Front-End Loader Danuser Intimdator

[Smokeydog]

Used on Kubota B26 plucking trees and brush. Some trees removed along the wooded driveway 20’ tall. Privet and Russian olives clumps easily pulled up. Small tractor gives great maneuverability and sight near fences and buildings. Easily pulled trees growing in the blueberry patch with surgical precision. Long tines give good reach. Pull, pile then use to grapple the pile to carry off. Carrying piles long ways thru narrow wooded roads easier. 100+ pulls in a couple of hours. Used many different tools over 50 years to accomplish this routine task but none are as quick and easy.

The Intimdator usually not shown using on small tractors. Built to handle large tractors and skidsteers clearing large vegetation. Often overlooked on a smaller maintenance scale.

 

[Xfaxman]

For those not familiar with the Intimidator: https://www.danuser.com/attachments/intimidator

 

[orezok]

$4200…. Ouch!

 

[Smokeydog]

$4200…. Ouch!

Wow! That’s twice what I paid 5-6 years ago. Hard to keep up with the rising prices.

Maintaining our property particularly as we have gotten older a concern. Pulled thousands of trees and invasive plants with a chain and piece of pipe over decades. So a new tool has to pay for itself in time, labor and cost savings. The Intimdator did that the first year. Hopefully cost and labor savings for many years to come. Well made tool that has several advantages over a regular tree and post puller. Close maneuvering, pushing and pulling power is where HST really shine.

Only minor problem has been wood, gravel and mud getting packed in the slot of the jaws locking tab. Preventing jaws from closing completely. Effects gripping thin slippery stems. Pulling out the little stuff early important to our maintenance. Have had to chisel it out only a few times. Different design featured on new ones might help prevent this.

Just one of many tools to help maintain our pastures, fields, woods, roads, creeks and ponds.

 

[JohnnyMX]

I have the LandPride version (STP25 with push bar) and it also works great for what I can and should be trying to just rip from the ground. I saw the Intimidator when I was looking at options, but couldn't justify the extra cost as my machine wasn't going to be able to use some of the added features. I mostly pull invasives and the stuff that is just over what my rotary will do. Either way, they are very useful tools for the selective removal of trees, posts, etc.

I found that anything over 5" can be tough with my tractor combo even with ballast. When they start to get really tall, I like the push bar as added insurance against it pivoting and coming right back onto the tractor and my head. I have dug a few out to weaken the roots, but found that by using the push bar often they will snap a root or two without digging. Anything that needs very aggressive digging gets the tree spade to reduce the chance of me breaking the implement with moving parts. The Intimidator is better protected for digging though.

 

[2manyrocks]

Pulled thousands of trees and invasive plants with a chain and piece of pipe over decades.

I've pulled trees with chain and a wheel rim against the tree trunk for leverage. How do you pull a tree with chain and a piece of pipe?

 

[Smokeydog]

The pipe bites and allows the grab hook chains to slip. Grabs slippery and small stems. Also rocks.

 

[mike0000]

View attachment 749460

The pipe bites and allows the grab hook chains to slip. Grabs slippery and small stems. Also rocks.

That’s interesting, looks like it would be more effective than my way (wrap the chain around tree several times, and hope it doesn’t slip off) then up over a old wheel.

Mike

 

[2manyrocks]

It brings a question to mind. I wonder which method of pulling trees is actually less stressful to the tractor? Using the tractor hydraulics to pull a tree with a tree puller vs pulling a tree with a chain looped over a wheel rim connected to a tractor drawbar? Assume that it's the same tree and the same tractor in each situation. Part of me wants to argue that more force can be applied via the hydraulic system, but then using a chain looped over wheel exerts quite a bit of mechanical leverage.

 

[Smokeydog]

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Operator stress? Same for effectiveness.

With an Intimdator, Piranha bar or chain, the high pulling force is generated with the wheels and traction going forward or back. Some stuff you can pluck out with just the hydraulics but most it helps to use some push or pull.

Have a permanent pressure gauge on the FEL hydraulic lift cylinders circuit when I installed a soft ride system. Max lift pressure from pump 2,900psi giving about 4,000# lift on the Kubota M59. If I curl and push forward with a grapple the lift pressure can double. 5,600psi is the highest I’ve witnessed. Nearly double the lift force. There are no pressure relief valves down stream of control valve from dynamic loading. Tractor loaders are generally robust enough to take this dynamic loading. Larger excavation equipment have more sophisticated hydraulic systems to protect from high dynamic loads.

Grapple lids and top-n-tilt 3pt cylinders are others that can generate high pressure from dynamic loading. Leaky control valves usually the first wear component. Designers and operators need to be aware of the consequences.

 

[2manyrocks]

The advantages of the hydraulic tree puller seem to be that you don't have to get off the tractor, you can push and pull the tree, and then you can more easily move the tree once its uprooted. The $4,500 price tag vs $50 for a chain and pipe seems pretty steep.

Your psi numbers are similar to those stated in a Messick's video on youtube warning about psi spikes when using a grapple. The Messick's video said some grapples come with a check valve to limit pressure, but I've yet to figure out how to incorporate some kind of overpressure protection for the MTL grapple I bought. So it's still sitting on the pallet, unused, and I have yet to install any kind of third function kit, either.

Is there some way of adding overpressure protection when installing a third function kit?

 

[Smokeydog]

Best protection is operator understanding of equipment limitations and technique.

Some of the large skid steer grapples use cushion valves on the grapple lids. Used a cushion valve for protection on a hydraulic top link of a 3pt log grapple. Could lift a 30’ log off the ground long ways.

Let the grapple lids grip and use healthy respect when pulling or pushing with them. Most can figure out grapple use and find them highly productive attachments without damaging their tractor.

 

[2manyrocks]

Is a cushioning valve expensive or hard to install? Not knowing anything about this myself, is there a reason not to add a cushioning valve?

edit: further...I wonder if I could modify the lower tines on my grapple to incorporate a tree puller for smaller trees (1-3") and perhaps have a manual diverter valve assembly on the grapple to switch between the puller function and the grapple lid function.

Not looking to pull 5" trees with my L2501. But I can see the utility of being able to pull some smaller trees without resorting to the chain method.

 

[Vigo327]

How hard it is depends on how much hydraulic plumbing you've done before. If you've done a lot then it will be easy. It has to be set up for a pressure higher than your relief valve but lower than when hoses burst and metal starts bending. I haven't used one yet, myself.

With pullers like this, or stump buckets, one of the ways you can get some extra force is by pivoting the implement on something so that your hydraulic curl force is pulling up on the tree or whatever, but the weight of the front of your machine is also pushing down on the back of the implement, and if it's pivoting on something in the middle, you get more curl force at the end from using your tractor to 'see-saw' the puller/bucket. This is why a lot of stump buckets have curved bottoms, to build-in that pivot point. I haven't seen the same on tree pullers (flat bottoms) but you could create the effect easily, even with a 6x6 wood post or a rock as your pivot.

 

[Smokeydog]

Danuser has good instructional instructions and videos. Grip low, lift and drive forward greatly increases pulling force. The excavator teeth and cutting edges easily breaks and cuts roots to help extract trees. Helps with even small tractors like the B26 tackle trees safely. Especially invasive species. Pull roots and fill in the hole.

My point is how surprised how well this attachment is useful on a small HP tractor. Absolutely a tree and rock “Intimdator “ on 60hp tractor.

 

[shooterdon]

Good thread. I wanted to get one of these but could not justify the cost. Bought a tree and post puller and wish I had bitten the bullet.

With my tractor it near impossible to see what I am doing so I had to add a camera system.

 

[nancyk]

View attachment 749460

The pipe bites and allows the grab hook chains to slip. Grabs slippery and small stems. Also rocks.

Can you show a picture how this works? I am having a hard time imagining how it is placed on a young tree. I do the wrap method also, time consuming for the small trees.
O.K., I think I see it now. The base of the tree goes in the loop area of the chain. So you have to insert the chain into the pipe each time you use it, correct?

 

[Smokeydog]

Can you show a picture how this works? I am having a hard time imagining how it is placed on a young tree. I do the wrap method also, time consuming for the small trees.

The pipe does two things.
First it allows a grab hook chain to slip or choke the load when pulled. Tightening around the tree.
Second the pipe end edges bite into the tree for better grip.

Just have to make one loop around the tree and hook into the pipe. Self tightens when pulling. The loop at the bottom goes around the tree.

Simple but highly effective tool for slippery stems or brush bunches like Russian olive, privet or multiflora roses. Can loop it wide and pull tight saves from crawling underneath.

A slip hook works too but doesn’t have the pipe edges to bite and slips off. Spring time the barks gets real loose and slippery.

Often hook up both ends of chain/pipes to different trees and pull out at the same time.

Wife bought me a fancy spring loaded, wicked looking, spiked grabber from Northern tool. This simple frontier tool works better, easier and faster.

 

[nancyk]

The pipe does two things.
First it allows a grab hook chain to slip or choke the load when pulled. Tightening around the tree.
Second the pipe end edges bite into the tree for better grip.

Just have to make one loop around the tree and hook into the pipe. Self tightens when pulling. The loop at the bottom goes around the tree.

Simple but highly effective tool for slippery stems or brush bunches like Russian olive, privet or multiflora roses. Can loop it wide and pull tight saves from crawling underneath.

A slip hook works too but doesn’t have the pipe edges to bite and slips off. Spring time the barks gets real loose and slippery.

Often hook up both ends of chain/pipes to different trees and pull out at the same time.

Wife bought me a fancy spring loaded, wicked looking, spiked grabber from Northern tool. This simple frontier tool works better, easier and faster.

can you give the dimensions of this pipe? I asked a friend if he can get this pipe fabricated for me(as I have the necessary chains and hooks). he asked for more pictures, not quite sure why. I had given him the picture from your post. Maybe the dimensions would help him.
I found a scrap piece of thick-wall pvc, cut an opening out of it with a sawzall and will try that.

 

[oosik]

That might work for thinning my pine stands. 800 - 1200 small ( 1" to 6" on the butt ) pines. Every other year now. I use a chain saw for a couple reasons. It's really quick - it leaves the root ball in the ground. I end up dragging these pines to collection piles and then chipping them. I do not want to be running root balls thru my chipper.

With my little Stihl - I average 150 to 175 pines cut out per hour. I've found it works best if I take a half hour break every two hours or so.