Combo stump bucket and tree puller?

[Rich_Z]

My TYM T474HC showed up this past Friday, and the only implement I got extra was a pallet fork. So I am looking at implements (not sure what is considered an "implement" and what is considered as an "attachment") on a prioritized basis of what would be most useful right away. Right off the bat, I can see where having a combo stump bucket and tree puller would be VERY useful to me, as I have some stumps from prior cut trees, and many small trees and saplings that could be just pulled out of the ground, rather than cutting than digging up the roots. So a tool that could tackle both would be ideal. At least in my humble opinion.

The T474 weighs 3,660 lbs. 48.3 HP at the engine. FEL lift capacity is 2,152 lbs at pivot pin. Breakout force at ground level is 3,198 lbs.

Yeah, I could get separate units, but it just seems logical and reasonable to have one tool to do both, even if some compromise would be needed.

Any input on which model/manufacturer would be the best fit for such an animal?

 

[2manyrocks]

This thread may be helpful to read. Front-End Loader - Danuser Intimdator

 

[Smokeydog]

Love my Danuser Intimdator. Use both on a Kubota B26 and M59. Grip low, drive forward to break it loose then lift and curl. Can excavate when you need to. Pile and carry.

Everything Attachments has copied the concept. Videos on their website. Bought one on sale over Labor weekend sale. Payment deducted from credit card and paid invoice sent. Then I called when they were open because they charged tax even though I put in my tax exempt number and previous customer. Then told me the price on their website was not right, my fault even if totally out of my control, wanted about $300 more!?!? Four month wait. Have to pay full upfront no matter how long the wait. Change in price and rude customer service had me asking for a refund. Would’ve been one of the few people to use and compare both.

 

[jeff9366]

I am not sure what is considered an "implement" and what is considered as an "attachment"

Implements are pulled behind a tractor.

Attachments mount on other parts of the tractor, most often the Loader bucket or Loader frame with the bucket removed.

IMPLEMENT definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary​

implement
noun [ C ]

US

a tool that works by being moved by hand or by being pulled across a surface:
garden/household/agricultural implements

 

[2manyrocks]

Another approach is to buy a tree puller $1390 and separately buy a stump bucket $890. Tractor Attachments — MTL Attachments Not saying it's the best, but it should be functional.

However, if it were my new tractor, (1) I would want to get past the initial break in period before doing very hard work and (2) I would personally be reluctant to dig out stumps and tree roots with a stump bucket because that's going to be hard on any tractor front end loader. Maybe your soil is loose enough, but I don't know how this will go for you. I'm mentioning this as a precaution to consider.

I might also mention that I feel conflicted whether I'd recommend a grapple as a first purchase over a tree puller. If you have material that is already down that needs to be moved, the grapple would be my choice for that. However, if you want to yank out smaller saplings one at a time, then the tree puller would be better for that. Usually, this will go more easily in the Spring when the soil is saturated with moisture.

One of the guys here made a bracket for his grapple that allows him to pull small saplings. That is another option to consider.

For a new tractor, I'd very much recommend as an initial priority that you add a brush guard for your front grill and possibly filter guards under your tractor to protect any filters that could be damaged by brush. (I spent 4-6 weeks fabricating guards for one of my tractors before I put it to work moving brush.)

Congratulations on your new T474. I hope it serves you well.

 

[Rich_Z]

For the record, the soil here is mostly sand. There may be pockets of clay here and there, but for the most part it is going to be sand with loam from fallen leaves and tree detritus on top. So it should be pretty easy digging. Of course, the trees might be compensating with a wider root network.

And yes, I ordered a brush guard last night.

The idea is to pull or knock over as many small trees/saplings as I can that will be in the areas I want to clear. That would be using the combo stump bucket and tree puller. Then when I get the grapple, pull out all the loose stuff and stack it somewhere out of the way. Next step would be to use a flail mower (which will also be my rear ballast most of the time) to take care of the roots, brush, and any other small stuff. Jury is still out as to whether I will need that ballast right away with the combo on the front end.

One other "implement" (thanks for the definitions!) I am considering is a land plane. Mostly for my driveway area. Over the years the center hump has gotten pretty high, and one of my cars rides low enough that eventually I am going to be picking grass off of the exhaust system.

 

[Smokeydog]

Yes, you will need ballast for FEL work.

Intimdator works good ripping out the little stuff. Longer tongs makes for better line on sight.

A much cheaper option is Piranha tooth bar. Great for removing small trees and brush. V-teeth grip and pull up small trees. Low grips and cuts small stuff. Helps carry off stuff but nowhere as good as a brush grapple. I can clear brush faster and smoother with the Piranha bar than the grapple. Might even do your driveway hump. Hope you optioned the heavy duty bucket.

Land planes are wonderful too.

Nice to have options.

 

[4570Man]

A tractor FEL isn’t the right tool for digging stumps. It’s easy to damage one doing that. If you do want to move forward the Danuser puller is a nice tool. But it’s 5k. You could probably buy an economy puller and a dedicated stump bucket for half the price.

 

[Rich_Z]

A tractor FEL isn’t the right tool for digging stumps. It’s easy to damage one doing that. If you do want to move forward the Danuser puller is a nice tool. But it’s 5k. You could probably buy an economy puller and a dedicated stump bucket for half the price.

I won't be tackling big trees. I prefer keeping most of the forest intact, especially the planted pines that might be commercially sold some day. Matter of fact, there are some species of trees that I would prefer keeping, so it might make for taking interesting directions through the woods. So your advice is well taken. Might be best to just get an economy tree puller, and presume that anything it won't easily remove is just best left where it is and move on to something else. Making walking paths through the woods can give me a lot of flexibility as to where I want to go. If I can't go straight, no problem. Just go in another direction.

And I do have some stumps here and there that I do want to remove, from trees cut down over the years. So a stump bucket would come in handy.

So...... still considering options.

Of course, having a cab on the tractor I have to be mindful of lower branches, which means either breaking out the pole saw or changing direction.

 

[BnRidge]

I ended up getting a stinger stp-34 tree puller for clearing prickly ash, buckthorn, honeysuckle, mulberry - invasive brush that had taken over the woodlots and fencerows. It does a real good job at that, and I was able to clear large swaths of 2-3" or less. I would pull an area, then come back with the grapple and gather into piles to burn later. The neighbors of course noticed what was going on, and by the next year I see at least two acquired their own and started clearing their places. The one I got supposedly has blades and barbs on the front for digging, as in digging roots and stumps, but I wouldn't recommend using it for that with a FEL. You could, but it's not the right combination, not very effective, leaves a mess of tangled broken roots sticking up, too easy to screw up doing it wrong. If it's that hard to remove, just cut it off at the ground and leave it. Even if you put it on a skid steer, which could handle that type of work better, I'm not sure I would because of the mess it leaves behind. Better to cut it off flush, and let the stump rot away until a nudge with a bucket or pinch with the grapple can push it up and out.

 

[2manyrocks]

^digging out stumps will leave holes to be filled and smoothed over. Even if you smooth them, they will settle over time.

A mulching head on a compact track loader or excavator could mulch paths for you without leaving a bunch of holes or you could cut the stumps flush and let them rot over time.

 

[Smokeydog]

Have used a chain to pull trees or brush out over the decades. This is much easier. One of the best employees I’ve got. Have used it reach up and tear off cab slapper branches. Use FEL hydraulic pole saw for the bigger stuff. Welcome to the jungle.

 

[2manyrocks]

I had thought about suggesting using a chain to pull some trees just to assess how stubborn they will be to remove, but the OP bought a nice cab tractor. My experience using a chain is that the tree invariably seems to hit the back of the tractor and me in the back. I have an open station, but would imagine that the back window on a cab would get broken using a chain pretty quickly.

One good thing about your danuser is that guard that helps to protect your tractor hood, and having it on the FEL also puts more distance from the operator's station. Not all of the tree pullers have quards on them.

 

[BnRidge]

The guard does keep trees from tipping back onto the hood. One of the neighbors doesn't have that, and one of his complaints was that the branches could tip back into the cab of his skid steer. The grill guard on the front is just treated deck boards. I later added something similar for underneath to protect the wiring and hoses.

 

[Rich_Z]

I ended up getting a stinger stp-34 tree puller for clearing prickly ash, buckthorn, honeysuckle, mulberry - invasive brush that had taken over the woodlots and fencerows. It does a real good job at that, and I was able to clear large swaths of 2-3" or less. I would pull an area, then come back with the grapple and gather into piles to burn later. The neighbors of course noticed what was going on, and by the next year I see at least two acquired their own and started clearing their places. The one I got supposedly has blades and barbs on the front for digging, as in digging roots and stumps, but I wouldn't recommend using it for that with a FEL. You could, but it's not the right combination, not very effective, leaves a mess of tangled broken roots sticking up, too easy to screw up doing it wrong. If it's that hard to remove, just cut it off at the ground and leave it. Even if you put it on a skid steer, which could handle that type of work better, I'm not sure I would because of the mess it leaves behind. Better to cut it off flush, and let the stump rot away until a nudge with a bucket or pinch with the grapple can push it up and out.

Looks like a good device, but not crazy about the exposed cylinder.

Saw this one by Notch -> Notch Manufacturing Inc. that I like the looks of.

The Danuser device just seems rather difficult to buy. Their dealer network leaves a lot to be desired, IMHO. Probably just as well, as the price is a bit steep anyway.

 

[Rich_Z]

Yes, you will need ballast for FEL work.

Intimdator works good ripping out the little stuff. Longer tongs makes for better line on sight.

A much cheaper option is Piranha tooth bar. Great for removing small trees and brush. V-teeth grip and pull up small trees. Low grips and cuts small stuff. Helps carry off stuff but nowhere as good as a brush grapple. I can clear brush faster and smoother with the Piranha bar than the grapple. Might even do your driveway hump. Hope you optioned the heavy duty bucket.

Land planes are wonderful too.

Nice to have options.

Actually that tooth bar looks right handy to have to deal with small brush and generally push through a trail. My bucket is still a virgin, so maybe now would be a good time to measure it and order that bar. Thanks for the suggestion. This one never even entered my mind.

 

[2manyrocks]

My personal experience and opinion with the toothbar is a bit different.

My soil is moist in the Spring, but pretty hard right now. For some reason, the toothbar will rip out briar roots like crazy, but shears off small saplings leaving behind a stub that I feel I have to cut down to the ground with loppers for fear the stub will otherwise puncture a tire. I suspect the briar roots are so close to the surface that they simply are pulled out by the toothbar. With the sapling roots being buried deeper in our hard soil, it seems like the toothbar shears the sapling trunk leaving the stub behind.

With softer soil, you might have a better chance of pulling out the roots than I have experienced.

One other thing the toothbar will do is where some thorn tree starts trying to grow out in the field, it will dig into the ground enough that I can remove small ones where the smooth lip on the bucket wouldn't otherwise do anything useful.

But be careful around the teeth.

 

[Rich_Z]

Based on the specs of my tractor:

The T474 weighs 3,660 lbs. 48.3 HP at the engine. FEL lift capacity is 2,152 lbs at pivot pin. Breakout force at ground level is 3,198 lbs.

What is the maximum weight I should consider for a tree puller and/or stump bucket?

 

[2manyrocks]

There are weight estimators for logs like this one. Green Log Weight Charts & Calculator | Sherrilltree

The problem is how do you estimate the weight of the entire tree plus the root system and the dirt when you pull the whole thing out with a tree puller? And then add the weight of the tree puller to it to compare against your loader's lift capacity?

 

[Rich_Z]

Realistically, I don't expect to be pulling up any "trees" more than around 3 inches in diameter. Bigger stuff is for the chainsaw, leaving just a stub in the ground to deal with using the tractor. And even then, I will choose to go around more trees than I will want to remove. No sense living in the woods if you remove all the woods.