Steel Tec grapple bucket on ebay - anyone have one

[farmboy55]

Thinking about getting a grapple bucket. Steel Tec has a 72" for $1500. on ebay. Looking to see if anyone know's how good they are made? dennis

 

[140mower]

I don't know much about these as I don't own one myself, but from looking at the pictures a few things stand out to me. The pivot points are bolts rather than greasable pins and won't last as long. Also I'm not to fond of the hose routing nor the lack of protection from debris, once you start gripping stuff it likes to poke out of the darndest places. Overall it looks to be intended for intermittant light duty use and looks like it should work well with that in mind, but if it's going to get used and abused I think I'd look for a little beefier one.
Don

 

[farmboy55]

I don't know much about these as I don't own one myself, but from looking at the pictures a few things stand out to me. The pivot points are bolts rather than greasable pins and won't last as long. Also I'm not to fond of the hose routing nor the lack of protection from debris, once you start gripping stuff it likes to poke out of the darndest places. Overall it looks to be intended for intermittant light duty use and looks like it should work well with that in mind, but if it's going to get used and abused I think I'd look for a little beefier one.
Don

That was kind of my thinking, get what you pay for. I don't do light duty. Grip it and rip it. Thank for the reply Don.
dennis

 

[A.G.]

That was kind of my thinking, get what you pay for. I don't do light duty. Grip it and rip it. Thank for the reply Don.
dennis

What did you plan on grappling? I have different setups, and a regular grapple bucket and it doesn't get used that often. The only times I use it now, are handloading debris from buildings, wood chips, or big amounts of leaves. Nothing gets a bigger bite of lightweight materials, and avoids dropping them. I have other setups for sorting because the bucket wrap keeps too much dirt. Also the bucket wrap blocks your vision of the things you want to grab, which can make it more difficult to use in some positions.

A.G.