Ford 555C backhoe questions

[jmc]

Alan,

That's a lot of money for 1 to 1.5 inch trees. Can't you just bush hog them?

John

 

[AlanB]

I want them OUT, I hate the stubs that are left from the bushog, and I think these are too "dense" for my hog and tractor, will try and grab a picture.

Plus, I would still not have a thumb

 

[jmc]

I want them OUT, I hate the stubs that are left from the bushog, and I think these are too "dense" for my hog and tractor, will try and grab a picture.

Plus, I would still not have a thumb

Four good reasons, especially the last.

John

 

[AlanB]

Pictures of what I need to clear, about 2 acres like this.

No, I am not in a rush, it is what I wanted to do with a mulching head, but I am finding soooooooooooooooooooooo much metal and other trash (pipes, fence, etc. etc.) out there it would not be worth spinning one up in there. Somebody would be hurt, or equipment damaged at the least.

 

[rexcramer]

You don't need a thumb to clear those little trees. I have spent the last year clearing 2 acres for my new house and pond. The forest is every bit as thick as what you have, but with big hardwoods mixed in that I have had to dig out and push over as well.

A thumb may help a little, but I have had no problem uprooting and carrying large numbers of saplings. You just set the backhoe in position and start clearing and then swing the hoe all the way to one side and stack the brush. All it takes is a shallow scrape with the backhoe bucket and they pop right out. Grabbing them without a thumb is not a problem. Once you get a system going the only thing that will slow you down is how fast you can burn the brush piles.

The only times I have wanted a thumb is when I have tried to grab big logs on frozen ground or when I wanted to grab logs without getting a bucketful of dirt along with the log. When you are trying to harvest nice logs its important to keep them clean.

 

[AlanB]

Are you pinching them against the boom? Or I guess could you explain how you are moving them out.

I have been digging them up, and am getting better at my depth control (little experience, and little practice time) but it still is taking someone on the ground (usually me) to pick up the trees and move them out of the way.

I am wanting to get out of the get out the cab and move stuff around end of things.

 

[EddieWalker]

Alan,

My land is very similar in places and I've spent many hours taking out little trees just like that with my backhoe. The dozer will do it to, but not as cleanly. It also has a way of cutting them off and leaving little stumps behind if I get going too fast.

I like to just back up to them and use the hoe to take them out one at a time. My technique is to first push them away from the tractor and get them flat, then using the teeth of the bucket, curl it in and off to the side. They will pop right out nice and clean. Then I make a pile of them and clear the area behind me so that I'm not parked on any when I work my way backwards.

Two acres is quite a bit, but once you get going, it moves along at a nice relaxing pace. Be sure to have lots of bug repellent on you and a can of Wasp Spray handy. Sooner or later you will hit a nest of some kind and they will come after you. I've been lucky and only been stung a few times, but I have had a bee hive come at me and I sprayed the entire can of wasp killer around me, on me and all over as I made my escape.

Burning the piles can be more work then taking out the trees. The thumb on the hoestick is only good for moving stuff around, not for moving stuff to the burn pile. Having a grapple, or thumb on your front bucket is what you realy want!!! Until then, you can scoot the piles to your burn area with some degree of effort and frustration. You will get better over time and the slower you go, the easier it is. Just don't be suprised when you have to do some by hand, and others with a chain. I've drug thousands of threes with a chain and expect to do allot more before I'm done with my place.

Eddie

 

[AlanB]

Next question of the day,,

I have those pallet forks that hook onto the bucket, bar across the top of the forks, they hang down and rest against the lip of the bucket.

Never thought of it before, but I cannot "press" the forks down, to say dig under a RR tie and lift it up. when you curl down, the forks reach a point where they just stay hanging vertical and the bucket moves away from them.

Does anyone put a tieback or something on them so that they are locked on the bottom too the bucket?

makes it a Pain to lift something sitting "on" the ground directly.

 

[rexcramer]

Yeah Alan I just hold the saplings against the boom.

I have also found that many medium sized brush piles are a lot easier to burn than one huge pile. Once the pile gets so big it is a pain to light in the center and it takes days to burn, hard for a guy with a 50 hour a week job to keep an eye on. Also you wont spend all day dragging brush from one side of your lot to another.

I dont have the type of forks that you do, but that seems like a real crappy way to put forks on it to just hang them from the loader. I would get a 3" ratchet strap and use it to keep the forks from flopping around. I would hate to pick something up and have the forks not sitting securely on the bucket.

 

[AlanB]

So,,,,, Saturday, Lil would not start, jumped her off and everything was fine, Let her run at a high idle for a while. Was a concern, because that is one of the original reasons that the previous owner had her in the shop... and they FIXED it...

So Hanna went to run Lil yesterday to load mulch. One of the basic functions Lil is supposed to do.... You guessed it, Lil will not run.... So, Hanna jumps Lil and all is good. Hanna comes back for the next load.... Tries to jump Lil... Melts the clamp tooth on the jumper cable which allows the hot (Positive) jumper cable to fall down across the battery box, melting off the insulation which my wife then reaches down and grabs this red hot, shorting out, clamp..... and burns her hand......................

Needless to say, My wife cussed my Hoe a blue streak......... (think it hurt Lil's feelings as a matter of fact ) cause she would not run, so when Hanna could get no more satisfaction cussing my Hoe, she called me on the cell phone and picked up where she had left off............

You ever heard the saying, You can always tell a German, You just can't tell them much

So, my evening was spent trying to coax Lil back into cooperating, and had to re-learn some basic rules again, such as START WITH THE BASICs

Seems that in all the work the shop did on her, they never cleaned and straightened out the battery connections.

Dufus me figured I grabbed and they felt tight, they were ok, but as I was not getting consistent meter readings it had me wondering....

I think Hanna was still a little miffed after we sat out there an hour or so fooling around with Lil, when I realized I just needed to pull and clean the cables and she fired right up, charging system was all working fine..................

Just thought I would share