not start with a suitable piece of metal no amount of welding artistry, painting or stickers, is gonna make it a durable, tough, site clearing tool.
Price point can be a good indicator of quality.
.02 A.G.

 

[A.G.]

I haven't seen your weedy oaks, so its tough to make a good recommendation.
I have bought some weird tools or made them, for site clearing.
The most bullet proof grapple I have is the Gregory Grapple. It might have too great of spacing between the tines for your application. But it can do many different things, and is far more versatile than any other tool that have.
A land clearing rake can do good in brushy stuff, and mine is made by Attachments International, it is really tough, and does well in thinner stuff, and for backdrag raking. It is so durable, to unload it sometimes I just tilt my dump trailer and dump it out! It is like an Anbo brand rake. The Anbo has a better shape than mine, on the bottom of the tines for engaging the surface, moving forward. Remember with these rakes, that skid steers aren't bulldozers. They don't have a lot of tractive force unless you have a track model or over the tire tracks. Also, short wheelbase machines on tires are tough to rake with on uneven surfaces. They bob up and down and gouge the surface easily.
For small trees, I made a grapple that picks everything vertical, like fenceposts. For lack of a better description, it looks like giant Vise Grip. It pinches to zero at the tip, and the middle has a greater opening for fence posts on the end, or small trees. This is a neat tool, because it capitalizes on the loader's lifting ability, and its precision. There are other commercial grapples that have come out since then, but something like this isn't too tough to make. There is one good one, for sale but right now I can't recall its name. I think its made in Texas called Brushstar or something like that. It was made for mesquite brush.
You can check out many tools online, and most will also send you demo DVD/CDs so you can check them out if there isn't a dealer near you.
Buyer beware though, there are some cheap units on Ebay, or sitting in auction yards that bend easily. They either suffer from poor materials or workmanship. If they did not start with a suitable piece of metal no amount of welding artistry, painting or stickers, is gonna make it a durable, tough, site clearing tool.
Price point can be a good indicator of quality.
.02 A.G.

 

[Luthor]

I haven't seen your weedy oaks, so its tough to make a good recommendation.
I have bought some weird tools or made them, for site clearing.
The most bullet proof grapple I have is the Gregory Grapple. It might have too great of spacing between the tines for your application. But it can do many different things, and is far more versatile than any other tool that have.
A land clearing rake can do good in brushy stuff, and mine is made by Attachments International, it is really tough, and does well in thinner stuff, and for backdrag raking. It is so durable, to unload it sometimes I just tilt my dump trailer and dump it out! It is like an Anbo brand rake. The Anbo has a better shape than mine, on the bottom of the tines for engaging the surface, moving forward. Remember with these rakes, that skid steers aren't bulldozers. They don't have a lot of tractive force unless you have a track model or over the tire tracks. Also, short wheelbase machines on tires are tough to rake with on uneven surfaces. They bob up and down and gouge the surface easily.
For small trees, I made a grapple that picks everything vertical, like fenceposts. For lack of a better description, it looks like giant Vise Grip. It pinches to zero at the tip, and the middle has a greater opening for fence posts on the end, or small trees. This is a neat tool, because it capitalizes on the loader's lifting ability, and its precision. There are other commercial grapples that have come out since then, but something like this isn't too tough to make. There is one good one, for sale but right now I can't recall its name. I think its made in Texas called Brushstar or something like that. It was made for mesquite brush.
You can check out many tools online, and most will also send you demo DVD/CDs so you can check them out if there isn't a dealer near you.
Buyer beware though, there are some cheap units on Ebay, or sitting in auction yards that bend easily. They either suffer from poor materials or workmanship. If they did not start with a suitable piece of metal no amount of welding artistry, painting or stickers, is gonna make it a durable, tough, site clearing tool.
Price point can be a good indicator of quality.
.02 A.G.

Anyone have experience with FFC Attachments (made in USA)? I just purchase a second hand Mini Hoe to use on my 743, I'm hoping the quality will be OK.

 

[A.G.]

Anyone have experience with FFC Attachments (made in USA)? I just purchase a second hand Mini Hoe to use on my 743, I'm hoping the quality will be OK.

If I was going to buy a simple mini hoe, FFC is the one to get.
I wish I would have bought a T rex when they had it.
.02 A.G.

 

[switzforge]

If I was going to buy a simple mini hoe, FFC is the one to get.
I wish I would have bought a T rex when they had it.
.02 A.G.

Thanks all for the advise. I'm glad to here that Quick Attach is reputable, I like the looks of their stuff. I will seriously consider their brush grapple for tearing out those nasty scrub oaks by the roots. Thanks again

 

[A.G.]

Thanks all for the advise. I'm glad to here that Quick Attach is reputable, I like the looks of their stuff. I will seriously consider their brush grapple for tearing out those nasty scrub oaks by the roots. Thanks again

It might be a good idea to fire off some simple searches regarding brands, grapples or brush rakes and see what pops up.
.02 and good luck with your search,
A.G.