Grading Considering an upgrade

   / Considering an upgrade #1  

YLee Kioti

Platinum Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2018
Messages
981
Location
Shiner area Texas
Tractor
Kioti NX4510HST
Hello folks
So as a new guy here already starting out to pick your brains.
This is a description of the property. Of the eight acres about 5 to 7 was heavily populated with large huisache.
It was cleared once by two dozers that got stuck and had to be recovered years ago. I spoke to the guy that did this work. The land is so deeply rutted it takes me three days to mow at a very slow speed.

In order to smooth out the grade I tried using the BB but cannot travel more then 30 feet before I'm at a dead stop from a 3-4in stump. The gent that cleared it years ago, told me it would be about a thousand an acre to root plow.

Wife looks shocked as she stares at me and asks now what? I go to Shiner and pick up a 28" Root grub plow from Armstong Ag. Works on small stuff but have such a dense population of the big stump that it takes me 3-4 minutes working the root and then trying agian at a 90 degree angle to pull them out.
Now mentally trying to estimate duration to clear these acres whew. So now I have a fab shop building me a serrated tooth bar like the Piranha that I can bolt on. These root balls are like pulling a 3 lb potato sack with a four foot tap root when they come out. They literally stop my machine dead.

If the serrated tooth bar does not help speed up the process then my next step is.....drum roll.... looking at the NX4510HST.
The thinking process is this. Another 1600 lbs plus almost 3200 lbs lift ability of the arms can help with the grubbing. Here is my approach. Dig in about 3 feet from stump dig aobut 4-6inches and then when contact is made lock diff. raise arms to try and pull them up.

I'm thinking the NX4510HST specs will meet the demands for clearing out these stumps.

For those already thinking why bother, here's why. I need to grade uphill (slight slope really) to fill all the ruts and contour the severely eroded areas for better rain drainage. Yep the center of our pasture is in a 500 year flood plain as well. One cannot walk the pasture with chancing an ankle twister its that bad. The previous owner(s) also had four 12 x 30 x 8 foot holes dug. He thought he could bury that much huisache ha boy he missed it. But left me the dang holes and mowing around and in them ain't no fun.

So that's it lots of hard grunt work left and do not want to spend all spring and summer and miss out on spring food plots, garden etc. If I'm gonnah spend a few thousand to root grub why spend once and enrich someone else when I can invest in a upgrade work tool we will still use after it's all finally cleared and got all purty yah know.....

OR you folks recommend another solution?

OK, I'm gonnah get my pop corn and sit back read the replies as they come in...for now night yah'll
 
   / Considering an upgrade #2  
Sounds like a job for an excavator. Pulling trees and stumps is much easier and faster with one vs a tractor.
 
   / Considering an upgrade #3  
I agree. Rent a 30k machine with a thumb and ideally a leveling blade. Deere makes a real nice one. Would be much much faster and easier on your machines.

Don’t really know the size of what you’re saying. Could get along fine with a much smaller machine too

Brett
 
   / Considering an upgrade #4  
Huisache
Acacia farnesiana

Secondary Names:
Sweet Acacia, Weesatch
Similar Species:
Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) can have similar form and bark, but leaves are much larger, greener.


Leaf Type: Semi-evergreen
Texas Native:
Tree Description:
A common shrub or small tree with light green foliage; often forms a multi-trunked clump shaped like a fountain.
Range/Site Description:
Widespread in South Texas, with small populations extending into Brazos and Travis counties. Occurs on heavy, wet clays and clay-loams.
Leaf:
Leaves almost feather-like, 1" to 4" long with minute leaflets just 0.1" long and too numerous to count. Foliage is gray-green and twigs are armed with a pair of straight thorns up to 2" long at the base of each leaf.
Flower:
The bright, orange-gold flowers are borne in spherical clusters up to 0.75" across, in spring. Very fragrant.
Fruit:
A small brown pod, 1" to 2" long, pointed at the tip. Shiny seeds are borne in two rows within the pod.
Bark:
Reddish-brown and thin on young plants, breaking into flat ridges and shallow furrows on older trees.
Wood:
Bark can be used for tanning, dying, and ink making. Pods have been used to create a mending substance for pottery.
Interesting Facts:
Flowers were collected to manufacture French perfume in 19th century.
 
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   / Considering an upgrade #6  
I'm thinking the NX4510HST specs will meet the demands for clearing out these stumps.

The thinking process is this. Another 1600 lbs plus almost 3200 lbs lift ability of the arms can help with the grubbing.

Here is my approach. Dig in about 3 feet from stump dig aobut 4-6inches and then when contact is made lock diff. raise arms to try and pull them up.

Absolutely no way. Tractors are too unstable for this type of task. And you have clay soil.

It takes a 50% increase in bare tractor weight before you notice a significant tractor capability increase. It takes a 100% increase in bare tractor weight to elicit MY-OH-MY!

Doubling the weight of your tractor would not allow you to accomplish your goal with the FEL.
 
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   / Considering an upgrade #7  
Mini-ex!!!! I purchased one and have never regretted it. I find things to do with it all the time. And it saves wear and tear on my tractor doing tasks that the tractor is not suited for.
 
   / Considering an upgrade
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Huisache
Acacia farnesiana

Secondary Names:
Sweet Acacia, Weesatch
Similar Species:
Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) can have similar form and bark, but leaves are much larger, greener.


Leaf Type: Semi-evergreen
Texas Native:
Tree Description:
A common shrub or small tree with light green foliage; often forms a multi-trunked clump shaped like a fountain.
Range/Site Description:
Widespread in South Texas, with small populations extending into Brazos and Travis counties. Occurs on heavy, wet clays and clay-loams.
Leaf:
Leaves almost feather-like, 1" to 4" long with minute leaflets just 0.1" long and too numerous to count. Foliage is gray-green and twigs are armed with a pair of straight thorns up to 2" long at the base of each leaf.
Flower:
The bright, orange-gold flowers are borne in spherical clusters up to 0.75" across, in spring. Very fragrant.
Fruit:
A small brown pod, 1" to 2" long, pointed at the tip. Shiny seeds are borne in two rows within the pod.
Bark:
Reddish-brown and thin on young plants, breaking into flat ridges and shallow furrows on older trees.
Wood:
Bark can be used for tanning, dying, and ink making. Pods have been used to create a mending substance for pottery.
Interesting Facts:
Flowers were collected to manufacture French perfume in 19th century.

Thanks for sharing for those not familiar with this type of tree.
Yeah I did look at excavators but it is difficult to convey the density of these trees via a forum.
Maybe the use of the word tree is misleading?
If it was just a dozen or so of these stumps that would be the ticket. I really don't want to pull out the hundreds (countless) of roots. Just want to shear them to about a 5 to 6 inch depth. Then use BB and grab an inch or so of dirt and grade the ruts to reduce their depths and make it safe to mow.

Going to try out the serrated tooth bar as soon as the fab shop is done. An excavator would take me all summer as well since the population was so thick. That's why the dozer guy told me a root plow is the way to go. Course a dozer would pull them all out. But shearing them below grade is just fine. It'll kill them off and allow me to grade and then plant.

I'll keep you folks update in a week or so. If it ever stops drizzling down here, that is sigh....;)

Thanks for all the info!
 

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