MTL Post and Tree puller

[HawkinsHollow]

Reviving this old thread rather than making a new one to see if the old players of this thread have an update. I have 1,789,456 small $h!t trees on my property. I have a line on one of these pullers for $750. I see one of these tree pullers as a good option for removing small invasives. I am not interested in pulling 4-6 inch trees, I know the Branson cannot handle that. I am more interested in pulling clumps of privet, Russian Olive and small Mimosasa less than 3". The bigger stuff I will cut. Any more updates? Pros and cons? I figure at $750 if I don't like it I can sell it for what I paid for it.

I had an idea to help with the more stubborn trees I want to bounce off y'all. What if on the bottom of the non-actuating jaw you welded a sharp ripper about 4 inches that you could rake through the dirt to rip those surface roots? Also what about 2 sharp plates on the front of each jaw that you could use as a spade to push into the dirt around the tree to cut roots? I know you would NOT want to pry with this as there is too much leverage that far out, would not be goot for FEL. But a couple straight in cuts could help. Again, I am more interested in smaller bushier trees so I do not think I would run into a bunch of stubborn ones. But I was just thinking.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Oh, just to add I do like the 3 pt hitch option someone mentioned above. Seems like that would cause less wear and tear on the tractor for sure. And the 3 point has considerably more lift.

But again, my goal is not pulling out huge trees. I learned my lesson with the stump bucket, that was way too much stress on my FEL.

 

[2manyrocks]

I can't seem to find it, but there was a post some years ago where a guy had a very stout looking implement for the rear 3pt with a plate notched into a "V" at the bottom used to dig out trees. There was another one that was slightly different that had a series of teeth welded to it, but both were 3pt.

edit: here is the one with teeth. Tree-getter

When the ground is soft in the spring, a lot of things could be pulled out, but I hesitate on using the FEL to dig around tree roots because that's the most stubborn part of any tree.

 

[dlctcg]

I have 1,789,456 small $h!t trees on my property.

I love that you counted them all first...

So we don't own an MTL post / tree puller... ours is a "lesser model" but we purchased it new & cheap at an auction... It is the best thing we have for pulling small stuff...

Area before:

Area After:

We also have a 3PT to quick attack adapter so we can use the tree / post puller & pallet forks on the rear 3PT when needed.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I love that you counted them all first...

So we don't own an MTL post / tree puller... ours is a "lesser model" but we purchased it new & cheap at an auction... It is the best thing we have for pulling small stuff...

DANG! From the look of your pics you must have over 2,000,000 $h!t trees!!
I think for the money is worth it. I would spend a bit less than that renting a mini ex for a weekend. This way I can accomplish the same thing and spread it out over time. And get my money back when I am done.

 

[2manyrocks]

I love that you counted them all first...

So we don't own an MTL post / tree puller... ours is a "lesser model" but we purchased it new & cheap at an auction... It is the best thing we have for pulling small stuff...

View attachment 822617 View attachment 822618



Area before:
View attachment 822619


Area After:
View attachment 822620


We also have a 3PT to quick attack adapter so we can use the tree / post puller & pallet forks on the rear 3PT when needed.

When do you use the 3pt adapter vs using the FEL?

How long did it take to clear that area?

 

[HawkinsHollow]

When the ground is soft in the spring, a lot of things could be pulled out, but I hesitate on using the FEL to dig around tree roots because that's the most stubborn part of any tree.

Yeah I used a stump bucket for a while to clear out some bigger trees (~6"ers) the rented Skidsteer/brsuhcutter combo couldn't take out. That was rough on the tractor. Ended up selling the stump bucket. Better off renting a mini-ex and beating that up instead.

 

[dlctcg]

DANG! From the look of your pics you must have over 2,000,000 $h!t trees!!

Yes... there were thousands & thousands of all different trees from twig size 2ft tall to 6+' 25 - 30ft tall...

I think for the money is worth it. I would spend a bit less than that renting a mini ex for a weekend. This way I can accomplish the same thing and spread it out over time. And get my money back when I am done.

Not sure what you meant by the above ^^^ Renting a mini ex around here, pretty much starts at around 1k for the weekend & that's not even a big machine, so not sure how I'd "get my money back when I was done". I did spread this project out over time as it was on our property & we were not in a rush to get it cleared, besides we had a really wet season so I had to work around that... The post / tree puller also let me stack all the trees / saplings in organized piles as I pulled them, which helped keep the area opened up & not a mess as I moved through it.

Beside it gave me some great seat time & time out on our property...both things I enjoy! So besides my time, which I enjoyed, I think I'm into the project for 12 -15 gal of diesel & a tube of grease. Trust me if this was a paid job or time sensitive project I would have looked at it differently.

We lucked out 4+yrs ago at an auction & grabbed the tree / post pullers for under $400 brand new on a pallet; we knew it was a lighter weight unit but we were ok with that as we also know the limitation of our machine, so lighter weight unit was good by us. We use it multiple times a year & has made clean-up of the small stuff a dream compared to climbing on & off the machine with either chains or straps.

 

[dlctcg]

When do you use the 3pt adapter vs using the FEL?

How long did it take to clear that area?

Really only use the 3pt on the tough stuff or stuff over 4+ inches & some of the small stuff that is really stubborn. Learned to know our little machines capabilities & it's limits so, basically if I feel the machine is working to hard to pull it with the FEL I wait & use the 3pt. The 3pt is a much slower process, & you need much more clearance to get the machine backed up to use the puller, so I usually do everything with the FEL first then come back & use the 3pt where needed. 3pt also limits the height of the pull but is capable of pulling the more stubborn stuff.

I don't know the exact time I spent clearing the area as it was spaced out over my free time & the weather, it wasn't a time sensitive project. I do know I did it all over a 2 week period (& definitely not out there everyday) & only on the machine 2 - 4hrs at a time. It went quicker then I thought after I got started & got an area opened up to maneuver the machine around. In the really thick small stuff I'd drive in & completely fill the puller with as many as I could, close it & pull a whole bunch at once.

 

[2manyrocks]

thank you for sharing your experience. I had thought about mounting a tree puller to the 3pt. I was thinking I could pull up trees with the 3pt, but use the grapple on the FEL to move them after the trees were pulled.