Loader Can't pull a fence post

[dgeesaman]

I'm tearing down some old fencing and I'm down to the 6" round posts. I have a TC45DA, filled rears, with 16LA FEL and chain hooks welded on the top corners of the bucket. I tried a couple of posts and the loader can't pull it even with the engine at PTO speed.

I choked the chain around the base of the post wrapped around it one more time and hooked each end onto the bucket chain hook. From the front the chain makes a V as it goes from the post bottom to the bucket hooks. It's a dead vertical pull as best as I can tell with the lip of the bucket touching the post and the chain also laying over the bucket lip.

Do I just need to wait for rain to soften the soil, or is it time to get my hydraulics checked?

 

[k0ua]

Is the post set in concrete? If so, you might not be able to pull it. I tried pulling some posts about that size set in concrete and my "old blue" tractor (full size utility tractor) with a westendorf TA-25 would not pull them.. Made the front tires squat a bunch but would not pull. and the TA-25 would easily lift an honest 2000 lbs for sure. I dug the post out, and I saw why. There was a big wad of concrete, larger at the bottom than the top...After a rain would have to help, but perhaps you have just tied onto more than your tractor can chew. Try the 3pt, They are usually stronger than the loader end.

James K0UA

 

[rekees4300]

Try pushing on it with the FEL to loosen it up before lifting.

 

[bcp]

Try pulling with the 3pt hitch. It often has much stronger lift.

Bruce

 

[JC-jetro]

Ditto on what Bruce said, try to use 3 point hitch , you'll have a lot more pull minus the weight of the loader. You loader could work as a ballast so front end would not come up. Might pick up a load of dirt to help even more ballast.

JC,

 

[hosspuller]

If you use the 3 point arms... place the post as close to the tractor as possible. Using a boom pole works against you.

 

[Larro Darro]

I took down some old fence a while back. The corner posts were cut from light poles, 14-18" wide. I used the 3ph hayforks to lift them out, then to move them. A couple had to be rocked back and forth before they would come.

 

[dgeesaman]

I'll try rocking them first - I just don't want to break off any.

There is no concrete here, just set in 3-4'.

David

 

[JC-jetro]

If you use the 3 point arms... place the post as close to the tractor as possible. Using a boom pole works against you.

Boom pole does not work against you , it only reduces the pull available right at 3 point. That was enough for what I needed. On my 1700 I have 1650 lbs right at 3 point , on my Kubota I have 2800 lbs available. At time you might not a able to get so close and boom certainly make it convenient as you swing it side ways to what you need.

JC,

 

[bcp]

The 3pt hitch system is not a simple lever. Twice as far back does not lift twice as high with half the force. There is much less reduction with distance compared to the loader.

As the load on a 3pt hitch moves back, the whole tractor works as a lever, with the fulcrum at the rear wheels. While you don't get lots of reduction of lift capacity, you will more rapidly get a light front end.

Bruce

 

[JC-jetro]

As the load on a 3pt hitch moves back, the whole tractor works as a lever, with the fulcrum at the rear wheels. While you don't get lots of reduction of lift capacity, you will more rapidly get a light front end.

Bruce

That is why I suggested to fill the bucket is it is needed. I took out those 6 inch post , buried 3 feet in the fall with ground not real dry. I had 3 suitcase weight each about 60 lbs or so. My front lifted up some but little bit at time pulled the post buried for more than 40 years.

JC,

 

[CobyRupert]

Try a chain and tire rim. Never tried it myself :confused2:, but hey, looks like it would work.

Remove Fence Post With Cement - YouTube

Pulling 4x4 Fence Posts - YouTube

 

[Gary Fowler]

I'll try rocking them first - I just don't want to break off any.

There is no concrete here, just set in 3-4'.

David

Just a small amount of back and forth motion is usually all you need to loosen them up. If that doesn't work, try digging around them with a shovel and fill the trench with water and keep it wet for a day or so and then pull them.

 

[Sysop]

When I've came across a post that wouldn't pull, I lay a thick block beside the post, lay another post like a lever on the block and chain the end of it to the bottom of the stuck post and press down on the high end of the lever post with the FEL. Even with my tiny tractor I'm sure to be able to get at least 4000# (probably a good deal more) of lift levering the weight in such a way.

 

[dgeesaman]

So I tried rocking one and pulling it. Broke right off at the ground.

I don't have a 3pt lift attachment and this doesn't justify buying one.

I guess I'll have to get things wet.

 

[bcp]

A minimum attachment would be a drawbar:

CountyLine® Cross Drawbar, Category 1, 3/4 in. dia. - Tractor Supply Online Store

or a lever:
Rocking Seven Mile Ranch: Ranch Work and Calving

or hire a caber picker:



Bruce

 

[Stonehaller]

It is amazing how tight a 6" post can be. You might not get them out with breaking them off as you will have to rock them a little to loosen them up. If you are able, route your chain so you can use the bucket curl along with lift to get the greatest pulling force. Since your bucket hooks are on the corners of the bucket, be sure to connect the chain to both hooks so it pulls evenly on both corners or you could bend your loader cross members. I have pulled pipe post set in 8" of concrete with my DX45 (essentially the same as your tractor) using this technique.

I recently pulled some 2.5" pipe post for a friend that were in dry ground close to 4' without any concrete. Some pulled right out, others lifted the rear of my L39 with loaded tires and the backhoe on. Got them all out by rocking them some.

 

[jinman]

If you have room, put your bucket over the post so that the post is now behind the bucket. Place the bucket flat on the ground. Route your chain over the top of the bucket and down to the bottom of the post, wrapping it good around the post so it won't slip. Now, rotate your bucket toward dump while lifting up on the FEL at the same time. The back side of the bucket is nearly even with your lift pins, so you'll have maximum lift plus rolling the bucket down will assist the lift arms. I don't suggest pulling the post all the way out with this method, but just get it lift a foot or so and then remove the bucket and lift from the front as you originally were. If you can't get it from behind the bucket, then you'll probably have to use the 3PH where you have more lift than the FEL.

Nobody can say your TC45DA is or is not working properly because a post can be really tough to pull. However, out at the bucket cutting edge, you don't have nearly the lift that you can create if you are in line with the lift arm pins or even behind them a bit. You should have plenty of room between your torque tube on the loader arms and the back of the bucket or QA plate adapter.

 

[jinman]

If you have room, put your bucket over the post so that the post is now behind the bucket. Place the bucket flat on the ground. Route your chain over the top of the bucket and down to the bottom of the post, wrapping it good around the post so it won't slip. Now, rotate your bucket toward dump while lifting up on the FEL at the same time. The back side of the bucket is nearly even with your lift pins, so you'll have maximum lift plus rolling the bucket down will assist the lift arms. I don't suggest pulling the post all the way out with this method, but just get it lift a foot or so and then remove the bucket and lift from the front as you originally were. If you can't get it from behind the bucket, then you'll probably have to use the 3PH where you have more lift than the FEL.

Nobody can say your TC45DA is or is not working properly because a post can be really tough to pull. However, out at the bucket cutting edge, you don't have nearly the lift that you can create if you are in line with the lift arm pins or even behind them a bit. You should have plenty of room between your torque tube on the loader arms and the back of the bucket or QA plate adapter.

 

[JimRB]

I have an attachment made of 3x3x.25 tubing that attaches to my 3 point hitch. More complicated than a drawbar but I attach a chain to that frame of 3x3 and loop it around the fence post. Sometimes I have to rock the post to loosen it up. I do try these tasks after a good week of soaking rains. The loader never works for me unless termites and rot have helped eat away at the buried part of the post.