Pulling out trees?

[CA Grown]

I'm wondering if there's a better way to pull out trees than wrapping a chain around them and yanking them out with a tractor.

Trees are various citrus, almond, walnut and grapes.

There's gotta be an easier way to get em out, right?

[bcp]

[DT86]

Sure the Chinook is nice but how many trees do you need to pull per hour to make it pencil out?

[Thomas]

Best way..AC/Heat cab,no bee stings,triping or falling.

[Bob77064]

Best way..AC/Heat cab,no bee stings,triping or falling.

Nice machine, I will starting saving to buy one.

[Baby Grand]

What part of taking them out by yanking on a chain don't you like?
Geting on and off and on and off the tractor?
Digging deep ruts when the wheels slip?
Maybe you need to rent a dozer or a mini-excavator for a day?

[CobyRupert]

[Hook 'em high!

I was amazed at the difference wrapping the cable at 16' above ground versus say 10' or 12' has when pulling over a 60'+ trees. Get all the leverage you can! Found it handy to carry a bale hook up the ladder to use to reach around the tree trunk & grab the end of the cable. A small weight on a string tied to the end of the cable might also be usefull to "whip around" the trunk, so you can then pull the larger cable around the trunk with it.
A very long cable is better than a shorter one as it reduces the cable angle when you hook them high on the tree, that is, when you pull anything with a tractor where the load is above the plane of the connection point on the tractor, you're actually pulling the back of the tractor off the ground the more you pull, and you will lose traction. (versus a load below the connection point which makes the rear tires dig in that much more, which = wheelie instead of spin). Having weights (like your 6520) and 4WD will help, as well as a long cable that reduces the angle.

ATTACH=CONFIG]295535[/ATTACH]

[magicheater]

This is what I have been using:

[sdkubota]

I run my subsoiler around each side to shear any large roots then pull with larger diameter trees.

[CobyRupert]

Here's an interesting technique I found on another thread.
"I used to pull smaller alder trees, not over but straight up. The biggest one was approx. 10" in diameter. I used a large round out of a log i'd cut up. I'd put the round on it's side right up against the tree, then hook a chain to the base of the tree as close to the ground as possible, up over the round then to my truck. The chain would pull tight then the tree would lift straight up and fall over. I did learn to top the tree after the first larger one i pulled fell over landed next to me"

If the soil is wet it helps too. When I pull trees, I'm sitting behind the protective cage of a 3 point hitch pulling winch, which makes me a lot bolder. Wouldn't want to catch a snapping cable in the head.