Grapple Truck Service in Eastern NC

The Only Grapple Truck Service in Eastern NC

We own and operate a grapple truck - and as far as we know, we’re the only company running one as a dedicated service in Eastern NC. That matters because if you have a pile of logs, brush, or debris that needs to go away, your alternatives are loading by hand (slow), renting a loader and dump trailer (expensive and you’re doing the work), or calling us.

A grapple truck is a heavy truck with a hydraulic knuckleboom crane and claw mounted behind the cab. The claw grabs material - logs, brush piles, stumps, construction debris - and loads it directly onto the truck bed. What takes a crew of four with chainsaws and a loader half a day, the grapple truck does in an hour.

We run the grapple truck out of both our Rocky Mount and Goldsboro locations, serving Nash, Wayne, Wilson, Edgecombe, Halifax, Greene, Lenoir, Johnston, and Pitt counties.

How It Works

The grapple truck arrives, positions near the debris, and the operator starts loading. The hydraulic claw extends approximately 20-25 feet from the truck, grabs a load of material, swings it over the truck bed, and drops it. The claw can pick up:

• Whole logs - 20-foot logs, 24-inch diameter, no problem. The claw grabs and lifts what would take four guys and a loader to move.
• Brush piles - The claw closes around a section of brush pile and loads it in one grab. A brush pile that looks massive gets loaded in 4-5 grabs.
• Stumps and root balls - Stumps that were pulled with an excavator, root ball and all, get grabbed and loaded. Individual stumps or a pile of them.
• Construction debris - Lumber, pallets, framing scraps, demolition wood. Anything the claw can grab.
• Mixed debris - After a storm, you get a mix of everything. Logs, branches, leaves matted together, fence sections, whatever the wind brought down. The claw doesn’t care - it grabs and loads.

One load is approximately 10-12 cubic yards. For a residential tree removal, that’s usually 1-2 loads. For a land clearing project, it might be 5-10 loads. For storm cleanup, it depends on how bad the storm was.

Pricing

We keep grapple truck pricing straightforward:

Per Load

$900 per load - This is the standard rate. Includes the truck, operator, loading, transport, and dump fees. One load handles a significant amount of material. Most residential cleanup jobs are 1-3 loads.

3-Load Minimum Rate

$700 per load at a minimum of 3 loads - For bigger jobs. If you know you’ve got 3+ loads of material, the per-load rate drops. This is common for land clearing debris, multi-tree removal cleanup, and storm damage jobs.

Day Rental

$1,900 per day - 8 hours, port-to-port (clock starts when the truck leaves our shop and stops when it returns). Client pays dump fees directly. The day rental makes sense when you’ve got a large volume of material or multiple pickup locations. At 5+ loads in a day, the day rate is cheaper than per-load pricing.

The day rental is popular with:

• Contractors clearing job sites
• Property managers cleaning up multiple properties
• Municipalities after storm events
• Landscaping companies that don’t own a grapple truck

What’s Included

• Truck and experienced operator
• Loading at the pickup location
• Transport to disposal site
• Dump fees (included in per-load pricing; client pays on day rentals)

What’s Not Included

• Cutting or processing material on site (if logs need to be bucked to fit, that’s additional labor)
• Material that the claw can’t grab (loose dirt, gravel, small debris)
• Work in conditions where the truck can’t safely operate (deep mud, steep inclines, tight spaces the truck can’t access)

Common Use Cases

Storm Cleanup

After a hurricane, tropical storm, or ice storm hits Eastern NC, there’s debris everywhere. Downed trees across yards, broken limbs piled up, entire trees uprooted. The grapple truck is the fastest way to clean up storm debris at scale.

During major storm events, we run the grapple truck continuously alongside our tree removal crews. The tree crews cut and process; the grapple truck hauls. After Hurricane Florence and subsequent storms, our grapple truck ran for weeks handling debris across Nash, Wayne, and Wilson counties.

For homeowners dealing with storm debris: if you’ve got a pile of branches and logs in your yard from a storm, one grapple truck load probably handles it. Call us before spending a weekend trying to load it into a trailer yourself.

Land Clearing Debris Haul-Off

When we clear land, the grapple truck is part of the operation. But we also get calls from property owners or contractors who did their own clearing and now have piles of material they need hauled away. Cut down the trees yourself? Great. Now you’ve got 20 log piles and a mountain of brush. The grapple truck makes those disappear.

Tree Removal Follow-Up

Sometimes a tree company removes a tree and leaves a mess. Or a storm brought a tree down months ago and it’s been sitting in the yard. Logs too heavy to move by hand, a brush pile too big for the yard waste pickup. One grapple truck visit handles it.

Construction Site Cleanup

Contractors clearing sites generate wood debris - stumps, logs, root balls, lumber scraps. The grapple truck loads this material faster than a skid steer and dump trailer. For large construction projects in Nash, Wayne, or Johnston counties, the day rental is the most efficient option.

DIY Project Cleanup

You spent the weekend cutting down trees, trimming branches, and cleaning up your property. Now you’ve got a pile of debris that won’t fit in your truck and the county won’t pick up. One grapple truck load and it’s gone. This is one of our most common residential calls - people do the work themselves and call us for the cleanup.

Property Management and HOA Cleanup

Property managers and HOAs in Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, Wilson, and Greenville call us for periodic debris cleanup. After storms, after tenant turnover on wooded lots, or just annual property maintenance. The grapple truck handles the heavy stuff that landscaping crews can’t.

Municipal and Government Work

Municipalities and county governments use grapple truck services for right-of-way clearing, storm debris management, and property maintenance. We’re available for government contracts and emergency activation during declared storm events.

Grapple Truck vs. Alternatives

Grapple Truck vs. Hand Loading

There’s no comparison. The grapple truck loads in minutes what takes a crew hours. A four-person crew with a flatbed truck might load 2-3 loads in a day. The grapple truck loads 2-3 loads in an hour. For anything more than a small brush pile, the grapple truck is cheaper when you account for labor time.

Grapple Truck vs. Skid Steer and Dump Trailer

A skid steer with a grapple attachment can load a dump trailer, but the trailer holds a fraction of what the grapple truck holds. You’re making 3-4 dump trailer trips for every one grapple truck trip. Plus you need to rent both the skid steer and the trailer if you don’t own them.

Grapple Truck vs. Dumpster Rental

Dumpsters are great for construction debris but terrible for logs and brush. Material doesn’t pack well, you can’t fill it efficiently, and weight limits are restrictive. A 30-yard dumpster rental might cost $500-$700, sit on your property for a week, and hold less material than one grapple truck load. Plus you’re loading it yourself.

Grapple Truck vs. Burning

Some property owners burn debris. It’s legal in many Eastern NC areas with proper permits, but burning is slow, weather-dependent, requires monitoring, and doesn’t work for logs. If you’ve got a serious amount of debris, burning takes days. The grapple truck takes hours.

Scheduling and Availability

The grapple truck runs most days. For per-load jobs, we can usually schedule within a few days. For day rentals, book at least a week ahead - especially during storm season when demand spikes.

During and after major storms, grapple truck demand exceeds supply across the region. We prioritize emergency road clearing, tree-on-structure cleanup, and then work through the residential backlog. If you’re not in an emergency situation after a storm, expect a wait. We’ll be honest about the timeline.

Related Services

The grapple truck pairs with every service we offer. After a tree removal job, we load and haul the sections. Following a land clearing or forestry mulching project, the grapple truck handles the cleanup. We also support commercial tree service contracts.

Service Area

We run the grapple truck from both offices:

• Nash County - Rocky Mount, Nashville, Spring Hope, Red Oak
• Wayne County - Goldsboro, Pikeville, Fremont, Mount Olive
• Wilson County - Wilson, Lucama, Elm City, Stantonsburg
• Edgecombe County - Tarboro, Pinetops, Leggett
• Halifax County - Roanoke Rapids, Weldon, Enfield, Scotland Neck
• Greene County - Snow Hill, Walstonburg, Hookerton, Maury
• Lenoir County - Kinston, La Grange, Deep Run, Pink Hill
• Johnston County - Smithfield, Selma, Four Oaks, Benson
• Pitt County - Greenville, Winterville, Ayden, Farmville

For jobs outside our standard area, we can usually accommodate with an additional mobilization fee. Call and ask.

Book the Grapple Truck

Call (252) 506-0099 or email now@dctreecutting.com. Tell us what you’ve got, approximately how much, and where it is. We’ll give you a load estimate and schedule the truck. Goldsboro area: (919) 276-0144.