Pushing With FEL

[pitt_md]

Use the chainsaw to get the tree down and the FEL to pick up the pieces.

 

[Bedlam]

OMG Southern what a You Tube. Almost unbelievable really. Guess this is another Darwin candidate

 

[budlite]

If you must push over a tree, use the FEL to dig on the side you wish to push from, piling the dirt up as you dig. Once you have dug down a bit and exposed/broken some roots, using the dirt as a ramp, raise the FEL up a ways and push, driving SLOWLY "up" the trunk, using the weight of the dirt/tractor to push the tree down. At the same time, be careful not to run the FEL up the trunk so far as to lift your front wheels off the ground and overturn. I've done this with trees up to maybe 8-10 inches with a JD5303. If you ever watch a dozer, they pretty much use this technique on large trees.

 

[powerstroke444e]

The easiest way we have found to clean up after an ice storm is with high lift or extending boom fork lift. the one we used last time would go up about 75' and it had a grapple attachment that would allow you to grab the limbs that were broke off.

 

[pat32rf]

If your tractor has hydro you can raise the bucket, keeping the leading edge in line with the pins and lift the front wheels off the ground getting a little more leverage. You can then bounce things a little bit to see if the tree is starting to move. Don't try this with a clutch tranny or without a solid roof on your ROPS.
Once the tree starts to shift you can decide to dig some more or push harder.
I'd still just clean up what you have to now, then wait for spring to see what survives. It will be safer and easier to finish when things are warmer.

 

[KennyV]

I am pretty sure you are going to have plenty of broken limbs to deal with before you have time to remove trees.
I have family in both Harrison and Gassville, they have told me what it looks like, your pictures confirm the mess. What ever you do DO NOT do what this guy is doing... YouTube - Tractor Catastrophe!
KennyV

 

[JB4310]

I am pretty sure you are going to have plenty of broken limbs to deal with before you have time to remove trees.
I have family in both Harrison and Gassville, they have told me what it looks like, your pictures confirm the mess. What ever you do DO NOT do what this guy is doing... YouTube - Tractor Catastrophe!
KennyV

Boy, that guy got lucky!

 

[Diamondpilot]

I always cut down my trees 5' off the ground. I then come back with my FEL and push North, South, East, West when the ground is wet then pull out the whole thing by putting a chain at about 4' off the ground and pulling from the draw bar.

Chris

 

[jda1961]

a few years back i knew a guy that had a nice new jd tractor around 65 hp, 4x4 and a loader. there was a storm and a bunch of trees were nearly down so he decided to push em out, it worked good for a while til he came to a stuborn one, he pushed on it and as the strain grew it popped up over the loader bucket and snapped back hitting him and now he is dead. doing stupid things will get you killed. take a powersaw and cut the trees up before you push on them, a farm tractor is not made to push out trees. he was a good guy doing a stupid thing, now hes dead, is it worth getting killed over?

 

[wedge40]

I had to post these. A friend knew these people. And believe it not nobody was hurt. They guy manage to jump out the back end before the tractor got crushed. His brother was on the other side of a hill when he heard something and when he got there the guy using the TBL was laying on the ground. Guess he was digging around the tree to knock it over.









Oh this was back in the fall and the TBL is put back together and in use. I guessing a little more carefully now.
Wedge