For around 40 k with grapple and a couple of buckets you really can’t beat it. My dad had one and that is how I learned to operate. Jumping back on a conventional excavator is like operating on crutches, and having one arm in a cast. It truly is that much faster. Tilt rotation lives Matter
Exactly! It is a large investment, but it is basically like buying another piece of equipment with how effective it is! We love it and will definitely be putting one on our next machine.
40k? You must not be pricing in USD. This set up with a cab/heat/ac is closer to $60,000 and that’s not including the grapple which is probably a $5,000 attachment. If you know a dealer selling these for 40 let me know who!
He is correct. The total price we paid was $41k. That was for the installation and purchase of the X04 with gripper cassette, 12" trench bucket, 18" trench bucket, 24" digging bucket, 43" grading bucket, frost ripper, grapple and 400lb counterweight. The KX033 is of course not included in this price.
@@NKLandscapingLLC Got it. I thought the guy was saying the entire thing was 41K, including the actual excavator... thats a lot of coin but its a legit setup that will last you many years. I'm looking to trade in my U17 for a KX033. Thanks..
Would it be possible to keep the thumb? I just use a thumb so much I couldn’t imagine having to change over to the grapple every time. Also, cost? I know engcon was running 35k or so before the pandemic.
You might be able to keep the thumb if you had a top side quick coupler and went with a sandwich configuration, allowing you to remove the Steelwrist. Honestly though, it would just add a TON of weight, and it wouldn't be very practical. Switching to the grapple is very easy, and for times where I have the bucket on, the gripper does a good job of grabbing things. Depending on your machine size, you can get an EC-Oil block so you don't need to connect hoses to things like the grapple. I thought I would miss my thumb, but I really dont, with all of the capabilities of the wrist. Our X04 with integrated grapple was $31k installed in January of 2022. That does not include the price of any buckets or attachments.
NK, great video! The KX033 weighs about 7500 pounds & it's zero tail swing; so is it heavy enough to handle the tilt rotator? I have a Sany 35U, weighs 8500 pounds & it's zero tail, with no ability to add counter weights on the back of it. I have looked at the smaller Rota tilt, but before I drop $40k, I just wonder how much more tippy it would be, & also how much digging or bucket breakout force do you lose by adding that extra extension on there? I've watched at leaset 50 vids on them. I can see how you can eliminate 1 man on the crew, or do a lot of jobs solo or even with just a 2 man crew, instead of 3-4.
You're a little off on weight for the KX033. It weighs in at about 8000lbs without any attachment. It is not a zero tail swing machine. The U35 would be Kubotas "minimum tail swing" machine. Kubota does not actually make a zero tail swing machine. Personally for me, I think the KX033 handles the Steelwrist very well. We ordered a 400lb counterweight with the machine, but I never ended up putting it on, since I felt that the machine was quite capable without it. As for breakout force; you definitely loose quite a bit of digging force. Once you get into the 5T and larger machines, it is generally a good idea to put a top hitch on the machine side, so you can drop the tiltrotator for heavy digging. With the smaller machines, you generally go direct fit, so the tiltrotator is permanently mounted to the machine.
Cannot keep the thumb. Once you have the gripper and grapple, you never need the thumb anyways. Cost was just under $30k in January of 2022, not including any buckets or attachments.
That was initially a concern of mine when we bought the Steelwrist. The Steelwrist buckets, especially the smaller trenching buckets (in our case the 12" and 18" trenching buckets) are designed to be quite long. When you have the bucket in the "digging" position, you have about 3-4' of depth before the tilt cylinder gets in the way. I just finished up a job digging 48" deck footings using the 18" bucket and I was able to get 48" without interfering with the tilt cylinder. Anything deeper would need the 24" and larger bucket. For the kind of work we do, I have no issues with it, but you do need to be mindful of your clearance so you don't whack into anything.
Excellent explanation of the tilt rotator. Were you able to look at other manufacturers such as Engcon and AMI Axxis? Again, I enjoyed your video and will subscribe and check out the other videos.
We looked into getting an Engcon as well! We reached out to our closest Steelwrist and Engcon dealers when we were thinking about purchasing one. The Steelwrist dealer (A&D Equipment in CT) reached out almost immediately and set us up with a very inclusive demo! I never heard anything back from the Engcon dealer unfortunately. Aside from that, there were a few features on the Engcon that I didnt like when compared to the Steelwrist. We didn’t really look into any other brands.
Thanks for watching!! As for your question: With our machine now, and the work that we do, I would not ever go back! It is much to versatile of a machine for us! But, in the future when we purchase a bigger machine, we will be getting the option for a top hitch on the Steelwrist. That will allow us to disconnect the Steelwrist in certain scenarios where it is not needed or could possibly be damaged. Things like heavy digging, or pulling out stumps. Hopefully that answers it for you!
I personally think the KX-033 is a very well balanced machine. It is a bit tippier with the Steelwrist attached, but I never feel like it is “unbalanced”. We have a secondary 400lb counterweight for the machine to install, just waiting on some hardware for that.
Steelwrist runs on the “Open-S” platform. It is a pin grabber type system. In our case, we run an S40 connection on the bottom of the tiltrotator. It will not be compatible with the Bobcat coupler.
It really depends on application. The grapple can open a lot wider than the thumb and bucket combo, so for grabbing large piles of brush and things like that, its is fantastic! Same goes for rocks. The grapple can grab a HUGE rock compared to the thumb, but the grapple itself is very heavy, so you are limited by weight. The big thing with the grapple on the Steelwrist is the ability to rotate and angle it to be able to align rocks and logs. You can spin them however you want which makes things really easy. The biggest downside, at least with the style of grapple that we have, would be grip strength and the fine control. It doesn’t have the same “pinch power” as a thumb, and for picking up small things, like twigs and small rocks, the thumb does a better job. But the integrated gripper on the steelwrist can do a good job with those things.
For around 40 k with grapple and a couple of buckets you really can’t beat it. My dad had one and that is how I learned to operate. Jumping back on a conventional excavator is like operating on crutches, and having one arm in a cast. It truly is that much faster. Tilt rotation lives Matter
Exactly! It is a large investment, but it is basically like buying another piece of equipment with how effective it is! We love it and will definitely be putting one on our next machine.
40k? You must not be pricing in USD. This set up with a cab/heat/ac is closer to $60,000 and that’s not including the grapple which is probably a $5,000 attachment. If you know a dealer selling these for 40 let me know who!
No way this setup was only 40k.?? . more like 60+ once you include that grapple.
He is correct. The total price we paid was $41k. That was for the installation and purchase of the X04 with gripper cassette, 12" trench bucket, 18" trench bucket, 24" digging bucket, 43" grading bucket, frost ripper, grapple and 400lb counterweight.
The KX033 is of course not included in this price.
@@NKLandscapingLLC Got it. I thought the guy was saying the entire thing was 41K, including the actual excavator... thats a lot of coin but its a legit setup that will last you many years. I'm looking to trade in my U17 for a KX033. Thanks..
Man what an awesome set up.
It really is a fantastic combo!
Thanks for the video! You just got me out of a jam so thank you sir
Great for loading logs in a trailer. Wonder what the cost
Would it be possible to keep the thumb? I just use a thumb so much I couldn’t imagine having to change over to the grapple every time. Also, cost? I know engcon was running 35k or so before the pandemic.
You might be able to keep the thumb if you had a top side quick coupler and went with a sandwich configuration, allowing you to remove the Steelwrist.
Honestly though, it would just add a TON of weight, and it wouldn't be very practical. Switching to the grapple is very easy, and for times where I have the bucket on, the gripper does a good job of grabbing things. Depending on your machine size, you can get an EC-Oil block so you don't need to connect hoses to things like the grapple. I thought I would miss my thumb, but I really dont, with all of the capabilities of the wrist.
Our X04 with integrated grapple was $31k installed in January of 2022. That does not include the price of any buckets or attachments.
Still loving the steelwrist? Any issues to date?
Absolutely still loving it. Almost 500hrs with no issues. I would still recommend it 100%!
NK, great video! The KX033 weighs about 7500 pounds & it's zero tail swing; so is it heavy enough to handle the tilt rotator? I have a Sany 35U, weighs 8500 pounds & it's zero tail, with no ability to add counter weights on the back of it. I have looked at the smaller Rota tilt, but before I drop $40k, I just wonder how much more tippy it would be, & also how much digging or bucket breakout force do you lose by adding that extra extension on there? I've watched at leaset 50 vids on them. I can see how you can eliminate 1 man on the crew, or do a lot of jobs solo or even with just a 2 man crew, instead of 3-4.
You're a little off on weight for the KX033. It weighs in at about 8000lbs without any attachment. It is not a zero tail swing machine. The U35 would be Kubotas "minimum tail swing" machine. Kubota does not actually make a zero tail swing machine.
Personally for me, I think the KX033 handles the Steelwrist very well. We ordered a 400lb counterweight with the machine, but I never ended up putting it on, since I felt that the machine was quite capable without it. As for breakout force; you definitely loose quite a bit of digging force. Once you get into the 5T and larger machines, it is generally a good idea to put a top hitch on the machine side, so you can drop the tiltrotator for heavy digging. With the smaller machines, you generally go direct fit, so the tiltrotator is permanently mounted to the machine.
did you need to have a second(or even 3rd) hydraulic line installed to operate this?
Nope, this runs off of the main auxiliary line that used to power the thumb.
@@NKLandscapingLLC What was the price of it when you bought it? And can you keep the regular thumb still attached?
Cannot keep the thumb. Once you have the gripper and grapple, you never need the thumb anyways. Cost was just under $30k in January of 2022, not including any buckets or attachments.
Has the tilt cylinder on the steelwrist given you an issues with clearance when digging?
That was initially a concern of mine when we bought the Steelwrist. The Steelwrist buckets, especially the smaller trenching buckets (in our case the 12" and 18" trenching buckets) are designed to be quite long. When you have the bucket in the "digging" position, you have about 3-4' of depth before the tilt cylinder gets in the way. I just finished up a job digging 48" deck footings using the 18" bucket and I was able to get 48" without interfering with the tilt cylinder. Anything deeper would need the 24" and larger bucket. For the kind of work we do, I have no issues with it, but you do need to be mindful of your clearance so you don't whack into anything.
Excellent explanation of the tilt rotator. Were you able to look at other manufacturers such as Engcon and AMI Axxis? Again, I enjoyed your video and will subscribe and check out the other videos.
We looked into getting an Engcon as well! We reached out to our closest Steelwrist and Engcon dealers when we were thinking about purchasing one. The Steelwrist dealer (A&D Equipment in CT) reached out almost immediately and set us up with a very inclusive demo! I never heard anything back from the Engcon dealer unfortunately.
Aside from that, there were a few features on the Engcon that I didnt like when compared to the Steelwrist. We didn’t really look into any other brands.
Very educational video! Thank you very much NK Landscaping. Would you ever go back to digging without a Steelwrist?
Thanks for watching!! As for your question: With our machine now, and the work that we do, I would not ever go back! It is much to versatile of a machine for us! But, in the future when we purchase a bigger machine, we will be getting the option for a top hitch on the Steelwrist. That will allow us to disconnect the Steelwrist in certain scenarios where it is not needed or could possibly be damaged. Things like heavy digging, or pulling out stumps. Hopefully that answers it for you!
@@NKLandscapingLLC Yes it does. Thank you.
I run the same machine, How do you feel the weight effects the balance of the machine while working
I personally think the KX-033 is a very well balanced machine. It is a bit tippier with the Steelwrist attached, but I never feel like it is “unbalanced”. We have a secondary 400lb counterweight for the machine to install, just waiting on some hardware for that.
Is that attachment compatible with the Bobcat quick exchange connection? Because the designs of the connection for the attachments looks very similar?
Steelwrist runs on the “Open-S” platform. It is a pin grabber type system. In our case, we run an S40 connection on the bottom of the tiltrotator. It will not be compatible with the Bobcat coupler.
Cost?
Would you say the grapple gives you better usability then thumb?
It really depends on application. The grapple can open a lot wider than the thumb and bucket combo, so for grabbing large piles of brush and things like that, its is fantastic! Same goes for rocks. The grapple can grab a HUGE rock compared to the thumb, but the grapple itself is very heavy, so you are limited by weight.
The big thing with the grapple on the Steelwrist is the ability to rotate and angle it to be able to align rocks and logs. You can spin them however you want which makes things really easy. The biggest downside, at least with the style of grapple that we have, would be grip strength and the fine control. It doesn’t have the same “pinch power” as a thumb, and for picking up small things, like twigs and small rocks, the thumb does a better job. But the integrated gripper on the steelwrist can do a good job with those things.
Do you know where u ended up price wise? I have a u35-4 and am considering making the leap
I believe the prices went up for 2022 but I believe the Tiltrotator was around $30k installed, plus the attachments.