Hydralic Tent stake puller for the 3pt hitch of Kubota BX, help wanted.

[BX tent guy]

OK, having thought this through a bit more and considering everyones input I am thinking that the best option might be a bit more simple. Typically there will be 2 men operating a puller. One locates the hook, the other moves and controls the machine. In this business there is plenty of labor around for large jobs. So, I'm thinking of building a frame to bolt inside of the bucket. This frame hold the post for the cylinder, it also is connected to the cutting edge like some tooth bars are hooked over the cutting edge. For added strength I would use turnbuckles to attach it to my existing chain hooks. For the hydraulics, KISS. If I start with the bucket level on the ground and disconnect the curl/dump lines the bucket is static but can be raised and lowered via the loader arms. In the bucket is the puller now attached to the curl/dump circuit. I'd pull up to the stake, the assistant would hook it, and give me the go ahead. Pull it the travel of the cylinder and then with the FEL. The stake goes onto the tractor 3pt forks. Thoughts? Suggestions? Trouble shooting?

 

[nc redneck]

I have a friend who has a tent, table, chair rental business. He uses 55 gallon drums filled with water to anchor a lot of his tents. End of job pull plug tip them over drain and load. He may not be as large as you as I think he only has 30 or 40 drums.
Just wondering how do you drive a few 100 tent stakes ?

 

[BX tent guy]

I have a friend who has a tent, table, chair rental business. He uses 55 gallon drums filled with water to anchor a lot of his tents. End of job pull plug tip them over drain and load. He may not be as large as you as I think he only has 30 or 40 drums.
Just wondering how do you drive a few 100 tent stakes ?

We use water and concrete when we can't stake but it can only hold so much. In the corner of the big tents in the previous post I need about 3000 pounds of resistance to pulling out in each direction. We use a Atlas Copco Hammer to put them in but only on big jobs or pavement. 3 guys with hammers on normal soil is faster than the jackhammer, the guys hit harder too.

 

[nc redneck]

Not sure if this helps but you may want to consider welding a chain link or something like it to each one of your stakes. It might give you a easy way to attach pulling device to it. I like your idea, sometimes it helps to keep upward pressure on it and ease tractor forward and backwards while pulling up. My only experience is pulling T post and it is amazing how hard or easy it can be.
Your guys must be tough to out hit a Jack Hammer.
Good Luck

 

[BX tent guy]

Not sure if this helps but you may want to consider welding a chain link or something like it to each one of your stakes. It might give you a easy way to attach pulling device to it. I like your idea, sometimes it helps to keep upward pressure on it and ease tractor forward and backwards while pulling up. My only experience is pulling T post and it is amazing how hard or easy it can be.
Your guys must be tough to out hit a Jack Hammer.
Good Luck

I can buy a "jaw" to grab the stakes. It's essentially a 1" thick piece of steel cut like a "C" it grabs the stake head for the first pull and bites the stake for subsequent pulls. My guys are pretty big, they can hit harder than a gas powered hammer but not for long. When a stake gets stuck on a rock the Altas Copco bounces, a 16 pound sledge drives it in.

I had a T post in an oak stump hold on beyond anything reasonable. It took a Cat 327 to yank it out. In my experience, anything driven into a tree stump is better cut off and driven flush. Some things just can't be pulled out. I also set a bunch of tents on what seemed to be a waterfront park. Apparently we were on an old ship building pier long since covered in grass. It was all 16x16 creosote timbers. That day was the worse stake pulling experience in history.

 

[94BULLITT]

How do you currently remove the stakes?

 

[BX tent guy]

How do you currently remove the stakes?

I mostly use what is affectionately called the "UNHAMMER" Its 2"x1/4" flat stock laminated 8 layers welded solid. Basically an 18"x2" solid square bar with handels. It has a channel to ride up the stake and strike the stake in the up direction. Hence the "UNHAMMER" moniker. We used to have them made of solid bar but they always broke at the channel. The current version has lasted more than 10 years without so much as a crack.

 

[94BULLITT]

I mostly use what is affectionately called the "UNHAMMER" Its 2"x1/4" flat stock laminated 8 layers welded solid. Basically an 18"x2" solid square bar with handels. It has a channel to ride up the stake and strike the stake in the up direction. Hence the "UNHAMMER" moniker. We used to have them made of solid bar but they always broke at the channel. The current version has lasted more than 10 years without so much as a crack.

So you have something like a slide hammer you use to remove the stakes.

I'm still wondering your BX will lift them from a drawbar like the guy in the video does with that post. A BX will lift pretty good on the 3PH, probably about as much as the tractor in the video. If the BX will not lift them off the drawbar then I guess your only other option would be make a 3PH mounted stake remover. You could also modify a wood splitter to remove the stakes.

 

[BX tent guy]

So you have something like a slide hammer you use to remove the stakes.

I'm still wondering your BX will lift them from a drawbar like the guy in the video does with that post. A BX will lift pretty good on the 3PH, probably about as much as the tractor in the video. If the BX will not lift them off the drawbar then I guess your only other option would be make a 3PH mounted stake remover. You could also modify a wood splitter to remove the stakes.

I have been too busy to experiment with it but I plan on trying everything before I start spending money. I have a variety of soil conditions around the shop and the guys to pound test stakes. I'm missing the jaw but for single trials that wont matter.

 

[jenkinsph]

If you can get a jaw that works well the rest should be easy to fabricate. It seems to me that a cylinder operating a cable on a track to provide the upwards lift would be simple and effective. The base for this should rest on the ground to remove the forces from the tractor. This should not be a complicated build as long as you have the jaw to put on the stakes.

Look at how a normal fork lift works, only have a base plate to transfer the forces to the ground.