Backhoe met its match

[Gary Fowler]

Nothing to it, just took a hundred grand worth of steel and rubber equipment to defeat a piece of wood. Good job by the way. I have an old oak about that size that I was digging at about like you did and it is still solid, BUT the soil is so waterlogged here that all I could do is dig around it and cut the large roots. I don't think the oaks have a tap root, so if it ever dries up a bit, I will give it another go.

 

[Nooodles]

If you would have dug a nice deep hole on one side of where you already started, it would have came right out with a few tugs. You gave up to easily. That backhoe was more than enough machine. Unfortunately your gonna pay for it now

 

[PapaPerk]

Just curious.. Why dig the stump out?

 

[3v0]

There seems to be a bit of an art to getting out these trees with tap roots.

I played with one not near that size with my BX2200 and towable backhoe. It came out just like the others are saying. Dig under the roots and pull it over to break the tap root.

 

[Nooodles]

Just curious.. Why dig the stump out?

looks as though he is continuing a driveway or something. Even so, much better to just grind it down below subgrade and stone over top of it. That way you don't have to deal with the hassle to get rid of it. most people don't take them.

 

[WaxMan]

Never admit defeat, flood the hole and float it out.

 

[ror105]

Where the stump was located was just off the corner of my deck. I have since lowered that part of the yard by at least 2 feet in elevation. Removal was the only option to get the flow of water away from the house.

I kept coming in underneath with my backhoe to remove the material. When it finally let go, it took both big machines to roll it over, my b2320 would not have had the power. Once we scraped dirt off for an hour, I'll bet it still weighed 1500 pounds. It went up to the pile of ugly stumps on the hill behind the house. They provide a good backstop for shooting.
Actually all it cost me for the stump was a little diesel fuel and payback a favor to two different friends.

 

[ror105]

And thanks for the thumbs up guys, I knew this one wasn't going to give up easily!!

 

[Grandad4]

As Winston Churchill once said, "Never, never, never give up!" Great job!

 

[kiotiken]

I'm betting a little more digging on one side and chaining up all 3 of the machines in the first pic would have pulled it out, but nice job all the same. Like a few others here, I have a hard time admitting defeat, I'd have probably turned the tractor around and started digging a canal with the FEL!