Powerhand Terragrip clearing grapple

Where the Terragrip sits in the range

The Terragrip is not a fifth size of EX grapple. Powerhand’s EX family (EX25, EX28, EX36 and EX40) is a set of symmetrical two-jaw grapples optimised for roundwood, brash and chipper feeding. The Terragrip is a clearing and raking hybrid: one fixed leg is shaped to work as a root ripper and rake, and a single hydraulic moving leg closes against it to grip. It is built for machines of around 14 to 25 tonnes and is described in Australian distributor material rather than a factory table, so the figures here are indicative.

The right way to read it is as a tool for the operator who wants to rip roots, rake ground and grab brash without changing attachments, not as a substitute for every EX grapple. The forestry grabs buying guide explains where each design fits.

What the published figures mean on site

The only dimension published for the Terragrip is an opening of approximately 1,540 mm. That sits between the EX28 and EX36 openings, but the comparison is not like for like. On an EX grapple both tines swing, so the opening is symmetrical about the headstock and the closed volume is quoted in square metres. On the Terragrip the fixed leg stays put and the moving leg travels the full distance, so the opening describes how far the gripping leg swings away from the ripper, and no grapple area figure is published because the geometry is not designed to contain a bundle in the same way.

There is no published weight for the Terragrip in the material available to this site, and no published root-ripping force or tine section. Obtain the delivered weight in writing for the configuration quoted before any carrier assessment, because the fixed ripper leg is a heavy structure by nature and the 14 to 25 tonne band should be read as a starting point rather than a clearance.

Carrier matching and the suspended-load rule

The Terragrip’s gripping capability is not a lifting capacity, and it has a second loading case the EX grapples do not: ripping and raking put the fixed leg under crowd and drag loads through the boom and stick rather than a suspended load through the chart. Both need to be assessed.

Illustratively, assume a 20 tonne excavator rated 3,000 kg at the working radius and, purely for the arithmetic, a delivered attachment package of 1,000 kg including coupler. About 2,000 kg would remain for a root ball or bundle of brash. A root ball with soil attached weighs far more than its timber alone, so check the chart before swinging a ripped stump at reach. Use the lift capacity calculator once the real weight is known, with the lift chart and attachment mass guide.

Typical work and production considerations

The Terragrip earns its place where clearing and handling happen on the same ground in the same shift: subdivision and civil clearing where stumps are ripped, roots raked out and brash stacked before earthworks, farm clearing, shelterbelts and orchards where a single machine works through a paddock, and solar and wind farm site preparation where the ground must be left clean for civil trades.

The production logic is fewer attachment changes rather than faster grabs. Illustratively, if a crew swaps between a ripper and a grapple six times a day and each change costs ten minutes, that is an hour of carrier time recovered daily with a combined tool. Against that, a dedicated EX grapple will fill a chipper faster because it contains a bundle rather than pinching it, and the clearing workflow guide sets out how to sequence the two. Native vegetation clearing may need approvals under state and local rules; the native vegetation approvals guide explains what to check before mobilising.

Limitations and when to step up or down a size

The Terragrip is the wrong tool where the job is high-volume chipper feeding, sawlog sorting or biomass loading; an EX28 or EX36 with a rotator will move more material per hour with better control of the bundle. It is also not a stump grinder or a stump cutter: it rips and levers roots out, which suits softer ground and smaller stumps, and for large hardwood stumps that must be removed below grade the stump grinders and stump cutters ranges are the purpose-built answers.

Options and configuration to settle at quotation

Because the Terragrip is specified from distributor material, the quotation needs to nail down what the EX pages take for granted: mounting (rigid or swing-link), whether a rotator is offered and what it weighs, the cylinder and gripping pressure on the moving leg, the tine or tooth arrangement on the fixed ripper leg, and the hydraulic flow and pressure required. Ask specifically what the manufacturer says about crowd loading the fixed leg against embedded roots. The hydraulic matching guide covers the circuit questions.

Wear parts and support

Ripping wears the fixed leg’s teeth or tips and loads the main pin and bushes far harder than log handling does, so price those first, along with cylinder seals on the moving leg and rotator seals if a rotator is fitted. Ask how the ripper edge is rebuilt and whether replacement wear tips are stocked in Australia. A transport stand that supports the asymmetric head stably is essential. Machinery Specialist is the Australian distributor; the wear parts guide provides a pricing checklist.

Confirm before ordering

• Delivered weight in the quoted configuration, in writing, since no figure is published here
• Lift chart checked at the actual working radius with that weight and a realistic root ball deducted
• Manufacturer guidance on ripping and crowd loading through the fixed leg
• Mounting type, rotator availability and rotator weight and torque
• Gripping pressure and cylinder specification on the moving leg
• Hydraulic flow and pressure requirements for the carrier
• Ripper wear tips, main pins, bushes and seals priced with Australian stock location
• Transport stand suited to the asymmetric head

Frequently asked questions