To Toothbar or Not

[Kintyre]

I'm new to the forum... any advice is appreciated. I have an L3130 with LA513 FEL with approx 300 hours on it - bought it new last year. I am clearing about 10 acres for horse pasture so have to remove trees (hardwoods - oak, maple, Gum (yuck!) and some pines) and need to get stumps - not good for horses. Have basically been toppling trees w/ FEL and then digging up stumps and moving all to burn piles. Question is... I've seen many people talk about Toothbars - Markham in particular. Do they really make a difference in digging? Also, what about smoothing contours - after filling stump hole - it seems a toothbar would be more like a rake. Do tooth bars get caught in and under roots? Do they break through roots better? Besides the expense of a BH is this the best way to get stumps. Thanks.

PS - L3130 is great for mowing. I do 4-5 acres of lawn and brush pastures every now and then. I have industrial tires, not Ags so don't tear up the ground except in some tight turns but I figure it's good for the soil /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[GaryE]

Kintyre,

A toothbar is not going to help you dig out trees, but I can tell you it was by far the most cost effective addition I have ever made to my tractor. If you had only one mod to make to your tractor, I would tell you to call Markham hands down.

Take care,

Gary

PS Welcome to TBN

 

[gmsssi]

I second that!

 

[L3130]

It will give you loader some digging depth, But it won't dig out a tree stump. It's great to have when you have real hard dirt to dig into though. Well worth the investment in my opinion. They come off with just two bolts whch is nice. In your case a backhoe will be the best investment or you could rent one.

 

[Kintyre]

Thanks for the advice. I live in the "Sandhills" of North Carolina - emphasis on "sand" - so hard soil is typically not a problem. My FEL bucket will sink where ever I put it. BH would be great and I'm ready to get one... except for the $'s /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Oh well, time is not the issue and well tractor work is... well it's tractor work, thank the "Big Guy" for inventing such a thing /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[rdsaustintx]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( thank the "Big Guy" for inventing such a thing /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )</font>

AMEN! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[riptides]

Just get one.

I use to take bites out of the roots around trees, before I pushed them over with the FEL. Cleared one acres just by the bite and push technique.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[SCB]

As far as smoothing out contours, If you use the heel of the bucket it is not an issue. But if you like using the front edge, most toothbars remove with just two bolts. On a tractor your size, I don't know about the benefits. But on my bx it is a well used addition.

 

[SkyPup]

Actually, a heavy duty W.R. Long toothbar on our L-3130 with LA723 FEL DOES help dig out trees the hard way, this is just one of many! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[SkyPup]

I dug this one out completely with the Toothbar on the FEL, but it weighed about three tons so even the tractor was incapable of finally removing it, required a 15,000 pound winch.... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif