For stumps 6" or less, I use my Brush Grubber Extreme. Pulled a bunch of cedar stumps that way. Helps to have two people, saves many trips on and off the tractor. My DK40SE in low, hardly grunted at all getting most of them pulled out. As mentioned before, some species are harder to yank out than others. Cedars weren't too bad.
Grading Clearing Stumps
- Thread starter wwalker1959
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OP
wwalker1959
Member
I had never heard of a Brush Grubber before. Looks like a great time saver. Thanks for the tip.
Xfaxman
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I have the next size bigger, a BG-20, it weighs 36 pounds, gives me a real workout!
They make a BG-30 that is 51 pounds, way too heavy for this old man! Brush Grubber from Northern Tool + Equipment
Use the "Google Custom Search" box at the top of the page, under the banner ad. There are many threads here on the Brush Grubber: Search Results - TractorByNet.com
This is what I use now, much faster.
Buckthorn Puller - Custom built Skid Steer attachments to fit almost any need you may have.
And the biggest that it pulled: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/277824-tree-puller.html#post3444397
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Pushing over stumps to get them out is very rare and requires a lot of weight and hp. I have a full sized backhoe and it wont do it. I have a 40,000 pound, 170hp dozer and it wont do it either. Stumps need to be dug up, and you need to be able to cut through the roots to get them out of the ground. Sometimes I have to go out as much as ten feet from a really big stump to be able to cut through it with my backhoe, but most of the time I can cut them right next to the stump. It's time consuming getting them out. If I can get one in half an hour, that would be amazing, but usually it takes quite a bit longer, depending on the species and the size of the stump.
Remember to compact the soil real good when filling the hole. Once it rains, that fill soil will absorb more water then the surrounding, undisturbed soil and it becomes mush. More then once I didn't have a big enough crown over a large hole that I dug getting out the stump and after a wet winter of storms, I found those old stumps the hard way while out mowing. They will latterly swallow your tractor if you are going too fast!!!!
One of the reasons for foundation failures on a lot of houses is there was a tree growing where the house is going to be built, They took out the trees and stump, but didn't get good compaction on the soil. Over the years, the soil settles and the foundation is no longer resting on anything. I've seen 6 inch gaps under the slab in the middle of the house when remodeling bathrooms.
Eddie
Remember to compact the soil real good when filling the hole. Once it rains, that fill soil will absorb more water then the surrounding, undisturbed soil and it becomes mush. More then once I didn't have a big enough crown over a large hole that I dug getting out the stump and after a wet winter of storms, I found those old stumps the hard way while out mowing. They will latterly swallow your tractor if you are going too fast!!!!
One of the reasons for foundation failures on a lot of houses is there was a tree growing where the house is going to be built, They took out the trees and stump, but didn't get good compaction on the soil. Over the years, the soil settles and the foundation is no longer resting on anything. I've seen 6 inch gaps under the slab in the middle of the house when remodeling bathrooms.
Eddie
Gary Fowler
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Sometimes even packing it in by using the tractor wheels isn't enough depending on the soil type. I once dug out a pine that was in the middle of my roadway, filled it in and packed it pretty well. It came a soaking rain and after it had dried up, I was running along with my little B26 TLB and when the back tires hit that hole, I though it was going to go over. It sank up past center of the rear rim. I couldn't even lift it out with the hoe, had to walk home get my LS 7010 and pull it out.
Being retired, I have much more time than money so I enjoy the challenge of removing dead trees, stumps etc with my tiny B26. Tiny compared to a full sized hoe but much bigger than a BX. Pines have a tap root and they require more digging to remove than oaks. Most can be uprooted in an hour or so. I have only had one failure and that was a large oak stump about 3.5-4 feet in diameter. I dug around and cut all the side roots but just couldn't budge the stump with my little tractor. I was going to try to cut the under stump roots by pulling a chain under the stump but next thing I know, my brother in law (it was on his property) had piled brush on top of it to try and burn it out.
Thorn trees have the largest feeder roots that are really tough to break loose and if you don't get all of the roots out, they will sprout up more trees from even a small root. I had cleared a fence line a couple years back and this last summer was cleaning up the re-growth with a gator head blade on my weedeather. I found a couple of thorn trees about 3-4 feet tall and left them to dig up with the back hoe. They were a good 25 feet apart, but when digging them up, I found that they were sprouting off the same root that was thicker than my arm. It pulled out fairly easily with the loose soil and the aid of the hydraulic thumb, I think I got it all this time.
I have cleared about all the trees I need to on our property, so now it is just the occasional dead tree that dies from drought or lightning strike that gets tackled. Still have the after winter rock growth to contend with each year.
Xfaxman
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Yep, it is so much faster than the grubber. But I still use the grubber for pulling roots that break off when pushing over big trees.
It only took a few minutes to make this pile.
The view from the seat.
Egon
Epic Contributor
Sounds like the OP is quite familiar with tractors and backhoe. If the time is available you will soon find a method that works well for each individual type of stump. Experiment a bit on the first stumps to find what works best for you.. Two acres really isn't that much after you get going on it. Just don't abuse the equipment.
If pushing the stump be aware that it could end up under the tractor. This can happen very quickly.
If renting equipment a larger dozer with root rake and u-blade works very well. Back where I grew up this was the common method to clear land for farming. Only the trees were not cut. Just dozed up in long windrows.
. Two acres really isn't that much after you get going on it. Just don't abuse the equipment.If pushing the stump be aware that it could end up under the tractor. This can happen very quickly.
If renting equipment a larger dozer with root rake and u-blade works very well. Back where I grew up this was the common method to clear land for farming. Only the trees were not cut. Just dozed up in long windrows.
OP
wwalker1959
Member
We finally got some good weather and started to tackle the 200+ stumps in front of us. Many thanks for all of the advice and input received here. We were all amazed with what we were able to accomplish with the T353 in about 10 hours. Anything under 4 inches in diameter we simply pushed over and pulled out using the Brush Grubber. It was well worth the investment.
We did develop a small oil leak around the left rear axle housing. Hoping to retorque the bolts for an easy fix. If not I'll take it in and see how the warranty work goes. All in all though very pleased with the machine. Very economical on the fuel and easy to operate. The only challenge was getting my brother in law off of it so I could give it a try!
We did develop a small oil leak around the left rear axle housing. Hoping to retorque the bolts for an easy fix. If not I'll take it in and see how the warranty work goes. All in all though very pleased with the machine. Very economical on the fuel and easy to operate. The only challenge was getting my brother in law off of it so I could give it a try!