# grapple truck help



## treeman75 (Sep 23, 2012)

I am buying a grapple truck and looking for some input on them. I am not sure if I want one with a single or double axle and not sure on the brand of loader. Any input would be greatly appreciated.


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## 2treeornot2tree (Sep 23, 2012)

I would get one with the biggest capacity that you can expecially if you have a cdl. It doesnt take long to rake up the pounds with logs.


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## treeclimber101 (Sep 23, 2012)

I saw a grapple trailer working Friday on the side of route 70 towards LBI grabbing up 20ft or so pine logs , granted they were match sticks but that grapple moves lightning fast and can grab them almost 15 ft from the trailer , I mean I was jealous for a minute , sat there and watched the guy til the trailer was full and cruised past and told how impressed I was


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## capecodtree (Sep 23, 2012)

*grapple*

go ten wheeler, mack, rear mount, log bunks. you can do alot more than haul logs with the right operator.


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## treeman75 (Sep 23, 2012)

I know a guy that has a grapple trailer and it seems to work ok. I have decided to buy a grapple truck just not sure how big of a truck to get. Some guys have a single axel and some have doubles, just looking for input. I have my CDL too.


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## treeman75 (Sep 23, 2012)

I want one that dumps. I will be using it for everyday work. There isn't much logging around here. The only places that buy mill logs are pallet companys.


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## mattfr12 (Sep 23, 2012)

Tandems get heavy on driveways i have a tri-axle with a prentice and the regular knuckle boom. your not gonna put that tri-axle on a driveway the smaller k-boom with 38kGVW has never had a problem with a driveway truck weighs 21-22k. Tandems plates in PA are like 1200 a year insurance and everything is more. I can haul a solid 10-12 ton in my single axle 4400. It has an engine brake that helps out a whole lot.

When I'm hauling a lot of wood i pull a 22gvw dump trailer behind it and can haul more than a tandem. Trailer has air brakes, haul close to 20 ton between the two 17-18 comfortably.


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## mattfr12 (Sep 23, 2012)

Call up timberland jack mounts the 80.2 model for right around 20 grand if you have a decent truck to put it on he has them in stock and can slap one on in a hurry with top seat controls and around 30-40 feet of reach. Put some pictures of the big boy in here for you to but we don't use it on much residential its just to heavy especially once you start loading it. my kboom if you don't get stupid with it is hard to overload you cant get enough wood in the bed endless you heap it up like a mountain. ive had it packed with oak and only weighed in at 36k. the tri-axle i can get 20 ton on it in a hurry with the stake body.


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## luckydad (Sep 23, 2012)

mattfr12 said:


> Tandems get heavy on driveways i have a tri-axle with a prentice and the regular knuckle boom. your not gonna put that tri-axle on a driveway the smaller k-boom with 38kGVW has never had a problem with a driveway truck weighs 21-22k. Tandems plates in PA are like 1200 a year insurance and everything is more. I can haul a solid 10-12 ton in my single axle 4400. It has an engine brake that helps out a whole lot.
> 
> When I'm hauling a lot of wood i pull a 22gvw dump trailer behind it and can haul more than a tandem. Trailer has air brakes, haul close to 20 ton between the two 17-18 comfortably.


You got any pics of that tri-axle with the prentice loader we can see ??


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## mattfr12 (Sep 23, 2012)

luckydad said:


> You got any pics of that tri-axle with the prentice loader we can see ??



ya i just posted them above along with some of the kboom and hooklift. i keep looking for them on my comp and putting them in photo bucket the advertisements really tick me off every time i upload something someone is singing in an ad.


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## luckydad (Sep 23, 2012)

mattfr12 said:


> ya i just posted them above along with some of the kboom and hooklift. i keep looking for them on my comp and putting them in photo bucket the advertisements really tick me off every time i upload something someone is singing in an ad.



What jobs do you mostly use the prentice loader on??


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## mattfr12 (Sep 23, 2012)

the prentice is alot faster but cant lift half of what the kboom can. and only goes out like 22 feet.


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## mattfr12 (Sep 23, 2012)

luckydad said:


> What jobs do you mostly use the prentice loader on??



we do a lot of tree removal like in some places 50+ trees sometimes hundreds for development and other reasons so it has hauled some wood in its day. We are cutting roads for gas drillers almost 24/7 at the moment. we have taken out hundreds upon hundreds just on one road.

in residential situations ill go out with it to grab the but logs at the end of the day. but we usually use it for when we are doing alot of removals in one spot.

With the amount of wood it hauls if you made that truck dump it would destroy any dump body you can put on it. id have the sides blown out in like a week.


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## mattfr12 (Sep 23, 2012)

That truck was more of an impulse buy local logging yard was going out of business and it had low miles on it so i picked it up at a pretty good price. I wouldn't get rid of it now we use it for all kinds of stuff. Another mill will pay for us to haul wood off sites for them with it. If i remember correctly its an 2004 or 2005. its got 425hp and a 13speed truck is a rocket ship. Plus we use huge chippers like the son of a beast bandit on some jobs we need a truck like that just to tow that kind of crap around. I need air out of the back for most of the stuff i tow other than our smaller chippers.

i dont think you need a tandem tho a heavy spec single is gonna be a lot cheaper for you to own endless you want one for sure. i think the plates for the tri axle are a few thousand a year.


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## luckydad (Sep 23, 2012)

mattfr12 said:


> That truck was more of an impulse buy local logging yard was going out of business and it had low miles on it so i picked it up at a pretty good price. I wouldn't get rid of it now we use it for all kinds of stuff. Another mill will pay for us to haul wood off sites for them with it. If i remember correctly its an 2004 or 2005. its got 425hp and a 13speed truck is a rocket ship. Plus we use huge chippers like the son of a beast bandit on some jobs we need a truck like that just to tow that kind of crap around. I need air out of the back for most of the stuff i tow other than our smaller chippers.
> 
> i dont think you need a tandem tho a heavy spec single is gonna be a lot cheaper for you to own endless you want one for sure. i think the plates for the tri axle are a few thousand a year.



How much does a truck like that usually cost ??


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## mattfr12 (Sep 23, 2012)

luckydad said:


> How much does a truck like that usually cost ??



The tri-axle i got for 60k it had 60-70k miles on it when i got it. new they are closer to 140-150- the truck alone without loader is worth over 120-130 new with that kind of HP.


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## luckydad (Sep 23, 2012)

mattfr12 said:


> The tri-axle i got for 60k it had 60-70k miles on it when i got it. new they are closer to 140-150- the truck alone without loader is worth over 120-130 new with that kind of HP.



Nice looking truck.


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## mattfr12 (Sep 23, 2012)

luckydad said:


> Nice looking truck.



thank i appreciate it


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## no tree to big (Sep 25, 2012)

if you get a single axle setup do your self a favor now and put a small enough body on it so you cant go over weight easy :msp_biggrin: we run tandem setups and we got caught once 3K over and it wasn't even heavy wood and we have been weighed a few more times since and we are always just under and we don't even load the trucks full anymore... just curious whats your budget for the truck? and is the difference in cost of plates and 4 extra tires that big of an issue for you, to the point of that making the decision for you?


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## mattfr12 (Sep 25, 2012)

Tandems just get big for residential, sometimes your better off making more trips. I say this and i own single axle, tandems, and tri-axles. anything bigger than the single's don't go on driveways. tandems weigh in around 25k empty with a decent sized bed on them so keep that in mind, my Bucket truck weighs 16-17k. Thats why i don't have a whole fleet of tandems i don't really feel like i cut myself short by running a lot of single axles. hauling close to 10-12 ton is good enough for me. Also your not gonna get a decent tandem to cheap big price difference between a single ive found cab and chassis with 100-150k miles for 40-50g's that where in ok shape 2005-2007, you can save around 10-12k on the single.


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## treeman75 (Sep 26, 2012)

Wall Photos | Facebook This is a truck im kinda looking at, its only two hours away. Thats not my facebook page.


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## treeman75 (Sep 26, 2012)

I think im leaning towards a single. The other tree guys that have them here all have singles and the DOT dont bother them im town just on the hiway.


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## ropensaddle (Sep 26, 2012)

I had a tandom and routinely was overweight glad I missed getting checked. I know i was over many times after going to the mill with not even as big of load as I had loaded in the past and was 3 ton over! I'm glad I sold it because here I'm 30 mins from town and always wanted to finish the job so did not kill time and was just a matter of time before my luck ran out. If I ever get grapple again it will be a dump trailer grapple that will pull behind my bucket.


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## no tree to big (Sep 26, 2012)

that truck on FB is a nice setup has the right wheel base too a lot of trucks have that rear axle up farther so the weight is not distributed very well. based on your budget your pretty much stuck to either very well used tandems or a single set up if I were you I would jump on that truck before somebody else grabs it she's purdy


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## treeman75 (Oct 9, 2012)

I went and looked at this truck the other day. Im thinking I might make an offer on it this week.View attachment 256482
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View attachment 256486


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## no tree to big (Oct 9, 2012)

unless you step up to a tandem I don't think your going to find a better used grapple its pretty clean, hell the truck we just built this year already has a lot of dings and dents and we have only used it 3-4 months


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## lone wolf (Oct 9, 2012)

treeclimber101 said:


> I saw a grapple trailer working Friday on the side of route 70 towards LBI grabbing up 20ft or so pine logs , granted they were match sticks but that grapple moves lightning fast and can grab them almost 15 ft from the trailer , I mean I was jealous for a minute , sat there and watched the guy til the trailer was full and cruised past and told how impressed I was



Do you mean rt 72?


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## treeman75 (Oct 9, 2012)

Ya, I think im going to buy it. My dump truck just got paid off and this will be only a few hundred more than what I was paying. This should be the last big purchase I will have for a while.


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## mattfr12 (Oct 9, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> Ya, I think im going to buy it. My dump truck just got paid off and this will be only a few hundred more than what I was paying. This should be the last big purchase I will have for a while.



I been saying that for a long time, as I'm waiting for the 1990 to arrive. There is always something else.


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## mattfr12 (Oct 9, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> Ya, I think im going to buy it. My dump truck just got paid off and this will be only a few hundred more than what I was paying. This should be the last big purchase I will have for a while.



Don't over pay them trucks are a dime a dozen. Get what you want make sure you explore all options.


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 9, 2012)

lone wolf said:


> Do you mean rt 72?



Nope right after the super wawa on 70 where there taking out all those trees


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## lone wolf (Oct 9, 2012)

treeclimber101 said:


> Nope right after the super wawa on 70 where there taking out all those trees



Ok that Leeds to Brick town if you keep going east.


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 9, 2012)

lone wolf said:


> Ok that Leeds to Brick town if you keep going east.



Or where we hang right on out to forked river or seaside , we have family In brick too


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## lone wolf (Oct 9, 2012)

treeclimber101 said:


> Or where we hang right on out to forked river or seaside , we have family In brick too



You hang out in Forked river 4 wheelin?


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 9, 2012)

lone wolf said:


> You hang out in Forked river 4 wheelin?



Nah , it is nice for it there , I don't dirt ride to much anymore


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## lone wolf (Oct 9, 2012)

treeclimber101 said:


> Nah , it is nice for it there , I don't dirt ride to much anymore



Me neither but did a lot .


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 9, 2012)

lone wolf said:


> Me neither but did a lot .



I do run pops #####in ass Polaris down by the new Lisbon detention center though


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## treeman75 (Oct 11, 2012)

http://www.griffithtruck.com/images/92 ford grapple 1140 005 - Copy.jpg
I seen this one too. The price seems right but its an older truck. Trying to get some opinions on the truck.


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## treeman75 (Oct 11, 2012)

1992 FORD L9000 Heavy Duty Trucks - Grapple Trucks For Sale At TruckPaper.com


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## no tree to big (Oct 11, 2012)

curious as to why its only selling for 15K we sold one of our loaders this year, thing was literly falling apart still very much usable but a piece of crap. box was held on with chains all the brackets broke. everything on the grapple A frame was wore out all loose wouldn't keep the clam tight anymore trans was f'd up would grind going into 5 outa 10 gears thing wouldnt go back into gear if you were rolling and took it out of gear. engine was good though it was a 92 international tandem with 200K+ on it sold for 26K... 

in regards to the ford the n 14 cummins is a pretty badass motor generally not to many issues with them. the grapple looks clean truck body looks decent (from the outside) if the truck checks out 15K seems like a steal thats an easy $30K truck in chicago!


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## treeman75 (Oct 11, 2012)

I was wonding the samething. They have two of them, they were city trucks. I talked with the secretary a couple times today, she said they drive out nice. Im going to talk with the owner tomarrow and find out the scoop. I wish they were a little closer its 1100 miles about 15hrs. I might have to make a road trip.


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## treeman75 (Oct 14, 2012)

Im flying down to Houston this week to look at the truck. I have seen pics of the inside and motor and they all look good. If everything checks out Im buying it. Later on I can always remount the loader and dump on a newer truck.


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## sgreanbeans (Oct 15, 2012)

Dude, your exploding! By this time next year, I bet you have it all,lol. After this, ya need to get a crane! Good to see you are growing!


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## treeman75 (Oct 15, 2012)

sgreanbeans said:


> Dude, your exploding! By this time next year, I bet you have it all,lol. After this, ya need to get a crane! Good to see you are growing!



Thank you, this should be my last purchase for a while. Last year my sales were double from the year before. Alot of people I talk to will say oh your Paul you did so and so trees and I see your trucks all the time.


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## treeman75 (Oct 21, 2012)

I flew down and looked at the trucks. They both drove nice going 70 down the hiway. I flew both booms and the hoses and connecters looked fairly new. One of them with the booms up they would seep down slow and I noticed there were chains to hold up the outriggers from seeping down. I bought the one that the boom didnt seep down. There are no leaks and absolutely no rust at all. I am vary happy purchase!


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## sgreanbeans (Oct 22, 2012)

pics!


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## treeman75 (Oct 24, 2012)

My truck got here today and this is the first load I unloaded with it.View attachment 259097
View attachment 259098


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## luckydad (Oct 24, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> My truck got here today and this is the first load I unloaded with it.View attachment 259097
> View attachment 259098



Looks like its cold and wet there.


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## treeman75 (Oct 25, 2012)

It wasnt too bad out, it was kinda misting and in the upper 40's. The driver put on his coat and hood and was freezing, hes from Tx.


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 25, 2012)

Nice truck man congrats .


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## treeman75 (Oct 25, 2012)

treeclimber101 said:


> Nice truck man congrats .



Thanks, now if it will stop raining and snowing I can use it. I have a bunch of work I have been saving for it.


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 25, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> Thanks, now if it will stop raining and snowing I can use it. I have a bunch of work I have been saving for it.



Jump in and head east , were gonna be buried in some #### come tues . Around here from what they are now saying , and for once I kinda feel like its may be ugly


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 25, 2012)

The other day there were lines coming north then making rights to the water , now all the lines make lefts heading to different parts of jersey , kinda scary really I mean whatever I guess umpkin2:


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## mattfr12 (Oct 26, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> Thanks, now if it will stop raining and snowing I can use it. I have a bunch of work I have been saving for it.



Good looking rig. In a few weeks post again about how much more your getting done now you'll see what i was talking about. After using trucks like that for a while they are more valuable to me than any other piece of equipment. The only pain in the ass of this work is dealing with large logs. Cutting the tree down 90% of the time is the easy part by far, those darn logs are what get you on the couch for a week with an effed up back.


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## treeman75 (Oct 26, 2012)

treeclimber101 said:


> Jump in and head east , were gonna be buried in some #### come tues . Around here from what they are now saying , and for once I kinda feel like its may be ugly



I was thinking about that. I wonder who I would talk to for for storm clean up?


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 26, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> I was thinking about that. I wonder who I would talk to for for storm clean up?



Just go to the local wawa and wait ... They will come to you


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## 2treeornot2tree (Oct 27, 2012)

treeclimber101 said:


> The other day there were lines coming north then making rights to the water , now all the lines make lefts heading to different parts of jersey , kinda scary really I mean whatever I guess umpkin2:



Just glad that NJ is between us and the ocean. That way we wont get washed away. Better get your ducky boots on.


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 27, 2012)

2treeornot2tree said:


> Just glad that NJ is between us and the ocean. That way we wont get washed away. Better get your ducky boots on.



That means there is a lot of trees between you and this storm to ! And as for the sucky boots my castle is up on a hill so I am good LOL


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## 2treeornot2tree (Oct 27, 2012)

Very true.


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## treeman75 (Oct 27, 2012)

treeclimber101 said:


> Just go to the local wawa and wait ... They will come to you



Whats the local wawa?


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## 2treeornot2tree (Oct 27, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> Whats the local wawa?



Its a convience store / gas station.


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## treeman75 (Oct 27, 2012)

2treeornot2tree said:


> Its a convience store / gas station.



never heard that before.


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 27, 2012)

It's a household name around here , like a 7/11 or sumpin


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## treeman75 (Oct 27, 2012)

Around here we have Kum&gos.


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## treeclimber101 (Oct 27, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> Around here we have Kum&gos.



Makes sense


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## 2treeornot2tree (Oct 27, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> Around here we have Kum&gos.



Sounds more like a brothel then a gas station.


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## treeman75 (Oct 27, 2012)

2treeornot2tree said:


> Sounds more like a brothel then a gas station.



Thats what I thought when they bought out the 7-elevens here.


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## treesurgeon (Oct 31, 2012)

*Where not to buy a grapple truck............ I81 equipment*

Bought a grapple truck from I81 equipment about two years ago. Was going to be completly refurbished before delivery. When it was delivered, it had a smoking problem and the guys excuse was that it was pretty cold out. Besides, the guy delivering it was over 5 hours late. I had to take it in for NYS inspection, and it failed for excessive smoking. The company agreed to fix it at my local dealer. The injectors where all messed up. After replaceing 2 of them, another one failed. I had them all replaced, all eight of them. After putting in over 5 grand in the truck, I81 only wanted to cover a little over a thousand dollars of the work being done. They only wanted to pay 20 dollars an hour for the labor.
I waited for the check month after month, and every time i called they said that the owner was not in, or the check is on the desk waiting to be signed. What a joke. I found out that this is common with them and they are in court on several other cases like mine.
Buyer beware, just google them and check with the bbb before you buy from these cons. :msp_mad:


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## treeman75 (Nov 7, 2012)

treesurgeon said:


> Bought a grapple truck from I81 equipment about two years ago. Was going to be completly refurbished before delivery. When it was delivered, it had a smoking problem and the guys excuse was that it was pretty cold out. Besides, the guy delivering it was over 5 hours late. I had to take it in for NYS inspection, and it failed for excessive smoking. The company agreed to fix it at my local dealer. The injectors where all messed up. After replaceing 2 of them, another one failed. I had them all replaced, all eight of them. After putting in over 5 grand in the truck, I81 only wanted to cover a little over a thousand dollars of the work being done. They only wanted to pay 20 dollars an hour for the labor.
> I waited for the check month after month, and every time i called they said that the owner was not in, or the check is on the desk waiting to be signed. What a joke. I found out that this is common with them and they are in court on several other cases like mine.
> Buyer beware, just google them and check with the bbb before you buy from these cons. :msp_mad:



I know what you meen, I bought my bucket truck there. I went out and checked the truck out before they started to build it so i knew the truck and boom was solid. I feel I got a nice truck for the money. I did have an issue and they said they would cover it, im still waiting for my 165. check.


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## treeman75 (Nov 7, 2012)

Well I have been using my new grapple truck and everthing has been working good. I took it to my mechanic to have the inspection done. It needs front brakes a little air leak fixed and a marker light he said its a solid truck.


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## chucknduck (Nov 15, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> Well I have been using my new grapple truck and everthing has been working good. I took it to my mechanic to have the inspection done. It needs front brakes a little air leak fixed and a marker light he said its a solid truck.



I have bought equipment from several of them, sc***dy's , first fl**t truck sales, they were ok. But dont ever buy from k*D cars from roscoe ill. Never. Never.Never. They are the most dishonest people i have seen in my life.


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## troythetreeman (Nov 15, 2012)

treeman75 said:


> Around here we have Kum&gos.



we dont got kum&gos but we do have pump n munch


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