pulling up trees, chain on front or back?

[beppington]

If you pull the trees toward you, whether from the front or back, make sure your chain is long enough that the top of the tree doesn't land on you! May or may not hurt, but you also never know what hornets/ wasps/ ticks/ chiggers/ other creatures might comin' down on ya.

I wrap the chain twice, & only twice around the tree, & pull using the draw bar. If you do any more than 2 or 3 wraps sometimes the chain can sorta tighten on itself, rather than the tree, & then slip. May not matter if the tree still has branches, but I tend to cut the tree off first, leaving 2-5 feet to grab (5 feet for bigger ones where leverage might be needed), then pull it out.

 

[Arky217]

I have a Kubota L4200 and have pulled up hickory, elm, and oak trees as large as 16" at the base. My method is as follows:

Using an extension ladder, double wrap a chain up as far in the tree as you can get. Use enough chains so that the tree doesn't come down on you ! Hook the chain to the DRAWBAR of the tractor. Using the lowest gear and 4wd, put as much tension on the chain as you can.
Apply brakes on tractor and go to the roots that you have exposed on the opposite side of the pull. Using a bow saw and/or axe, cut the exposed roots (may have to dig a little sometimes). Apply more tension on the chain and then repeat the root cutting.
When you have done all you can do in that direction, reposition the tractor and pull in another direction. Repeat the root cutting.
When you have pulled the tree out, double wrap the chain on the cut roots and pull them out. Works for me.

The key is getting the chain high in the tree and keep cutting the exposed roots. You will be surprised how big a tree you can take out using this method.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Wait until the ground is saturated. Your tractor's maximum lifting ability is with the 3-point, so try the 3-point drawbar idea. It should pull small trees right out of the ground, particularly if the ground is very wet.

Tractor tires have maximum pull in the forward direction. Ag tires have the most preferred rotation, turf tires have none at all.

 

[brandoro]

For smaller trees I cut them off about chest high, don't like to use the chainsaw higher than that, then two turns around near the top of the stump and onto a drawbar inserted in the hitch receiver on my ballast box. Leave the ballast box down low and drive slowly away. So far the trees have come out with no drama at all.
Not fast, lots of climbing on and off the tractor but will get the job done with time.
Cell phone photo, sorry for the poor quality.

 

[buck12]

Here are some different options that I have used at various times:

1. Try pushing the trees out using the FEL with the bucket flat, just above ground level. If you get up too high on the trunk on small springy trees they will bend over, at the base you can often push them right out. With a tooth bar you can also carefully dig/rip out some of the roots which will make it easier to get out.

2. Wrap a chain or choker cable around the base of the tree, hook it on you FEL bucket and lift. You might be able to pop them out of the ground that way.

3. The 3pt hitch has more lifting power than the FEL, so use it as described in #2. Buy a 3pt hitch drawbar such as those from TSC, lower it as low as possible, hook the chain or cable around the base of the tree and then snugly around the 3pt drawbar and lift. You can gently rock it back and forth also, but don't try to pull forward too hard, that's how you turn a tractor over backwards.

4. If none of the aforementioned methods work, your probably dealing with a tree that's too big for your tractor to handle, either use a backhoe, larger equipment, or just cut it off flush with the ground.

I have used #2 with good success on small trees. Wait until soil is very wet.

 

[bitseeker]

These are all good methods, and I'm going to apply what I have learned here. I have had lots more trouble removing what seem to be fairly small trees than most folks report here, and I think the environment has something to add. Our "soil" (volcanic rocks with clay) is heavy and tough. The local wind is quite high. Early lumber mills were built here because the wind dried lumber fast. I think our trees develop a stronger grip on the earth to live through the wind (wind strong enough to blow a locomotive off the tracks).

Wet soil sure helps in removing our trees, and when I can't get at a tap root on a pine, flooding the hole and waiting often makes all the difference.

How about burning out stumps? Years ago I bought a product, drilled big holes in a stump, poured in the product and a year later it burned like a rocket far below ground. I tried an ammonium xxx product on a larger stump last year and it did not work well. What ammonium XXX to use, and what to expect?

 

[texasjohn]

Is your land fenced such that it will hold goats...if so, you can get goats and they will eat the brush up as high as they can reach, allowing you, over time, to see what is there and to work on it.

Pulling mesquite will prove to be impossible...and cutting it off will be frustrating since it will grow back and sprangle out, even if cut multiple times a year it will never die. You will have to remove roots some way, or kill it chemically...and for this you MUST use herbicide specific for mesquite, it is impervious to anything but such herbicide.

I recommend a tow strap to wrap around the trunk/base of what you want to pull....it will grip better than chain, which will often simply cut the stuff in two. You can gain length as needed by attaching a chain to the tow strap.

Use drawbar to keep pull at proper elevation for safety. Use trick of running strap over a large diameter tire/roller such that pull is verticalish on the tree/brush but yet is horizontal for the tractor.

Your terrain will be key as will soil type and moisture in ground... good luck, let us know what works for you.... and

GO SLOW.....

 

[Egon]

If the front of the tractor starts to raise, you will have time to stop it!

You may have time to stop it! Them things happen rather quickly.

Consider doing a little digging with the FEL and cutting some roots. Might make it easier to push them over or pull them out.

 

[beppington]

For larger trees, how about using just one shank on a box blade to rip thru the roots.

 

[TWD]

2-4" is not really a "Tree", and it depends on the species of trees to determine how tough it really will be.

Out here we get some 2-6" bush like trees that grow rapidly, and I can simply wrap a chain around them, hookup on the FEL then pull them out. If they don't come first pull I`ll dig around a bit and then pull them out or push them back and forth with the FEL to loosen up the roots then lift them right out.

We also have Pine here to deal with which can be very stubborn or very easy it seems! Some yank right out, some I have to wiggle around then they come right up!

If it were me I'd try with the FEL, and if that doesn't work switch to the rear hookups. A 2-4" tree/brush shouldn't have an elaborate root system so loosening up the dirt if you can will make it even easier.