Abstract: A self-propelled vehicle having a pair of grappling devices supported from the vehicle and powered by an operating device. The vehicle while maintaining an elongated pipe within the grappling device moves in a horizontal direction to connect the held pipe with previously laid pipe. While the vehicle moves toward the previously laid pipe, the carried pipe may be moved to the left or right or simultaneously raised or lowered to align it with the previously laid pipe. When slip joint pipe is being laid, it may be forcibly connected to the previously laid pipe by the kinetics of the vehicle. When slip joint pipe is laid, no other means need be used to keep the pipes fastened together other than the frictional force caused by the forceable insertion of one pipe in another.