Am I thinking to big?

[Piston]

Probably should have said “purpose built TLB” rather than “dedicated TLB”.

 

[Groo]

digging up stumps isn't easy. Maybe with a specialty blade "bucket" for a backhoe?

 

[Budweiser John]

Randy, i’m Pretty sure a 40 to 50 HP tractor would bode well for you in the long haul. Cabbed or open station is your call. I’ve had both but for a general utility tractor on and off operation, my preference is open station.
To back hoe or not to back hoe? A utility tractor with a back hoe beats a shovel hands down but don’t expect a 40 HP tractor with a BH attachment to come close to removing 18” diameter stumps. That being stated, although expensive, i’ve Found my (frame mounted) BH to have paid for itself over the 15 years I have owned it. For the really big jobs, hire or rent the big iron.

B. John

 

[RandyinTN]

I watched a ton of videos on youtube of people digging up stumps with smaller backhoes. They generally start about 3-4 feet away from the stump and go to it. Are you guys suggesting this can't be done?
98% of the stumps I want to remove have been there for 30 years. Where we live tree roots generally don't go very deep, they spread out due to the rocks, not down.

 

[searcyfarms]

spend your $$ on a tractor and rent an excavator to get the stumps out and get something big, a 30y/o tree will have roots galore and someone said 18" diameter stumps - you will have a root ball the size of texas - stump grinding is also a GREAT alternative so much less time and energy/fuel/costs/wear n tear - if you are trying to justify the costs of a toy to the wife I am sure you can sell her on whatever you set your mind too........after years of all of this stuff you are talking about and no where near as much time as I used to have, I would get a mediocre tractor that you don't care about dinging up in the timber and rent the rest - again, 10k for a tractor, 10k for a skid steer would be my pick - that would be a nice setup - also, I DO NOT recommend cleaning/clearing out all the brush for good animal habitat - BIG DEER do not prefer lack of cover other than at night -

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

I watched a ton of videos on youtube of people digging up stumps with smaller backhoes. They generally start about 3-4 feet away from the stump and go to it. Are you guys suggesting this can't be done?
98% of the stumps I want to remove have been there for 30 years. Where we live tree roots generally don't go very deep, they spread out due to the rocks, not down.

Sure, you can DO it. With a smaller backhoe, a 16" plus stump may take all day, maybe two. Bigger roots likely need to be chainsawed out. You have rocks; the chainsaw will find them. As another poster said, the root ball is the size of Texas, full of soil, weighs a ton. Won't cut. Won't burn. I've operated a stump grinder on large (24") oak stumps too. Extremely effective and somewhat dangerous. That machine will find the rocks too.

I've also watched a commercial machine easily tip the stump over, including the entire root ball, and deftly pick it up and dump it into a waiting truck to be carted off to the landfill, never to be seen again by me.

Sometimes you have to try things for yourself.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Can I change my vote? If so I vote you bite the bullet and buy one of these.....

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

or one of these.

 

[Captain Dirty]

Short story: I own a Kubota L45 TLB on a wooded hill of glacial till. Guess what I recommend?

Longer rationale: This is rocky New England. If I set out to dig a post hole, I'll have a grave by the time I get the rocks out of the way. I watched a mason using a 3-point backhoe when he put in my terrace, and I knew I wanted a TLB. The sub-frame of a TLB is a good thing. I've been very happy to have it when burying 15,000 lb. plus rocks or wrestling with 24" stumps. I use the 3 point hitch for other implements and have found the removal or re-instalation of the BH is like any other operation--the more often you do it the more facile you become. In retrospect, the things I've regretted usually resulted from trying to save money.

Captain Dirty

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

View attachment 560409 or one of these.

:laughing: :thumbsup:

That gets my vote!