Trying out a Brush Grubber

[beeforty]

What I read on another site and tried is to take a short piece if pipe and slip your chain thru it, around your tree and back outto your tractor. With your hook on the edge towards you it pulls the pipe back to the tree the chain is wrapped around and digs into the tree as the chains slides around until all the slack is gone. It's cheap, only need a piece of pipe big enough to slip your hook thru.

 

[johnrex62]

Yeah this could be a real drag if you have lots of trees to pull out and no ground helper to connect/disconnect.

That's why it think something like this is a good idea
Tractor Forks, Bucket Forks, Loader Forks

Several people on TBN have built similar tools based on the same concept Do a TBN search for "tree getter" and you'll see many good ones

I watched the video they have online for that product. Funny that they only show examples of pulling up dead trees with no root system left. Some were even wobbling enough to fall over before they got hooked up to the tree.

Have you tried this on a live tree or firmly planted post? Would love to know if it works on something too hard to pull by hand.

 

[Arky217]

The tree-grabber looks cool and may be faster, but I have pulled dozens of little tree's like that with just wrapping the log chain around them 3 or 4 times and hooking it to itself. It rarely slips, it nearly always bites in and yanks them right out.! Of course you need a "groundman" to keep from getting on and off the tractor all day.
James K0UA

This is very true. The grubber may work well, but IMO, it has no advantage over a chain.
I've pulled slippery saplings, roots, etc. as small as 1/2 inch with a 3/8 inch chain just by wrapping it around 2 or 3 times; probably faster than carrying around the heavy grubber.

 

[jake98]

When I used mine, I didn't even get on the tractor between setups, just moved it back and forth a couple feet with the hydro pedal, when there's a few in the same place. I guess it depends on your dirt, but no way would just a chain be just as fast around here.

 

[jdonovan]

Thanks for the reminder. I have the box blade mounted & figured I would be running the chain underneath it. If it is lowered to just above grade (the scarifiers aren't down) my assumption is that it should serve as a safety device in regard to the potential for flip-over.

reasonable hook up.

Tip prevention via 3-pt implement, not so much.

If you don't have draft control on your 3-pt the only thing keeping the implement from being raised is gravity. Under normal conditions this keeps attachments from suddenly flying into the air. :laughing:

But if you began to tip over to the back, the 'solid' 3-pt you will find is much less solid than you think.

My understanding is as long as the point of pull is lower than the rear axle generally the machine will loose traction before a flip over would occur.

 

[Haywire]

YouTube - ATV-X TREECHOPPER!

This looks pretty interesting for cutting stuff off at ground level.

 

[johnrex62]

YouTube - ATV-X TREECHOPPER!

This looks pretty interesting for cutting stuff off at ground level.

I watched this video, but I don't see any indication of impact on the ATV when it hits those 4" trunks. Maybe the trees that grow on my property are a little abnormal, but I don't see how a fixed blade can cut through a trunk that thick without some impact. Are ATVs heavy enough to overcome that much resistance?

 

[nikdfish]

reasonable hook up.

Tip prevention via 3-pt implement, not so much.

If you don't have draft control on your 3-pt the only thing keeping the implement from being raised is gravity. Under normal conditions this keeps attachments from suddenly flying into the air. :laughing:

But if you began to tip over to the back, the 'solid' 3-pt you will find is much less solid than you think.

My understanding is as long as the point of pull is lower than the rear axle generally the machine will loose traction before a flip over would occur.

Granted the 3-pt may not have downward force, but my understanding is that the top link maintains the angular relationship of the implement to the tractor's centerline/frame - which is where the 3-pt was a safety innovation over the 2-pt with ground engaging implements.

The box blade may ride up, but its back edge would eventually have to become the pivot point for a complete back tip to occur. It can't "fold" back against the back of the tractor - the center link prevents it from doing so. Any slight movement around that pivot point would remove any traction & stop the pull even without operator intervention, the same as if the blade or its scarifiers had hung in an immovable object. The front wheels may end up off the ground, but it shouldn't be able to reach the rearward "tipping point".

At least that's my understanding...

Nick

 

[jdonovan]

The box blade may ride up, but its back edge would eventually have to become the pivot point for a complete back tip to occur. It can't "fold" back against the back of the tractor - the center link prevents it from doing so. Any slight movement around that pivot point would remove any traction & stop the pull even without operator intervention, the same as if the blade or its scarifiers had hung in an immovable object. The front wheels may end up off the ground, but it shouldn't be able to reach the rearward "tipping point".

All true, and all Dependant on that top link not bending, or breaking. Get a 5-10k lbs machine moving, transfer that load onto something not designed for it and its amazing how things can bend and break that looked 'strong'.

Tractors have drawbars for pulling for a reason. :thumbsup:

 

[nikdfish]

Granted. In any case, I'm moving slow with an HST, trying for a steady continuous tug rather than a snatch & will definately be off the pedal if the front starts getting light...

So far, it looks like my machine is "bogging down" when it hits the limit as opposed to lifting the front.

Thanks for the observations & cautions, though. You can't avoid what you don't see coming. I'll have to break down & get a drawbar installed at some point (they are optional on the "E" series). They aren't that pricey, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.


Nick

 

[nikdfish]

It can be slow going, one sapling at a time, but if you keep chipping away it starts to add up. I've got so many small piles of trees spread around now, I'm going to need some pallet forks to collect them into a burn pile!


Hmmmm. May be time for some strap on bucket forks....



Nick

 

[KenKubota]

I hope this doesn't ruin it for those who have already bought the original brush grubber. I got a new model that clamps to your bucket or mounts to a 2" receiver out back. It has a rope that allows one to release the jaws and "cock" them for the next stem. All from the comfort of my seat, thus eliminating the number one drawback of the original (IMO)
BrushGrubber | Skid Loader Heavy Duty Brush Grubber

 

[gerard]

I have one and it works well but as stated, if you have a lot to do, it's a LOT quicker with a ground person to hook/unhook. Smaller stuff I attach the chain to the bucket and just raise the bucket. You can pull out some pretty heavy stuff that way if not too heavily rooted.

 

[Haywire]

I watched this video, but I don't see any indication of impact on the ATV when it hits those 4" trunks. Maybe the trees that grow on my property are a little abnormal, but I don't see how a fixed blade can cut through a trunk that thick without some impact. Are ATVs heavy enough to overcome that much resistance?

If you look, they aren't fixed. They turn as the tree goes through them. It's got 3 pairs of cutters, each closer together than the last. It's almost like it pinches them off in 3 stages.

Ian

 

[Small farm guy]

I am a bit late on the thread, but I got one of these last year. My place is 11 acres that was last bush hogged around 20 years ago. The grubber works great on patches that are a bit too big to hog, but small enough to bend over easily. If you have help, it is a bit faster than wrapping a chain, but you have to take off slow and steady instead of snatching it out fast with a chain. If you start to fast, the grubber will slide right off a tree.

I used it for a while this fall, with my wife pulling with the tractor and me slinging it around. I eventually took it off because I could chain several small trees and snatch them out at once. A good tool, but I wouldn't spend the money to buy another if I broke it.

I usually just bend the small trees over and pop the roots out by curling the bucket, but snatching them is a lot less messy on the dirt.

Joel

 

[jake98]

I'll have to break down & get a drawbar installed at some point (they are optional on the "E" series). They aren't that pricey, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.


Nick

Don't you have a mount for the drawbar that you could just connect a clevis to?

 

[SandburRanch]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/land-clearing/190062-pulling-trees-saplings.html

Cut them off and pull several stumps at once. The number only depends on how many short chains you have and how long the main chain is. Once the knot is tied, slip it off keeping it's integrity and place it over the next stump. Beats wrapping a chain which is labor intensive and that's what we're trying to avoid.

 

[k0ua]

One advantage I can see for the grubber, (now that I think about it) over just wrapping the chain around the sapling several times, it when you get the sapling pulled out. you have to unwrap it and that is kind of a pain sometimes to lift up the tree and unwrap the chain. I can see how the grubber would be a lot quicker to take off.
James K0UA

 

[Zebrafive]

It can be slow going, one sapling at a time, but if you keep chipping away it starts to add up. I've got so many small piles of trees spread around now, I'm going to need some pallet forks to collect them into a burn pile!


Hmmmm. May be time for some strap on bucket forks....



Nick

I had a lot of Autumn Olive bushes to pull. I used two chains hooked together. I made one wrap around each bush until I came to the end of the chain, then two wraps and hook back on the chain. I would 8-12 bushes each time. It was a lot of work to pull the chain around each bush, but beat getting on and off thractor for each bush. I found a lot of the first pulled bushes in the line twisted out of the chain as the rest pulled so unchaining was less work than chaining. I would pull several hundred each session.

A helper would be my prefered way to do this, but sometimes you have to work alone.

I would consider a grapple before forks

 

[Gio]

For what it's worth BAC makes awesome skidding tongs. TSC carries them