Bradco brush cutter and Versatech grapple

[NVtracks]

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum and soon to be a new owner of a Takeuchi TL150. I'm looking for attachments for this machine. I need a good brush cutter for the huge sagebrush we have here in Nevada. Plus need a good grapple for piling brush, rocks, and loose hay.
I know I want Blue Diamond products eventually, but just might not be able to swing them right now. I was thinking about buying a Bradco 72' brush cutter and a Versatech grapple from a Ritchie Bros. auction coming up in a few days. These aren't exactly what I want but might be what I can afford after spending a bunch of cash on the machine.
Does anybody have experience with either of these two attachments?
Thanks!

 

[Lindsey97]

i have no advice on either type of attachment. i do have a 78" blue diamond root grapple that is very well made. my advice would be to search craigslist or ebay to find good used attachments. i have had good luck on both. i have looked at mowers, and my favorite is CID extreme duty mower with an open front. i think the design of their mowers is good and they are very reasonably priced compared to the others. i really want an open faced skid steer mower so i can chop small saplings and brush.

 

[NVtracks]

Thanks for the input Lindsey. Like I said before, I really would like to load up with the blue diamond attachments. In fact their open face extreme brush cutter looks way cool for going after our sagebrush problem here. Like you, I want an open face cutter so I can better get at our 4-5 inch sagebrush. I'm leaning towards spending the money on a good cutter like blue diamond because I will be spending a lot of time cutting brush. As for a grapple, I haven't decided yet.
How do you like your BD grapple? I like the price of the Versatech grapples but it bugs me that I can't find anybody that actually has one or can recommend one. BD's extreme rock grapple looks like the way to go for me
I looked at the CID cutters. They look impressive, no doubt. I think I prefer a direct drive vs the geared drive systems. Less parts to break
I'll keep checking eBay and Craigslist.
Thanks!

 

[Lindsey97]

i like my blue diamond rootgrapple. bought it used for $1300. repacked the cylinders and new hoses and its off to the races. very heavy made and well constructed. i like how they hid the hoses inside like others do.

solesbees, midwestern attachments, blue diamond, and loflin fabrication all make top notch grapples. on a grapple, you want 1/2" bottom tines, greasable pins, enclosed hoses, and hinge pins with reinforced mount point(no bolts). look very closely at the versatech and you will see some subtle but very big differences compared to the other brands i have mentioned.

the mower is another subject with me altogether. i want to rent a few and try them before buying. hard to find mowers to rent in oklahoma, i found 2 and just lost interest. the blue diamond mower appear to be top notch.

 

[NVtracks]

I wish I had mowers to rent here in Nevada, but they are nonexistent to say the least, other than some smaller cutters from Caterpillar and Bobcat. There are certainly some nice mowers out there like Bradco, but the more I look, the more heavy duty mowers I find that I like better. Of course they cost more too! Eterra makes a massive, brush-eating mower, but it requires a high flow machine. I am certainly looking at the Blue Diamond because it works on a standard flow machine and appears to be very well built. The price is steep so I am hoping to find a used one out there somewhere.
As for the grapple, the Blue Diamond has been my favorite, but I just found the Faver grapple with amazing 1" bottom tines! Looks like a brute of a machine for dealing with our big rocks, compact soil, etc. here in Nevada. Anybody have any experience with the Faver? I also like the way they cover their cylinders and how the cylinders attach to the frame.

 

[IronworkerFXR]

I have a bradco grapple buck its open tine bottom and have no complaints with it. I also use a Loftness drum type mower with fixed blades that works well for me , even 8'' trees just a little slow on grinding them up . both are used on a ASV 2048

 

[mx727]

This is the mower I like, the SL 601. Very impressive and it allows you to cut vertically because of the angle of the mounting plate.

http://bushmasterequipment.com/products/rotary-cutters

 

[antonio76]

did you ever buy a cutter for your TL 150?

 

[NVtracks]

Brush cutter

No, I haven't bought a brush cutter yet. I came close a couple of different times. I ran into issues with a couple of different sales departments with both Blue Diamond and Diamond Mowers. Apparently I wasn't an important enough customer and my request got dropped a few different times, so I got frustrated (mad really!) and gave up for awhile. I occasionally rent a Cat brush mower from the local Cat dealer and get by with it.

I did buy a Faver grapple though and absolutely love it!

 

[Todd v.]

Good choice on the Faver grapple, love mine. Did you pickup the Bradco mower? If so I would think it would be every bit as productive as the Blue diamond mower. They even have an option for carbide cutters under the blade holder to help with mulching and grinding stumps down. Diamond mowers are pretty nice also and a little cheaper than the Bradcos. I run a CID mower, the older extreme model with a gearbox and gear motor. It's very sturdy and has held up well to a lot of abuse, 500+ hours worth but it's not as productive as the others. Their new driect drive piston motor version looks pretty nice though.