Backhoe B3030..Bucket TEETH...or...Backhoe??

[Sully2]

The jobs I have in front of me this summer are rooting out small ( grub out) trees..1-2 inches in diameter..but SOME go up to 6 inches in diameter. Those and various "shrub-grubs" that have invaded the back yard.

I understand what a backhoe can do for me..but I never intend on doing any "trench" type of work...ever...but I AM interested in just how much..?..how large..etc of a tree rootbase etc..I can "dig out" using a set of teeth on my FEL bucket. ( I have NO experience using a toothed bucket)

When I run across the occasional "super stump" ( maybe 10 inches or so in diameter and roots less than 2 ft deep) I have a friend with a "chink" ( as he and I refer to it) tractor with a BH..and he has removed the jumbo's for me in the past ( he is only 3 miles away)

Needless to say the difference in COST is appealing also... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif...but I have no idea if a tooth bar on my FEL is a waste of $$ for me or??

 

[ronjhall]

I have tried to remove small shrubs and trees with my toothbar with varied success. The best way is to remove them with the BH. In the spring it is easier to pull them with FEL and a chain. One problem with the toothbar is it is 60" wide. Heck of a large cut to get a shrub out. Since I have a BH I use it to remove shrubs and small trees. Also when a larger tree comes along I can dig out the stump. Get the toothbar and give it try. It is about $300. Then decide if it will do the job. A BH will cost 20 times that. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[jmc]

Sully, I think a backhoe is overkill for small stumps. (but not 10 inchers) Also with the backhoe, you spend a lot of time repositioning the tractor, pods up and down, fiddling with the seat,...

Before buying anything, I would go out with the plain old fel and push them over keeping the fel as low as possible without digging into the dirt. If you can do that and get part of the rootball exposed, a second pass at ground level will probably finish the job.

If that doesn't work, there is the toothbar route, but as the previous poster said, it takes a wide swath. Maybe instead of a whole toothbar, just buy the individual bolt-on teeth and put about 3 of them maybe on 3 inch centers so you can concentrate your curling force and limit the collateral damage.

John

 

[Sully2]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ...

If that doesn't work, there is the toothbar route, but as the previous poster said, it takes a wide swath. Maybe instead of a whole toothbar, just buy the individual bolt-on teeth and put about 3 of them maybe on 3 inch centers so you can concentrate your curling force and limit the collateral damage.

John )</font>

Hmmm? I didnt even know they made such a thing!!!

 

[Diesel_Boy]

is it possible to wrap a chain around the small stump, attach the other end to the draw bar, and pull it out? or is that not a good way to do it?

 

[john_bud]

Sure it's possible! (But I would have the number of my local Kubota service center on speed dial!!!).

It would be cheaper in the long run to just have a dozer come out and grub them all out.

jb

 

[sflranchok]

Or better yet, give me a call, or someone like me that has a mini-excatavor (mine is Kubota's KX-71). It will do the best job of getting the root ball out and can smooth back over the ground.

 

[Sully2]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If you haven't cut them down yet try pushing the smaller trees over first. With a raised FEL up against the tree you have more leverage, and it will often bring the root up with it so it can easily be remover with the FEL. )</font>

Ive done that to some of them so far...but some are so small..they just bend over...and I also have a "ton" of some sort of weedy scrub..and flimsy as all get out.

As far as wrapping a chain and pulling them...try doing that 200-300 times in a day...lol The old legs get tired of climbing back in the saddle.. And also..NO HIRING of someone else..thats why I bought the Kubota to start with... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I only had one chance at the weedy shrub stuff before winter set in here..and with the FEL down...I can make a pass thru it "scraping"..??..about 2 inches of soil with them..and they all come out...and are in a pile with the dirt at the end of the pass. Pick them out of the pile of dirt...and then back drag the dirt to its origional position .."seems" to work...and not a bunch of getting on and off involved.

I AM going to look into the bolt on bucket teeth though...it cant hurt??..and may really help in some cases.

The JUMBO's I think I'll just have my friend with his "chink" tractor and BH grub out for me... Its amazing what a bunch of ham and cheese double deckers and a 6-pack of Corona's can get a guy.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Once all "weed" stuff is gone...everything gets tilled using HIS tiller on the back of my B3030...and then I fire up my rear tine tiller ( walk behind) to "super fine cut" the areas where flower beds are going to be. Water lines and electric wires will be installed using my brand new subsoiler.....and then..plant..plant...plant .

(The wife tells me the weedy shrub is "bush honeysuckle"..???)

 

[bandit67]

Markham Welding has a narrow Bobcat bucket called a "Grubber Bucket" that is designed specifically for that application. Now, that particular loader bucket may be too heavy for your B3030, but a possible option may be for you to see if Allen Markham can build you a custom bucket that will work specifically with your B3030 FEL and the available Kubota or ATI Quick Attach setup. Markham quality is top notch. HERE is the link to the grubber bucket.

 

[Sully2]

WAAAYYY too much "dinero" for this project. I'll pass on the built bucket!

 

[Highbeam]

The toothbar will allow you to pop those smaller trees and larger bushes right out of the ground with minimal dirt disturbance. You use it like a rake with the 1000 lbs of force behind it and non bendable tines.

Stumping is the hardest duty I know of for a tractor. If you can't get the whole tree out then saw the tree off and get the stump with the neighbors BH some other day.

It's just not worth beating your machine up for.

 

[Sully2]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The toothbar will allow you to pop those smaller trees and larger bushes right out of the ground with minimal dirt disturbance. You use it like a rake with the 1000 lbs of force behind it and non bendable tines.

Stumping is the hardest duty I know of for a tractor. If you can't get the whole tree out then saw the tree off and get the stump with the neighbors BH some other day.

It's just not worth beating your machine up for. )</font>

Yepper! Cant be tearing up the toy... I might have gottn a full toothbar when I bought it..but the dealer cautioned me about trying to dig TOO MUCH using one...telling me that a lot of guys bend the ?? actuators??..or ..??..by putting too much force on the bucket when th arms are extended...sooo. Being a newbie at using this thing I went on the side of caution!! Just a few hours of work though and I find the FEL easy to "control"...so now I might be ready for a tooth bar and just sort of take it easy.

 

[Diesel_Boy]

oh, i thought these were already cut, when i asked about pulling them out. as far as bending things on the FEL when trying to lift something too heavy, would it be easier on the tractor to try lifting with a t-bar on the 3ph, especially if the 3ph has more lifting capacity than the FEL?

 

[john_bud]

Diesel_boy,

You would think that, but... I just spent an enjoyable afternoon with an Ox/Ac torch and an 8 lb sledge getting my 3 pt arm back into shape. It bent while pulling trees to a landing. Side bend was about 3 inches and "up" bend was about 3/4 inch. Kinda surprising when you think how thick that metal is. Only thing more surprising was the price of a replacement! And it had a t-bar on it at the time.

If you are clearing out a lot of bushy stuff, why not cut it with your brush cutter (Woods Brushbull 600 is nice) and then get the roots out with the scarifiers on a box blade (Gannon Landscaper series is good)? Benefit of the box blade is that you can regrade and smooth out the land. I still think a dozer is money well spent, but if you don't have the money, just cut the trees and leave 3-4' of stump. Wait a few years and they should come out easier.

jb

 

[AB4D]

(The wife tells me the weedy shrub is "bush honeysuckle"..???)

If your weed is the same stuff I have here (see photo), a tooth bar works pretty good at ripping it up. I have had tooth bars on both of my tractors, a BX23 and an L3430, and I don't believe that a tooth bar will cause any substantial damage to your tractor, unless of course you try to tackle some really big roots which may try to bend the front of the bucket while the FEL lifts the rear of your tractor off the ground /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. I would opt for the tooth bar.


Jim

 

[Diesel_Boy]

jb, now you've got me wondering... I got a t-bar with my tractor. just got my tractor delivered a week ago. is a t-bar not made for pulling trees or logs? did your 3ph arms bend while you were dragging the trees, with one end of the tree lifted off the ground by the t-bar? did the bending occur because the tree was just too big, or maybe trying to turn a corner with it? i'd certainly like to know so i can avoid any problems of the same kind. i'm planning on dragging trees out of the woods with one end lifted off the ground with the t-bar. not a lot, but some. thanks for any insight here. i'm new to tractors.

 

[Sully2]

Both are honeysuckle..but the shrub type looks like "forsythia" ( SP??) and has a more solid stem to it..as compared to the "ground cover" "species".

EDIT: Mine is "Lonicera fragrantissima"...as compared to .."Lonicera heckrottii"...

 

[JustGary]

Interesting. The local extension agent once told me that if I wanted to get rid of honeysuckle, I should just fertilize it. He says the deer will graze it off at ground level.

Some folks plant it here for deer to feed on, and they have to build sturdy trellis enclosures so the deer can't eat it all.

Maybe you're taking the wrong approach...

- Just Gary

 

[Sully2]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Interesting. The local extension agent once told me that if I wanted to get rid of honeysuckle, I should just fertilize it. He says the deer will graze it off at ground level.

Some folks plant it here for deer to feed on, and they have to build sturdy trellis enclosures so the deer can't eat it all.

Maybe you're taking the wrong approach...

- Just Gary )</font>

Tell your local extension agent for me that he's FOS...LOL I havent see a single dear eat one single berry off of it in 20 years Ive been here. BIRDS eat the berries..but Im replanting hollys for "winter berrys" anyway.

Between my next door neighbor and I...10 acres..we have 12 wild turkeys..2 does and 3 yearlings that live here and "get fed"..along with all of the crops they eat from surronding farms fields.

Coons..possums..foxes.. groundhogs and striped chipmunks...red squirrels...5 different types of woodpeckers..even the giant pileated..and 15 more types of wild songbirds...the "deer" can stay the heck out of my newly landscaped back yard when Im done....lol