Little tractor Big stump

Cocre · Aug 8, 2009

Sorry for the poor quality phone pictures.

Three pines plus a small Sweet Gum in one clump. The roots were matted together making it difficult for the 24" bucket (too big) to dig through, but patience prevailed. Below the top soil the ground was hard white clay that I broke apart with the bucket teeth, there was not much digging. Once I got one pine out the rest just pulled on over fairly easy. I did most of the digging from the side the tree stumps are pointing to. I was able to roll the stump out of the hole with the backhoe and then drag it off with a chain tied to the FEL. The little tractor couldn't lift the stump/clay ball but she got the job done.

All in all it took about an hour. On a single 10" pine stump not twenty feet away in took less than four minutes from the time I sat in the BH seat till the stump was out of the hole.

ddivinia · Aug 8, 2009

Nice work. Man, I want a backhoe, I just seem to justify one.

D.

inmaestro · Aug 8, 2009

Nice job! I have that same model BH (JD447 on 3120) and can atest it can handle stumps far bigger than you want to drag around. You might want to get the 18" bucket if you have lots of stumps to pull. I find it better at cutting roots, especially hardwood trees like oak, hickory and walnut. Oddly, my 9" bucket doesn't seem to offer any advantages over the 18". I like the 24" for making quick work of most excavating tasks. Congrats and enjoy your tractor. Which model, by the way?

Cocre · Aug 8, 2009

inmaestro said:
Nice job! I have that same model BH (JD447 on 3120) and can atest it can handle stumps far bigger than you want to drag around. You might want to get the 18" bucket if you have lots of stumps to pull. I find it better at cutting roots, especially hardwood trees like oak, hickory and walnut. Oddly, my 9" bucket doesn't seem to offer any advantages over the 18". I like the 24" for making quick work of most excavating tasks. Congrats and enjoy your tractor. Which model, by the way?

Forgot to say, it's a 2006 3320. Bought it used last year with 185 hrs on it. 364 now. Tough little bugger, I don't snatch things around with it, I just wear things down her.