Sub Soiler for Stumps

[sixdogs]

My single shank super duty 230 lb ripper and a 90 hp tractor with weights and good tires will rip roots very well. Same ripper with a 45 hp 4wd Kubota doesn't have a chance. I think if you have the weight, traction and an implement you can't hurt, you can rip roots and stumps. Not so with lesser weight and traction. My 90 hp tractor ripped out 6" to 7" or even bigger softwoods with little problem. Hardwoods were more difficult but they came out. Oddly, had I backhoed them with a small backhoe, it would have taken longer with lesser results.

The Cain ripper is meant for dirt and I think stumps would twist it up but that's just my opinion. I think they would work well on rocks.

 

[TomSeller]

Almost everyone I have seen around here is sitting lop sided in a pasture with grass all around it. Seems more of a novelty that wears off and the owners realize how slow it is to work with.

Not mine, I use it every week. A backhoe is very useful for maintenance digging. Bury a cow. Plant a tree. Dig up a waterline leak. Hoisting something up into position......

For serious digging you are correct but a backhoe is so much better than a shovel and wheelbarrow.

 

[CalG]

If you are trying for "tree" size roots, make sure that ripper is STOUT.

I've bent and twisted more than one of the ubiquitous "box blade" tooth blades on my home built "ripper".

Roots are tougher than a lot of steel! ;-)

 

[rScotty]

Not mine, I use it every week. A backhoe is very useful for maintenance digging. Bury a cow. Plant a tree. Dig up a waterline leak. Hoisting something up into position......

For serious digging you are correct but a backhoe is so much better than a shovel and wheelbarrow.

I'm the same way. The backhoe is one of the most used tools we own. But it's only used for digging part of the time. Digging ability is great when needed, but the backhoe is more often used as a crane, or just for generally moving and placing just about anything heavy or awkward.
I agree that a small excavator does a lot of the above and doubtless digs better. But the backhoe is likely to get more chores done just because it travels better. And the larger backhoe with ride control and pretty good road speed is handy for carrying more than a pickup can do.
rScotty