How to Choose the Right Skid Steer Grapple Bucket Attachment

A grapple bucket attachment is one of the most versatile skid steer attachments and can greatly expand the capabilities of your skid steer. With the ability to efficiently carry awkwardly shaped items such as logs, rocks, or piles of concrete, they’re useful in a wide variety of applications. However, to take full advantage of this valuable attachment, it’s important to choose the right one for your machine and application. With numerous options to choose from, finding a grapple attachment that fits your unique needs can be a little challenging if you don’t know where to start. To help you out, we comprised this simple guide on how to choose the right skid steer grapple bucket attachment

Know what your application is

To figure out which type of skid loader grapple bucket attachment works best, you must first figure out what type of job you’ll be doing and whether you’ll need the attachment for a specific or more multi-purpose application.

Grapple bucket attachments for specific applications

If you’re a nursery or a tree surgeon and are going to be moving a lot of stumps or trees, then McLaren’s log grapple bucket attachment is a great option. Its long tines at the bottom allow you to pick up a large number of logs and downed trees at one time and effectively load them into a truck. If the tines are shorter, you won’t be able to carry as many logs.

If you have a large area of flat land covered with limbs and roots, then you’ll have to collect them by raking that whole area into a pile. In such a case, you’ll only want your tines to dig into the dirt around two to three inches. If the tines are too long, the grapple is more likely to get stuck on something while raking. As such, McLaren’s root rake grapple bucket attachment is an ideal option due to its large number of short tines at the bottom.

If you’re working at a hard-surface site that has asphalt or concrete, then you’ll probably want to choose a grapple without tines, such as McLaren’s demolition and recycling yard grapple buckets. Our demolition and recycling yard grapple buckets function more like a typical bucket as they don’t have any tines. Instead, they have a flat bottom that will allow you to easily scoop up debris on a hard surface.

General-purpose grapple bucket attachments

For a more multi-purpose skid loader grapple bucket attachment, McLaren’s heavy-duty grapple bucket attachment or light duty grapple bucket attachment will allow you to rake, load logs, and pick up other debris. While such attachments don’t boast optimized features for any specific application, they provide the benefit of being able to complete multiple jobs for those in need of a general use attachment.

Determine the width of the grapple attachment based on your machine’s size

Another important factor to consider when choosing the right skid steer grapple bucket attachment is the size of your machine. A smaller skid steer will typically have a width between 66 and 68 inches, a medium between 72 and 78 inches, and a larger skid steer between 84 and 88 inches with the bucket. Your machine’s size will determine the optimal width of the skid loader grapple bucket attachment that you choose.

The track loader grapple bucket attachment that you use should always be as wide or slightly wider than the width of your skid steer’s tracks. If the attachment is too narrow and you’re using your bucket to operate, your tracks may prevent you from pushing forward and going down at the grade that your bucket does. However, you also don’t want to choose an attachment that is too wide because the excess weight may cause the back end of the skid steer to lift when picking up debris. As such, the track loader grapple bucket attachment should be in a similar range of the skid steer’s current bucket width.

Decide if you’ll use your attachment routinely or occasionally

The amount of use that your track loader grapple bucket attachment will get is another consideration to keep in mind. If you expect to utilize your grapple attachment regularly, we suggest a more durable, heavy-duty attachment. However, for people that don’t require using their skid steer for commercial use and are only going to use it a few times a year, a light-duty, general-purpose attachment should suffice.

So why should you choose McLaren’s skid steer grapple bucket attachments? The answer is simple: We offer the best value for your money. Our attachments will work extremely well for your job and come at an affordable price that can’t be beaten. To learn more about the exceptional value that our wide range of skid steer attachments—such as skid steer attachments, grapple bucket attachments, or stump buckets, contact us today 800-836-0040 or fill out the quote request for quick and easy pricing.