B7500 Vs. Stump

[Anonymous Poster]

I just recently purchased a B7500HST with a FEL w/teeth and a BH. This is my first tractor and I really didn't know what to expect as far as performance, especially when I was shopping. I would get conflicting reports from salespeople and friends as far as the capabilities of smaller tractors. One thing that I did want to do was to be able to remove some stumps in an area that we are landscaping. I finally decided on the B7500 because it wasn't too big and it seemed to have the best specs for the money. After removing a few smaller stumps, I finally got the courage to attempt "THE MONSTER". I will attach 3 photos to show how this project came out. This stump is a maple. Fortunately we have had a very dry fall, so I was not dealing with a lot of water weight. I started by digging about a 4 foot trench all around the stump with the backhoe. Then I dug a ramp down one side of the stump. The ramp proved to be a very good technique because I had gravity working for me to help get under the root ball and it also gave me some good leverage for lift on the root ball. After working it for awhile, I was finally able to tip it over. I worked as much of the dirt out of the root ball as possible with the teeth on my loader and then I was finally able to push it out of the hole with the loader. Once again the ramp helped give me leverage. After I got it out of the hole, I pushed it about 200ft. down my road into the "stump graveyard". As a new tractor owner, I am really impressed with the capabilities of this "small" tractor. Besides that, I am having a ball doing it. Just thought I would share my B7500 experiences, as well as the ramp technique for stump removal.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Here is a picture of the ramp and the stump on it's side

 

[Anonymous Poster]

This is the picture of the stump finally out of the hole.

 

[RoyJackson]

Nice job!!!!!!

About how long did it take you to do this task? I know it took a while.
Before I got my Deere, the BX2200 and B7500 were my first choices. Just got a good deal on a solid used tractor.

 

[ronjhall]

Project well done!!!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
What are you going to do with the stump? /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

 

[Boone]

Very nice.
If you don't mind could you give a price on what the back hoe costs?
Looks like you boxed in the bucket lip and welded the hooks on, I think that is how I will set my bucket up.
Thanks for the pictures.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I spent about 3 hours on it Sunday afternoon and about one more hour Monday evening. I was digging in mostly sandy soil and it is dry, so the digging was fairly easy. The ramp only took about 15 minutes to dig.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I am going to "preserve" it in my "stump museum" in the back woods on my property. We are currently under a burn ban, so I can't burn for a while, so I have quite a collection of stumps back there now. Actually, I have found that letting them dry for at least a year will make them burn easier. The tree was living when I started on this, so the wood is green. In the past, I have used a pressure washer to remove the dirt from the roots to help them burn. Stumps with a lot of dirt attached are almost impossible to burn.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I bought a package deal, and we did quite a bit of negotiating at the end, so itemized pricing might not be very representative of what an individual component might have cost. Basically, for $17,750 I got the B7500HST, FEL,BH and FEL teeth. They also threw in a 3 pt. drawbar that they make at the dealership and the modifications on the top of my FEL bucket. They welded on a piece of angle iron and then welded on 3 hooks on top. The bucket is really solid on top and it is very convenient for hooking chain to. I also bought a Bearcat 70554 chipper and a power pruner for limbing, so all the exact prices are mixed together due to the negotiation process. Basically my understanding is a decent backhoe will cost at least 6K for an upgrade on this model.

 

[TresCrows]

That stump is bigger than your tractor. These little tractors really are amazing. While I am not going to dis the bigger is better crowd, you really can do an awfull lot of real (REAL) work with little machines. I wish I had a backhoe like yours, which model is that?
My BX2200 is doing well and I have come to love my B2410. I might look for a rode hard 8N to rebuild for a project, cannot have to many projects.
I think you made a great choice, the 7500 is a stout little machine. Goodluck with your machine. J