Clearing Pond Dam - BENT HOMESTEAD GRAPPLE FIRST PROJECT **Update in comments**
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มี.ค. 2021
- *UPDATE - Homestead offered to sell me a new top frame for $870 shipped. I regret this purchase. If I had it to do again, I'd buy an EA Wicked Grapple*
Skip to 9:22 for the bent grapple.
Cleared off the pond dam and boy does it look different. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Hello Just Tinkering! 👋 We are sorry to see the damage done to your Root Grapple. We are also concerned with the way that some of the trees were removed. Will you please contact our Sales team to discuss the damage done to your attachment? We look forward to your call.
I left a message for your salesman Alan Lindquist a day before posting this video. He never called me back.
Buy cheap buy often
This is how EA shows their grapple being used.
800 bucks for a new lid is rather a crock for a grapple that was pretzeled like this. Perhaps if Homestead could step up and rectify this situation by just replacing the lid (after 8 hours), may make things a whole lot better, not just for this customer, but for possible future customers, as well. I was looking serious at this grapple also, to replace my LandPride. My LandPride failure of course, was something completely different. They have me the completely wrong grapple for my application. They sold me the 54" grapple for my B2601 and it popped the hinge (which was also a weld fail, verified by two professional welders). They would not warranty it after 2 months, as they told me then it was the wrong grapple for the tractor. Yeah, they did me dirty.
@Homestead Implements: Are you trying to get a bad reputation? Because this is how you get a bad reputation. I can only afford to buy once & cry once. I'll be ordering from EA when I have saved up enough allowance so my wife doesn't get upset.
A few thoughts.. Firstly, I went with an EA Wicked grapple as well, as they are now very similarly priced to Homestead, and the EA is certainly built more robustly for the cost.
With that said, even EA explicitly states that the grapple is not designed to push on trees with the top lid and they will not warranty damage caused in this manner. Many, many grapple owners have damaged or destroyed their grapples doing this exact the thing, something no grapple is intended to do. It is not a sustainable practice for a company to warranty damaged caused by misuse, regardless of whether that user has a YT channel or not. While I can't speak to their disclaimer at the time, their website now uses a similar disclaimer as EA, and this use was clearly outside of it's intended design.
While I went with EA for a grapple, I have four other implements from Homestead, all of which have worked perfectly with no issues.
I have a Homestead Pinnacle grapple 72'' wide, I've had it since December of 2020, never have I had these kinds of problems with it. I use it with my logging winch in the woods with great success. I have around 120h of use on mine.
I’m guessing this has been said before, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a grapple used for removing trees from the ground, in the past I’ve only ever seen them used for collecting up trees that’ve already been pulled up. Maybe they are made for it, I don’t know, I just never thought they would take that kind of force.
I can't speak as to whether this was abuse or not as I have never owned a grapple. Using an attachment designed for grappling things to essentially perform logging operations seems kind of extreme though. What I do conclude as a certainty is that @Homestead Implements missed a golden opportunity to demonstrate to nearly 7,000 potential customers (the number of views on this video at the time of my post) that they have impeccable customer service. Particularly in light of the fact that their webpage reportedly did not warn against this type of use when the OP purchased his grapple. Their customer service reputation could have skyrocketed into orbit by helping this guy out, while at the same time they could have also explained how this type of use was not recommended and wouldn't be covered under warranty. A simple "Hey, we are going to take care of you because that's what we do for our customers, but please do not do this kind of work with this model as it is not designed for it. We appreciate your video as it helps us understand how people are using our attachments, and as such we have updated our product webpage for this grapple so future owners are aware that this attachment is not designed for operations such as these". Win-Win for both sides of this equation. Homestead implements reputation increases immeasurably and not only do they not lose sales, but they gain so much more in revenue from additional sales by virtue of the improvement in their CS reputation that it likely would have paid for the replacement grapple for this guy. Huge mistake for the decision-makers at Homestead Implements.
that is not the way to use a grapple you should never pull or push with the lid!!!
They put hard stops on the lid hydraulics, literally to rake backwards using the lid. It is called a root rake grapple.
@@justtinkering6054 did they replace it out of heart or because you put it on TH-cam and I meant when you were smashing the lid off of the trees trying to push them over
They offered to sell me a new lid for $800. I declined to purchase it. They didn’t replace it or even offer me a discount.
@@justtinkering6054why would they? You totally misused it.
Any grapple can be bent if you do more than it is built for. I have one of the Homestead Grapples and mine is fine. I know if I were to use it to aggressively to push a tree it would bend if one rammed it into a tree. No one has any idea what you did to bend it even though you said you were using it hard. Even EA has disclaimers saying not to do what the guy does in his tests. I purchased the Homestead because of the weight. EA and Homestead are the only two companies I know that make good grapples with less weight. But in that less weight they are more apt to bend if you use them too aggressively. I only have an L2501 Kubota with lower HP and weight really was a factor seeing the lifting capacity is much less. The Homestead charges you when they ship your order. EA will charge you before they make your order and the wait time can be much longer. I leaned that way when purchasing my grapple but decided to try Homestead and am glad I did. I have pulled stumps, moved logs, rooted with it and mine has serve me well. Have not bent anything but when I use it I make sure to push things not ram them. Then again I have a tractor that is less than 30 HP as well. If one over uses equipment they are abusing it.
I am surprised it lasted as long as it did pushing large trees down I ran heavy equipment for years and know how hard it can be to push down trees
not sure if it was there before but there is now a statement on the description page for this grapple. I have the 48" worksaver grapple and it (along with others) states in the manual that the top jaw is not to be used for raking. pulling or pushing things.
this is what is on the homestead page now.
(Pinnacle Series Root Grapples are not designed or intended to push or ram standing trees, poles, or buildings. Additionally, the top lid is not designed to withstand excessive pulling force or to remove severely impacted or embedded materials.)
To me you were trying to use your grapple like a bull dozer blade. I wasn't surprised to see it bent. I was surprised that you bent the lower section too. Looked like maybe you were pushing tree sections just a little bigger than the distance between the forks wedging them apart. I've seen other You tube videos where people bent their grapple top. My understanding is the top is just intended to clamp down on the material raked up by the bottom section. I was planning on buying a homestead grapple but I may have to do more research now. My tractor is much smaller than your's so it might be alright. I will check out the wicked grapple.I just looked at the homestead website and this is from the grapple description. (Pinnacle Series Root Grapples are not designed or intended to push or ram standing trees, poles, or buildings. Additionally, the top lid is not designed to withstand excessive pulling force or to remove severely impacted or embedded materials.) I think perhaps video's may be trying to oversell the products. To me a grapple is for picking things up, some might be tough enough to push over trees but to me that's like like using a big wrench as a hammer. I can see my view point wont be very popular but it is just an honest opinion. I will be looking to see if anyone has tore up a wicked grapple.
You make some good points. Homestead put those disclaimers on their site because of my video. I talked to them at length about the whole thing. I was disappointed with them, but I can see their point too. I have yet to see a Wicked grapple bent. I actually called EA to order a wicked but they were so backlogged that I went with the Homestead. Learn from my mistake. If I had it to do over, I would definitely have waited on a wicked. EA makes videos showing the torture that they put their grapples through. Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment.
@@justtinkering6054 I wondered if those comments were on their website when you ordered yours. I'm going to check out the wicked grapple and compare prices and wait times. I don't intend to use my grapple as aggressively as you did and my tractor is smaller so the homestead might be alright for me but thanks for the video and I'll be sure to check out the wicked grapple.
Abuse
Seeing that bent like that makes it a pretty easy decision for me to choose a Wicked EA grapple instead. I hate to see you had that much trouble.
Looks like abuse to me. The grapple is not meant to pull or push big trees out the the ground. The tractor isn't meant for that either. You need to either cut trees with a chainsaw or use a larger machine like a dozer or a good size skid steer.
Sorry to see the damage. Even a wicked grapple is not made to draw stumps back with the upper tines. You need to move into HEAVY skid steer/dozer grade grapple territory before you put forces like that into the upper portion. An EA grapple would also be damaged too. Not to mentioned either this nor EA has any positive stops for the upper lid further potential damage to the cylinders. Even on EA their website they state not to use the upper portion of grapple for pulling stumps etc. Just about all makers for tractor grapples say the same disclaimer/warning. Tractor grapples are not designed to have those forces pulled or pushed on the upper tines. It wasn't that is was abused per-se but unfortunately mis-used by putting forces on the lid it was not designed for. Hate to see that happen to you though.
You said it. VERY TRUE!
I have the EA root grapple 55 for my 2032R and now use it on my 4052M. After 3 yrs on both tractors it has held up like brand new. Worth every penny!
Sorry to see the damage to that grapple. I came on here expecting to see something abusive going on and saw basically the same stuff I do most every time I run my grapple. I’ve got the wicked 60 and more than a few times trying to dig stumps out I’ve hooked the outer bottom tooth and when I curled the loader, lifted the tractor onto 3 wheels. Pushed over trees usually smaller but some big enough I lifted the front off the ground. Lots of scuffed paint but no bending. Only have an L4630 though so a smaller machine. Maybe go ahead and order the EA and when it gets in sell the homestead? Btw those huge slots in the upper arms remove a LOT more strength than numerous smaller holes do
Looks like you had that log chain hooked around bar and trying to pull something with it.
Thank you for your insight. I was going to order one myself. But now I'll order the wicked 55 it's on 12 weeks backorder. But I'll wait.
I have a wicked 60 on a kubota l4740 I can push all I wan't on the main frame and no problem. ea tells you the lid is for grappling and light back raking. The wicked 60 also has the third hinge on the lid which makes it much stronger'
I have a 60" Xtreme grapple from EA and use it on an MX5400. No way would I be trying knock down trees with the grapple. I use a chain saw for any tree over 3" and heavy duty tree pruner for anything smaller. I used the rake grappler for hauling and pulling brush and hauling trees I have already cut.
Tinkering...I didn't see where you where abusing the grapple at all. The only videos where I have seen a grapple being abused was when Ted, the owner of EA put a Wicked 55 (that's rated for 40 hp ) on a 100+ hp Kubota and actually tried to hurt it, and he couldn't. Homestead has 80 grapples in the field and EA has a back order of 400 for the wicked 55. I have a Wicked 60 on order and should have it in the next month. I've lived 60 years without a grapple, what's another 3 months?
Sorry for your pain man. Bummer to spend good money on a tool to have it fail like that.
Looks like Homestead has upgraded their lid. (Probably because of this video) The lower tube on Pinnacle is now the same large diameter as the upper tube. Their Independence grapple (made for subcompact tractors) still has the small lower tube.
really wish I saw this update video earlier. I ordered the same grapple about a month and a half ago, it is being shipped on Monday. I would have went with the EA instead. Homestead is shipping later then expected too.
I’d call them and cancel the order if I were you. Don’t make the same mistake that I did.
@@justtinkering6054 he'll be fine unless he's an idiot like the person who made this video.
Waiting on delivery of my new grapple and trying to learn from you and others in the mean time. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I did not think that a grapple was supposed to be used to push over and dig out trees. I am not surprised at all that yours bent on day one.
Umm... I do this ALL THE TIME with m wicked 55 and nothing bends lol. I beat the crap out of it without issue. If this homestead can't handle a little 'work' then you should definitely look at other options.
If you're waiting on a Wicked grapple, then you have nothing to worry about. If you're waiting on a Homestead... well... seems you should be gentle with it :)
@@RacenutSB waiting on a Land Pride, but I'm thinking it would bend also if I was pushing over trees that size.
EA shows their grapple doing much more than this with no issues. The owner of the company has a video of him really trying to damage one and it held up great. I am halfway through my 3 month wait. For this kind of money, that grapple should not have bent. This type of work is why I bought a grapple.
I like the others will be ordering from someone else, no way the grapple should be bent up as it is. Thanks for the video.
Any update from homestead? Been looking into buying from them but this has me looking more towards Everything Attachments.
I talked to them a few times after this happened and they offered to sell me a new top frame for something like $800 or $900. I declined to pay that much. I saw that they updated their website with some warnings not to do what I did. That’s it. They really disappointed me. If I had it to do all over, I would have DEFINITELY waited on the Wicked 60.
@@justtinkering6054 yea. Thanks. I’ll definitely be talking with EA. At least if you brake there stuff they fix if at no charge.
Wonder if the Wicked 55 would do much better? They both say that the top lid is not for pulling out stumps and roots. Thought the DOM tubing should be stronger. EA - "Root rake top lid is designed for raking loose material backwards and not intended to pry or pull embedded objects such as roots or stumps."
The 60" has that 3rd arm and thicker material, but is also $1000 more and a longer lead time.
Kind of funny, Homestead didn’t have that kind of warning on their website til about a week after this video came out. It’s not that it bent, it’s how they wouldn’t stand behind it. Might as well buy junk from China.
@@justtinkering6054 - I agree. They could have done better in trying to make things right and also had a chance to improve their product.
@@justtinkering6054 THey are in the wrong, they should have warned the customer what it can and can't be use for! They should have taken care of you.
I agree, back dragging a 10" stump is asking for damage. I did notice the actual footage of when the damage occurred was conveniently edited out of the video. I wonder why?
Never push stuff with the lid open! That's not what it's for. Totally operator error. It's a grapple not a bulldozer blade. It's not for knocking down trees, especially with the lid open.
Maybe look at the Granite Grapple from Rural King.. Mine is over 3 years old and has gone through way more tree pushing and lifting as yours has... Not a single problem.. Kinda stinks that Homestead won't back you up on this. If they want to sell more of their cheaply made products, at least stand behind the customer....
don't really think this grapple is really meant for the way your are using it , Its not a bulldozer, I have a EA Grapple and it will take that abuse
I have a grapple from Everything Attachments and I abused the heck out of it moving big rocks and never had an issue with it.
I wanted an EA grapple, but didn’t want to wait on it. That’s why I ordered from Homestead. As it turned out, Homestead didn’t deliver mine as quickly as they said they would anyhow. I should have waited for the EA grapple.
Oh boy was thinking a little cheaper than ea , but I guess it really is , guess I’ll save a little longer
Did you contact Homestead? Just want to hear their response and action to the issue?
I actually contacted them prior to posting this video and they didn’t call me back. They commented on the video for me to call them. I called them again after their comment and they told me that I was abusing the grapple. I asked if there was anything they could do to help me. They offered to sell me a new top frame for $870. If I had it to do again, I would definitely have waited and ordered the Everything Attachments Wicked Grapple. The only reason I ordered this homestead grapple was because wicked grapples were backed up for 10 to 12 weeks. Turns out Homestead billed my credit card the day I ordered and I still had to wait for them to build and ship it. They didn’t meet the ship date anyhow. I cannot express how disappointed I am with the overall purchase and performance of this grapple. I expected so much more.
looks to me like you were back dragging the lower series grapple by the lid.. not a good choice on your behalf.. its really not homestead implements fault@@justtinkering6054
You did exactly what you’re not supposed to do with any grapple, use the top lid to push on trees….
Did you get a replacement? Did Homestead take care of you?
Not at all. I cannot express how disappointed I am with them. If I had it to do all over I’d buy an EA Wicked 60.
Hard to believe they would risk such negative feedback by not helping u remedy the problem even if they just met u halfway on a remedy... I considered them myself and built my own after all said and done.
You need to get a grapple from Travis at everything attachments. Heavy duty American made at his place
I compared them. The backorder time is what put me over the edge to this grapple. I haven't given up on this unit. It still works. Maybe I can reinforce it somehow. If nothing else, these videos will help the next guy to have more info when he makes a grapple purchase.
@@justtinkering6054 there's a good reason for that backorder time. Making the best grapple takes time.
@Just Tinkering ibb.co/ckGQ4FK this isn't even close to the worse I have done to mine. Hardox is one thing, but not using DOM tubing and not running the tubing thru the end plates is a HUGE difference in quality as you found out. Also, all of EA (except the one for the 1025 and small BX) have 3 hinges on the top. I am continually impressed by how much abuse this thing takes and I am genuinely scared for my loader arms way more than the grapple.
@@kennethfeld6639 not the wicked 55. It doesn't have the third hinge point.
@@warrioroftheking3503 correct - but the 55 is made for the small tractors - he should have gotten a 60 I am pretty sure.
what ever happened with the grapple.
I tried to order one but everyone is behind schedule .
So I am just making mine.
I can see where it appears a little light on the material on the top.
Under the conditions on the video I would not say abuse.
But, one should watch what is happening.
You mentioned it is lighter that the wicked grapple.
That could be the difference.
Hope they helped out on this
Homestead never did anything to try to help. It is still bent. I am very disappointed with the company. If I had it to do all over, I’d order a wicked 60.
Sorry about your grapple! Felt your disappointment. Curious if they will replace that top section.
I have the same grapple being delivered in the next couple weeks.
I’ve been in contact with Homestead multiple times since this happened. They very politely told me it’s my fault and that I was abusing it. They offered to sell me a top section for a bit over $800 with shipping. I will never buy another piece of their equipment. If I were you I’d cancel my order and order a Wicked.
@@justtinkering6054 thank you for updating! Enjoying your channel!
I was going to order one Monday. But now I'm thinking I shouldn't.
@@prenticemoore9191 I used it again today and the top frame bent again. All I was doing today was moving brush. It should not have bent. It'll never be the same. If I had it to do again, I would order the Wicked from Everything Attachments.
that sucks, i bought EA to start with
Excavator , 2-3 ton, with a thumb will clear brush and trees a lot better and quicker. Even a backhoe will handle that clearing better. Locusts trees are too tough !
Should of had an everything attachment. Can’t bend it!
Sure you can
YOUNG MAN ,
U KUBOTA KX 40 - 4 EXCAVATOR TO DO YOUR POND JOB SITE ?
What the heck does that mean????
They just lost a lot of sales because of poor quality. Me in cluded. That's y I watch all these type of videos before buying. Sorry for your bad luck or whatever u call that. DEFINITELY NOT your fault.
Well after reading what there response was and watching your video I would never do business with them.You worked it hard but no way abused it as thats what you but the darnn thing for. They lost my buisness