What sort of attachment do I need for clearing brush and vine roots?

[Underwhere]

I'm fairly new to tractors. I have a BX25 I picked up a few months ago and am still learning the machine.
I've become fairly good with the FEL but I think I need additional attachments to be able to finish up my yard.

The yard was horribly overgrown. Some of the vines are 5 inches thick. There was brush over 10 ft tall. When I went in there I realized that there were 4 down trees that I couldn't even see.

I'm finding a lot of roots left over that are just sticking up from the ground. Thousands of them. Small and large.
I could dig deeper with the FEL but then I'd end up with a really large pile of dirt with those roots mixed in.
I was thinking of a rake or maybe a box blade?

My goal is to flatten this out and then to eventually plant grass on the slope and flat portions.

Any advice on how to get this done? I've been back dragging quite a bit and floating on top...occasionally digging in when i see a bunch of roots.

Before:

After using the front end loader to skim the top and put it all in a pile.

 

[newbury]

You've two basic choices.

First your FEL is a front end LOADER not digger .

A tooth bar or Pirahna bar would be the tool. I'd say a Pirahna would be ideal.

A boxblade would also be good, but I'm biased, I think every FEL should have a bar and pallet forks.

 

[jeff9366]

I suggest a Ratchet Rake.

I use mine to perform the tasks you list two or three days per week.

LINKS:

https://www.google.com/#q=ratchet+rake+site:tractorbynet.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvinkbW8Z90

 

[Underwhere]

Thanks for the advice on the ratchet rake or ripper bar (which I think will work similarly)

So the goals I'm trying to achieve:
1. Rip out the roots and vines while leaving the dirt there. What I'm doing now with the loader is essentially picking up everything. Will the ripper bar or ratchet rake take up the roots while leaving dirt?

2. Smoothing out the area so I can put loam and grass on it. With the ripper bar on the FEL, can you still flatten it out? I do a lot of backdragging with the FEL.

I'm almost thinking I need some sort of ripper bar with no FEL behind it so the dirt stays where it is...and then a rake to clean everything up.

One of the issues i have right now is that the pile of brush/roots that I have is half dirt. Not only is it extremely heavy, I'm removing all the fill that I need to level the property.

 

[jeff9366]

Thanks for the advice on the ratchet rake or ripper bar (which I think will work similarly)

I'm thinking I need some sort of ripper bar with no FEL behind it so the dirt stays where it is.

...and then a rake to clean everything up.

Did you watch the Ratchet Rake video?

The name for the three point hitch mounted "ripper bar" is a Sub-soiler.

As the owner of both a Ratchet Rake and a Landscape Rake it has been my experience that the Ratchet Rake is more effective than a Landscape Rake for raking organic debris into piles. In fact, a Landscape Rake is practically useless for raking brush and vine roots into piles. A Landscape Rake is for grading, moving and filtering dirt.

Some dirt will release from the roots as they dry. Then burn the roots and recover the dirt and ashes.

SUBSOILER LINK:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/search.php?searchid=815888

 

[Underwhere]

Did you watch the Ratchet Rake video?

The name for the three point hitch mounted "ripper bar" is a Sub-soiler.

As the owner of both a Ratchet Rake and a Landscape Rake it has been my experience that the Ratchet Rake is more effective than a Landscape Rake for raking organic debris into piles. In fact, a Landscape Rake is practically useless for raking brush and vine roots into piles. A Landscape Rake is for grading, moving and filtering dirt.

Some dirt will release from the roots as they dry. Then burn the roots and recover the dirt and ashes.

SUBSOILER LINK:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/search.php?searchid=815888

Sorry I missed the Youtube video. OMG that looks like exactly what I need.

Someone else mentioned the tooth bar. What is your take on that?
It seems like the ratchet rake has the teeth on the bottom which I gather is helpful for the kind of stuff I need to do.

 

[jeff9366]

In the generic sense, a Tooth Bar aids an FEL bucket to dig. An FEL is never going to be great at digging, but a Tooth Bar makes digging possible in a limited fashion.

A Piranha Tooth Bar is reputed to be the best Tooth Bar available for a BX. I have no experience with one but they receive glowing reviews here.

You CANNOT dig with a Ratchet Rake. It is for tearing out brush and roots in top 3"-4" of soil. You CANNOT dig with a Ratchet Rake.

PIRANHA LINKS:

BXpanded Piranha Tooth Bar

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/search.php?searchid=816656

 

[Underwhere]

I went out and bought the ratchet rake tonight at TSC.
So excited to try it out. If it weren't raining out right now I'd be out there in the dark.

Thanks for the great advice. I think you got exactly what I was trying to do.

 

[jeff9366]

Anytime. We are here to share our experiences……for better or worse.

 

[Underwhere]

Anytime. We are here to share our experiences……for better or worse.

I'm so F'ing excited. I need more daylight.