Perhaps you have just cleared an area of land to start landscaping, or you want to clear up general debris with efficiency but the bucket on your skid steer just isn’t fit for that purpose.

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In this case, it may be worth exploring the vast attachments that are available on a skid steer. Most skid steer attachments have universal hookups that can be used on any make of skid steer.

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The environment that you are working in can also be a factor when comparing the two tools.

If you intend to be lifting much heavier material such as felled fir trees, then you might want to use a root grapple as the jaw’s power can pick up heavier loads and transport them easily.

In comparison, if you are clearing dead trees that are much lighter than you may prefer the easier to steer root rake which will optimise your efficiency and speed when executing the task.

This can be the biggest thing to consider when choosing between these two attachments: what the application of the tool is, and deciding whether you desire a more maneuverable and efficient tool, or a tool that is engineered for power and stability.

Check out Skid Steers Direct for more products and more articles on all things skid steer related to help you be prepared for any situation in the labor world.

The Differences Between Root Grapple Vs Root Rake Grapple for Skid Steer

Table of Contents:

1. Root Rake Grapple Skid Steer Attachment - Features
2. What Functions Does a Root Grapple Perform?
3. Things to Look for When Purchasing Root Rake or Root Grapple Attachments
4. Root Grapple or Root Rake Grapple - Which Should I Choose?

After clearing the land with your skid steer, you are ready to landscape. If you are left with some other debris that needs clearing up, perhaps it is time to use a root grapple attachment or root rake grapple attachment. Which one will you need? Read on to find out!

A root rake grapple, also known as a brush rake grapple or simply root rake is used for general land clearing. This includes materials such as brush, logs, tree stumps, hay, or carrying large rocks. Root rakes can effortlessly rake through any material. All this is possible thanks to its characteristic prolonged teeth. Dirt and soil can easily pass through the space between the teeth. That leaves only the large pieces that the root rake grapple can grab and carry. There is no unnecessary weight that the grapple skid steer attachment picks up. All that with maintaining high visibility for the operator.

You may ask: is it not what tooth bucket skid steer attachments could do? Technically, the answer to your question is yes. However, if your focus is on efficiency, you should choose a root rake grapple. Using a tooth bucket without a grapple would cause the operator to pick up unnecessary debris and not being able to hold the debris you would like to move into the bucket. The biggest advantage of skid steers or mini skid steers is their ability to maneuver and perform the job quickly. Thanks to root rake grapples, you can perform cleanup of brush or other debris quickly.

Root grapple attachments or simply root grapples are used for moving, pushing, and lifting but more importantly for loading, or handling heavy-duty materials. Root Grapples have flat and long bottom teeth and hooked prolonged upper grapple teeth. The bottom jaw allows for greater stability and the upper grapple can pinch and secure the material. Therefore, root grapples are one of the best attachments for pulling boulders and roots from the ground. They are extremely powerful thanks to the heavy-duty hydraulic cylinders with a stopping mechanism. The stopping mechanism ensures the appropriate movement of the jaws.

Some attachments have additional features that you might need while performing in certain applications. Below are a few useful examples:

Replaceable Teeth

The bottom jaw of grapples is more exposed to wearing out. No matter if the attachment is heavy and well-built, at some point you may want to replace its teeth. Make sure you buy a tool that gives you that ability otherwise you might be needing to repair your attachment sooner than you think.

The Type of Steel

Most attachments on the market are manufactured with the use of grade 36 steel. This is structural steel. Make sure you check for reinforcement through out the grapple. This is imperative to keep the integrity of the grapple.

Cylinder Guards

The safety of your cylinder is assured by cylinder guards. Not every model has them. In such cases, there is always a possibility of debris climbing up the back of your attachment and damaging your cylinder. Choose an attachment with cylinder guards to be on the safe side.

Cylinder Rods

They may seem like an insignificant detail, but chrome-plated cylinder rods tend to flake or pit. That damages the seals of your skid steer attachments. Choose cylinder rods made of different materials such as steel.

Jaw Design

Open jaw design often helps to accumulate large heaps of debris or brush. Thanks to the locked clamp position you can be sure nothing will fall off while you make your way to the debris pile. Grapples with the back dragging function can use a two-cylinder jaw design. Thanks to that it is easy to prevent damaging the cylinder while piling and hauling material.

The good news is that root grapples and root rake grapples are both universal skid steer attachments. It means that they are compatible with any skid steer. The not-so-good news is that you will need to make the choice yourself. However, we can give you some tips on what to pay attention to.

Application

The most important factor you should consider is the job you need to perform. If you are looking for a universal skid steer grapple attachment that serves multiple purposes - choose the root grapple. They are built heavy-duty and can be used in most any application. They can be used like a grapple rake and have the capacity to hold material within the clam shaped bucket.

If your application includes raking up large amounts of brush or other debris and need a larger grapple opening, than the grapple rake is a better solution for your application. We also carry a root rake which is like the grapple rake without the grapple.

Type of Material

Heavy material is sometimes problematic to handle. However, heavy trees or other debris can easily be cleared with a root grapple or grapple rake. Depending on your machine’s lifting capacity and horsepower will determine what size grapple will perform best with your machine. This will also determine the amount of material you are able to transport to the debris pile.

Skidsteers.com offers a wide range of root grapples and grapple rakes. We carry both attachments to fit most any application. So… Are you ready to choose your new attachment?

For more information, please visit mini excavator root rake for sale.