STump grapple

okiecraig · Feb 29, 2012

Anybody used a stump grapple or stump bucket such as sold by Everything Attachments using a Kubota L3940 GST as the force behind the attachment? I need to clear 10 acres of woods with sandy soil with 100s of 2-8" blackjack oaks and hickory. I am not in a hurry enough to just hire a dozer operator but would like to buy the appropriate attachment the first time.

Construction Attachments Severe X-treme Duty, Skid Steer, Skidsteer, Wicked Stump Grapple Bucket

KennyV · Mar 1, 2012

That is a Nice attachment...
Unfortunately it is not going to work very well on a small light weight wheel tractor...KennyV

PHILIP8N · Mar 1, 2012

Wow, that is a serious attachment! Wonder how much it weighs? They also offer without grapple. I was looking at something similar, Rylee Root Ripper. But, I too am unsure how well this will work with the weight and power of my L3940. If you get something, please share your experience. Philip.

nybirdman · Mar 1, 2012

I purchased a stump bucket(Gator Attachments) for my L4240 Kubota.The thing is well made,about 300lbs if I remember right.Not real fond of it;it is just about impossible to see what you are doing...get the right angle ect.
Remember you only have about an eight inch surface to try and line up.Very frustrating.I thought I could use it to dig a ditch..didn't work well for me.
I ended up borrowing a back-hoe.Another "lawn ornament" ,oh well.

For small stuff(stumps) ,I find the tooth-bar on my regular bucket a better tool.

SPYDERLK · Mar 1, 2012

nybirdman said:
I purchased a stump bucket(Gator Attachments) for my L4240 Kubota.The thing is well made,about 300lbs if I remember right.Not real fond of it;it is just about impossible to see what you are doing...get the right angle ect.
Remember you only have about an eight inch surface to try and line up.Very frustrating.I thought I could use it to dig a ditch..didn't work well for me.
I ended up borrowing a back-hoe.Another "lawn ornament" ,oh well.

For small stuff(stumps) ,I find the tooth-bar on my regular bucket a better tool.

Yeah, the side taper in stump buckets stops penetration very quickly. Sorta like pushing a pyramid into the ground. After a couple trys mine sits til I modify it.
larry

lhansman · Mar 1, 2012

I have a stump bucket with a similar shape to this without the grapple that I use on my B26. As has already been pointed out, it is virtually impossible to push it into the ground in the fashion shown in the video. Even that tracked skid steer was not pushing it very far into the dirt before it started to spin. Frankly I think I could have removed that stump with my hoe almost as fast as he did with the skid steer and there would have been a lot less damage done to the surrounding grass!

Now for the good stuff - if you need to do any of the following:

1) The stump bucket works well for transplanting stuff from my wifes various gardens to new ones. It pushes into soft soil 12" - 24" and allows me to select a single plant or clump and pick it up and relocate it.

2) I have found it very useful for pouring concrete. It holds almost as much as the B26 FEL bucket but gives me much more precision when I dump it rather than the 5' wide mouth on the standard bucket.

3) I have done a number of pathways with either pea stone or limestone screenings as the base. Similar to the concrete, if the pathway is less than 5' wide, the stump bucket allows me to place the granular material along the pathway without spilling over the sides.

4) I have done a lot of rock wall work at my place and I find the stump bucket handy in a couple of ways for that. If you are trying to pick up a single boulder from a pile of them, the stump bucket gives you much more precision than the 5' wide one and allows you to be very selective and only pick up the rock you want and not a couple of additional hangers on. The long bottom of the stump bucket also means boulders will stay in it whereas with the regular FEL bucket I would have hade to wrap a chain around some of the larger rocks. And finally it allows you to be much more precise in where you place the rock as well as to fit it in between a couple of other rocks.

In summary, it is not very useful for stump removal (especially if you have a hoe) but I have found enough other uses for it that it certainly isn't a lawn ornament.

Lauren

okiecraig · Mar 1, 2012

Sorry to hear the less than glowing reports but appreciate the experiences.

Anybody ever seen an attachment that has a spade on one side and a grubber on the other?

_()_____^^____

Then you could dig under a tree and cut some roots first, then grab the tree with the grubber and yank it out.

Any other attachments you folks have had luck with pulling out trees?

k0ua · Mar 2, 2012

That CA grapple bucket says it weight 1008 lbs.. well with my L3400HST would be able to pick it up,... and maybe even filled full of feathers:laughing::laughing:. I know your 3940 has quite a bit more lift capacity but I think you would not have a lot of lifting power left over to rip out stumps. It would probably work pretty good on a big tracked skid steer.. I think an excavator works real well for stumps, and barring that get the backhoe for your 3940. I dug out a pretty good one last fall with my little tractor, but it was a chore with a homemade bucket shovel and finished with pulling it over. ( I left a 6 foot stump)

James K0UA

KennyV · Mar 2, 2012

When it comes to removing trees or stumps... Big equipment is what works.
It's more the machine the attachment is paired with... You need a Lot of loader boom arm strength plus a lot of weight to push a bucket into roots to cut .
A Big track dozer or loader will clear most BUT there will be a lot of Cleanup Finish work.

or Get a back hoe for your tractor & go after One at a time... You can do a lot of the finish and clean up as you go... takes a while but it is going to take a while no matter how you go about it. KennyV

okiecraig · Mar 2, 2012

KennyV said:
When it comes to removing trees or stumps... Big equipment is what works.
It's more the machine the attachment is paired with... You need a Lot of loader boom arm strength plus a lot of weight to push a bucket into roots to cut .
A Big track dozer or loader will clear most BUT there will be a lot of Cleanup Finish work.

or Get a back hoe for your tractor & go after One at a time... You can do a lot of the finish and clean up as you go... takes a while but it is going to take a while no matter how you go about it. KennyV

thank, Kenny, and others. I guess I will get a dozer for the major effort and then do the clean up myself.