Recent content by Darryl N

This, exactly.

Ok, well, that settles it, I'm gonna go buy a $50k mini-excavator so I can dig up stumps. :ROFLMAO: Others have said and I agree, that a compact with backhoe is perfectly capable of digging stumps, just have to take your time and conservatively work within the limits of the machine.

Won't a post hole digger on a 25HP PTO drill through most roots? Only the corners and line braces will be round posts, all others steel t-posts. Other than at the 4 corners, the post locations can be adjusted slightly to avoid non-drillable roots. Also there is a big pine just inside one corner...

I plan to dig small-to-medium stumps with the backhoe, and flush cut or maybe grind the big ones. Thankfully, there's only a couple of biggish trees in the way. I whacked most of the brush and saplings last spring, and now that I have the tractor I need to widen so I can run a flail mower or...

Vivid imagination. :LOL: OP says brush pile, not a steep hill, 6' linear distance up the side, dumping bucket while raising boom.

2 acres are adjacent to other wooded property, but I think it's a legal requirement for ag zoning.

I need to cut a fire break around 2 acres of thick woods and install a 6' perimeter fence. The property was maintained until about 25 years ago. There are large mature oak, pine, and magnolia plus decades of undergrowth, mostly saplings/suckers and briar vines. Level flat ground, sandy loamy...

That's a cute little MF. As I posted earlier in this tread, I have looked at the Homestead unit online. Since my Kioti is a little bigger and heavier (5500 lbs), I wondered if a grapple specifically designed for a sub-compact might not go the distance.

I'm a novice, so I would like opinions on this technique. Machine: 25hp compact loader/backhoe with R14 water filled tires. In 4x4 low range, with a full bucket, drive about 6 feet up on to a large-ish pile of dense brush/dirt, while simultaneously raising the boom and dumping the bucket...

I finally got the tractor yesterday. Pics down below. It was delayed for several days while waiting on backhoe parts from Kioti in Wendell, NC. They shipped the backhoe with 2 left braces, needed a L/R pair. The dealer called me about 2pm, and with paperwork and orientation, plus the 1-hour...

Weeds to saplings (y), big trees (n). Use backhoe for stumps, and take my time. Got it.

Appreciate the comments. (y) I agree 25hp is weak sauce, but it's all I've got. I'm just a retired guy puttering around, plenty of time, not much money. $2500 is a lot of dough. "It can be done with a bucket but takes time" Do you mean with a backhoe or what? Got pics of your homebrew...

Thanks for the input. (y) edit: Homestead "Sub-Compact Tractor Grapple Independence Series" is 54", 190 lbs, and $1780, so thanks for the suggestion! :D I have a Kioti CK2610, FEL lift is 1800, EA wicked 55 is 239 lb, so I selected it based on that. Homestead "Sub-Compact Tractor Grapple...

I searched for wicked root rake and was overwhelmed at the prospect of reading 361+ pages, so asking here. I like the reduced weight serrated design, their product testing (abuse) videos and user videos are convincing, and the price isn't that bad compared to some I've seen, but 10-12 week lead...

Price update: I added telescoping links and a backhoe thumb. $34949 total payments of $417 per month. Additional info for the money minded...I am 62, retired since last year, living on SS and savings, 820 credit, no mortgage, debt free. I chose financing to preserve savings.