Dozer size for remmoving 5' diameter stumps and hill leveling

[Oldpath05]

Oldpath, look at the new Deere 848L skidder. About $400,000. People around here use them to pull trees, as they were made for. Most of the pine stumps here are taken out with a large excavator and the stumps are from 1 to 2 foot at most.

I guess nowadays most woods crews can afford excavators if they'r paying half mil for one skidder, prices have gone up. But back 40 years ago around here that would be a added luxury. So back in the day when we get one woodlot done, we load one grapple skidder of two, go 50-100 miles, chipper right behind and two hours behind that a chip trailer is coming, now its 10am and we get the JD 540 off, send trailer back to get other JD540 then I spend the next two hours knocking over a few big trees and ripping out all the stumps with grapple, some over 2', just enough to get the 20" Morbark chipper in and the chip trailer is coming in a minute, so I smooth out the ground with skidder blade in fast motion.

Now its 2pm, the chip trailer just showed up and boss is in a hurry, so I back the chipper in which if in mud can be handful for the JD 540. The two Morbark shears was brought over the day before and they cleared the small trees off the landing and have been shearing all day. Now with chipper all set in the chip trailer is backing in, now it's 2:30-ish and I'm now latching on trees to bring to the chipper the other guy is throttling up the chipper, 20-30 minutes latter the chip trailer is full and away it goes, now the other JD540 is here, the next chip trailer is backing in and 20-ish minutes that one is full then the boss is calling it a day around 3:30-4pm.

The moral of this true story is that a grapple skidder dont know the difference between clamping on a 2" stump or 2 cord of wood. Here how it goes, back up to the stump clamp on the back roots, rip, clamp the other two sides and rip, then clamp on the front roots rip and lift then drag that stump out of the way... But yes excavator is the best for digging out stumps and rocks........... I also have a few, might say I'm ashamed of stories....................

CBI Stump Shear Hydraulic Stump Shear - YouTube

 

[homesteader13]

Even though I have less than 10 feet between crowns and stems, on 40 acres, I couldn't justify this piece of equipment, but I will say that it is bad ***!
Thank you for sharing the video.

 

[fried1765]

D9 with root rake tilt blade and ripper should work nicely.

I would up you one,... and go for a D-10.

 

[Egon]

I would up you one,... and go for a D-10.

In the days when I last was involved with moving Dirt a D9-H with a tilt UBlade and rear rippers was the biggest and best.

On one job, a 375 ft. Cut and side push there were 12 of these machines at work. One to one back slope with an eleven foot berm every twenty feet.

 

[LouNY]

Just a tad bit of information that hasn't been mentioned,
back in the day when the crawlers were the answer to removing stumps
the trees were cut 3-4 ft high leaving a tall stump for leverage.
Cable operated blades, and cable run shovels being the norm.
Heck the early full hydraulic blades were a major envy, the smaller owner operators couldn't afford.

 

[Diggin It]

OP needs a couple of these:

 

[ultrarunner]

A local dozer operator was an expert at knocking over trees...

He said the secret weapon is the ripper which he used on three sides and then push over tree and rootball using trunk as a fulcrum by pushing several feet up.

 

[ruffdog]

My neighbor with his D9 and one big ripper in the rear would pop them stumps out like they were rotted teeth.

 

[deezler]

Oh, this is the same OP who was asking about moving a million yards of soil to make a 500x500 level pad in the side of a mountain.

Yeah, a rental 450 or D4..... not gonna cut it, lol.

 

[homesteader13]

Oh, this is the same OP who was asking about moving a million yards of soil to make a 500x500 level pad in the side of a mountain.

Yeah, a rental 450 or D4..... not gonna cut it, lol.

Actually it would work just fine.....
As long as his great grandkids are going to finish where he left off.