Need advice on how to operate my tractor

[PapaJ]

I moved to VA for a job in Dec. My driveway in not wide enough for the boat, horse trailers, trucks, etc. due to a stupid placement of a detached garage addition by the previous owner. That said, there were landscape timbers on the outside edge of the driveway. In an effort to make more room for the boat going in and out, the truck got parked too close and has basically destroyed most of them. I can get rid of them no problem, but they were installed with rebar. What I need is a way to use my tractor to pull them out. I can't think of a way to attach chain to them so I can lift straight up, and the wife is afraid if I try to pull them sideways somehow, I'll impale myself.

 

[UpNorthMI]

Sounds like your tractor is going to be useful for this task. So if I understand correctly you have landscape timbers that are pinned in place by rebar going vertically through them into the ground, its common to sink the timbers slightly to stop them moving.

I'm assuming that you have a front end loader and a bucket, If I was you I would approach the landscape timber at an angle and try to get the edge of my bucket under the timber towards one end, then I would lift and curl the bucket to lever the timber out of the ground, take your time, and if needed do the same at the other end.

You should not have to lift them too high to get them free.

Good luck with the task.

 

[D2Cat]

If you landscape timber are broken, cracked and weakened by the driving over, use the bucket to remove all the wood. Then there should be a few inched of rebar sticking up. You can take a shovel and dig down a few inches to expose more rebar. Then take a piece of chain, 5/16 chain will hold, and wrap the chain around the piece of rebar several times. Attach to chain to the loader (hopefully you have hooks on your bucker) and pull up.

 

[PapaJ]

If you landscape timber are broken, cracked and weakened by the driving over, use the bucket to remove all the wood. Then there should be a few inched of rebar sticking up. You can take a shovel and dig down a few inches to expose more rebar. Then take a piece of chain, 5/16 chain will hold, and wrap the chain around the piece of rebar several times. Attach to chain to the loader (hopefully you have hooks on your bucker) and pull up.

The timbers are easily removed by hand, as they are pretty rotted and driven over several times. I will go through my bucket o'chain and see what I got. I do not have any hooks on my bucket yet. I think I can stick a bolt through the holes though, and see if I can wrap the chain around the rebar. Should only be like 2 feet rebar for landscape, so hopefully they come right out.

 

[dalola]

A small grubber attached to your FEL should zip them out lickity-split.

 

[NHSleddog]

Sometimes you can't get the bucket on the wall being perpendicular etc. to the drive so I always keep a big Eye Lag Bolt handy for attachment points in wood . They work as a great grab/pull location. If the wood is solid, you can get a tremendous grab/pull on it.

 

[D2Cat]

In your situation, the small chain will grab better then a large link chain. Just lay the chin end on the ground and wrap around the rebar 3 or 4 times and hook back to the chain. Attach the other end at the corner of the bucket (it will have more strength there). Do not hook the chain in the center of the bucket on the cutting edge, you may put a bow in the bottom of the bucket. The rebar should come up easily.

 

[Henro]

If you have a sledge hammer, wack the tops so they bend over a bit. This will help keep the chain from slipping off. Should work with 1/2 inch rebar. That is probably what you have, or it might be 3/8 inch which would bend even easier...

 

[Roadworthy]

You may find if you hit the side of the rebar with a hammer then hit the other side with a hammer they may even pull by hand spoiling all your fun with the tractor.

 

[NWAZL3560]

I've been surprised at how well a chain, or even a tie down strap, holds if you wrap it around a steel post both above and below the chain at the post. I have a factory reinforcing strip on the top of the bucket and that's what I hook to.

 

[Russell King]

A steel plate with a hole slightly larger than the rebar in one end and a chain attachment hole at the other end. Lay it down over the top of the rebar, pick other end up with tractor bucket or 3PH. Rebar gets wedged in hole, tractor pulls rebar out. Faster with a helper or use a farm jack instead of tractor.

If using helps make sure they are out of danger before lifting

 

[mikester]

If you need to pull the rebar you can try a pinch clamp like this

Amazon.com

check with your local industrial supplier

 

[GeoHorn]

If the rebar remains firmly in the ground, bend the top over and hook the bent end thru a chain attached to your FEL and lift it out. I”ve also used C-clamps to attach the end of a chain to the object, then twisting the chain around the object (and then thru itself as in a “half-hitch”) and pulled it right out. Done this many times with T-posts.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Whatever I need to remove, I put a screw clevis on my drawbar and yank it. A 10K pound tractor usually wins.

I never use my bucket, what the drawbar is for.

 

[bcp]

Rebar pulling idea:

Foolproof Rebar Pulling

Foolproof Rebar Pulling: Ordinary tent stakes slide right out of the dry lake bed, or playa, that people camp on at Burning Man. The time honored solution is rebar. It's cheap, easy to cut to size, and not too hard to hammer into the playa after a little practice. But then …

www.instructables.com

Bruce

 

[PapaJ]

So I had an old bracket left over from my camper tie down install, and the holes are the perfect size for this 1/2 rebar. I took out the 3 exposed pieces, and left the rest until the wife decides how I'm going to fix the edge of the driveway. Took all of 8 seconds each.

 

[UpNorthMI]

Papaj that’s why we have tractors so things only take 8 seconds, I’m sure the wife is happy too as you did not get Impaled.
I know that I would struggle to get half the things done without my tractors and equipment. Best of luck finishing your job.

 

[mikester]

Great idea using the flat bar! I wonder how well that would work with T-bar posts.

 

[BigG]

You can buy the bar already made for t-posts at Tractor Supply.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/metal-t-post-puller?cm_vc=-10005

 

[PapaJ]

You can buy the bar already made for t-posts at Tractor Supply.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/metal-t-post-puller?cm_vc=-10005

Not a single T post on the property, but good info for when I move back to Missouri. They issue you T posts at the border when you enter the state.