New Grapple Attachment Saves Work Cleaning Up Roots and Other Debris

Bobcat Root Grapple Attachment

The new Bobcat® root grapple makes quick, easy work of clearing roots, rocks and brush on construction sites and landscaping projects as well as cleaning up storm debris. Available in a choice of 66-, 72- or 82-in widths to fit medium-frame and large-frame Bobcat loaders, it features curved bottom teeth to scoop up material without diving into the ground.

Chad Arnette, who owns Arnette's Grading and Land, Inc., Molino, Fla., uses the new root grapple with his Bobcat T250 and T300 compact track loaders for clearing construction sites.

"We use it on a daily basis," says Arnette, who purchased the root grapple from his Bobcat dealer, Beard Equipment, Pensacola, Fla.

He uses the multi-purpose attachment to remove smaller diameter trees and brush, rake up roots and load debris into trucks. "We even use it to push dirt and smooth it out," he says.

Once Arnette is done with the root grapple, he switches to a bucket for grading the site.

His versatile Bobcat equipment offers a more productive and cost-effective alternative to a dozer and other larger equipment, such as a tractor-loader-backhoe or front-end loader for clearing sites, he reports.

"With a dozer, all you can do is push debris into a pile," Arnette says. "You still need a way to remove it from the site. With my Bobcat compact track loader and root grapple, I can gather up roots and brush and load them into a truck. Also, because my Bobcat equipment maneuvers much faster and easier, especially on small residential lots, I can clear land three times faster than with a dozer."

The curved bottom teeth of the Bobcat grapple do more than save time. They rake through the soil rather than digging into the ground as the grapple gathers up roots.

"One of the keys to making money when clearing lots is to minimize the amount of dirt you have to haul away," Arnette says. "When loading cleared roots and debris into a truck with my root grapple, I can grab the material and then shake much of the dirt loose before dumping it into the truck," he explains. "On some jobs that eliminates two or three truckloads."