Is it possible to pull stumps with a subsoiler?

[tractorski]

I am clearing approx. 1 acre of land of some 6" inch trees. I was thinking of cutting the trees, then pulling the stumps with a subsoiler, will it work?

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[ericher69]

I am clearing approx. 1 acre of land of some 6" inch trees. I was thinking of cutting the trees, then pulling the stumps with a subsoiler, will it work?

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Quick answer no; unless you have a D8 or bigger size dozer

Option

1. Cut tree leaving stump 8' above ground. Tie a chain to the top and pull using leverage

2. Backhoe/excavator

3. Stump grinder

4. Burning stumps

5. Dozer to remove stumps

 

[Baby Grand]

I have pulled about a dozen using my SS. All were hardwoods, up to 8" diameter a foot above the ground - some oak, maple and birch and one very stubborn cherry. Hickory or anything with a deep tap root will present some real problems, but the SS can get you started. You'll just need to find a way to sever the tap root before you can actually pull it out, but you can loosen it up real good before you get to that step.

One of the greatest difficulties is that half the time the stump will be right where you want to put your rear tire so you can rip out the lateral roots, so I cut the stump off low to the ground. This eliminates the option that ericher69 described, so think about it before you commit to this path.

If you can get to all sides of the stump, then you have a good shot at getting it out by cutting the laterals from a few sides, then hooking the stump and lifting to "pop it out" with the 3 point. Good 3 point lift capacity will help with this last part.

 

[EverythingAttachments]

Stumps can be pretty nasty and challenging. See our WICKED stump bucket with grapple attachment take on a few stumps here. This wouldn't work with your tractor but the video will give you an idea of what you're up against.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Lessons learned from using the Weed Wrench, which is the same physics on a smaller scale. Instead of trying to pull it out in one massive heave, numerous repeated tugs on the stump will gradually break away the smaller roots and increase your chances of success. Think of Gulliver on the beach, and the smaller roots as the Lilliputian's ropes.

 

[wedge40]

If your correct about the trees being 6", then subsoiler will help. I would use the SS to pop/cut the roots on three sides of the tree and then push it over with the tractor. I have a grapple and with trees about 6" I will run the grapple under the root on three side and then attempt to push the tree over.

Wedge

 

[Gary Fowler]

The stump bucket and grapple certainly did a qood job although the dirt there sure is soft compared to my area. My sun baked white and yellow clay is almost like concrete when it comes to digging even with my 7" bucket on the backhoe, it sometimes raises the whole tractor off the ground just to get it to dig in. It takes a lot of rooting around from two sides to get all the lateral roots and then a deep hole to get down to where I can cut the tap root. It took me about 30 minutes to uproot a 12" pine that had broken off righ at ground level during a wind storm a couple days ago. We had some 60+ MPH winds, very black clouds but not a drop of rain. Any digging now is time consuming with my B26 but it does get the job done.

 

[bcp]

Use Paul Bunyan's hammer.

View attachment 275403

 

[tractorski]

I don't have any dynamite, so I think I will use my mini excavator.

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[Wyobuckaroo]

The definitive answer is........... Yes and No........... For me at least.

My tractor doesn't have much 3pt or FEL capacity.
So I go around a stump on all 4 sides with the sub soil tool as close to the stump as I can get and still cut roots effectively.

Then I do the tipping the stump all directions to loosen it up and eventually work it out. Not always an easy process with my equipment.

Hardest ones are the stumps that are cut close to the ground..........

Good luck