Pulling up hickory trees

[m32825]

I have a bunch of 2" to 4" hickory trees that I want to pull. They have a large, deep tap root. I don't get anywhere trying to pull them over, the trunk bends and I get no leverage. Digging them out is like trying to dig up a phone pole, the root just keeps going. Best thing to date has been to get the brush grabber on the trunk, lift with the grapple, and keep moving back and forth until it gives. That takes patience, though, and I feel like that wimpy little tree is mocking me the whole time...

So I'd like a better solution and was thinking about building something to make use of my quick attach and third option. I've seen post pullers that have a heavy duty frame mounted on a dolly, and use a jack to pull the post out, here's one:

Oz Puller - Fence Post Puller

I'm thinking a hydraulic version of that on a QA plate would give me a good excuse to use my welder. What do you guys think?

-- Carl

 

[skeets]

Why in Gods green earth would any one want to pull out hickory trees????

 

[gpreuss]

I'd put a couple of wraps of chain around the trunk, and try to pull it with the 3pt drawbar. You have a lot more lift with it than with the fel. You are also adding significant weight to the rear tires so your traction will improve as you try to rock it out. I'd also top the trees, to avoid destroying my canopy.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I'm thinking of making one in the spring to help pull small stumps that were left in my now front yard when we cleared some trees this last year.
I'm using a vertical I beam frame with outriggers and a hydraulic ram for the pull, think fork lift design.

 

[SteveF]

Step 1 - cut tree off about 1 ft off the ground with chainsaw (watch for dropping nuts)

Step 2 - scratch about a foot of soil from around base with tractor

Step 3 - wrap chain around stump as low as you can get it

Step 4 - attach other end of chain to front hooks on 4wd truck, engage 4wd and back up.

Voila, stump out...

Now, if you are just looking to build something, go for it. Please provide pic's.

 

[ipz2222]

"viola, stump out". I wish. I have an '01 F250 superduty diesel 4x4. I've broke 1 chain, and damaged 2 tailgates trying to yank stumps out. I't s allmost unbelievable how difficult it is. Now I just cut them off close to the ground and call the stump grinder man, it's alot cheaper.

 

[SteveF]

Ipz, I know what you mean but we're talking about 2" to 4" stumps. If the soil is doug out a foot or so it should help. Btw, how did you damage two tailgates?

 

[skeets]

Well if your set on getting them out, you might try using and old trick we used for pulling fence posts,, in your case you will have to chop around the roots.
Find a piece of 3 or 4 inch pipe about 4 feet long weld a flat piece on one end then a u shaped bracket on the other, chain as low as you can go in the stump, run the chain over the U to the draw bar on the tractor. then lift the pipe up as high as you can wedging it in place then low range 4wd pull forward. The chain will pull tight against the U, and the pipe will in effect try to stand up right as you pull ahead. Now if you remember your high school science you have created a fulcrum and you have multiplied the power of your tractor.
So the chain is in effect pulling the stump/roots up while you are moving forward. Just a thought

 

[m32825]

Why in Gods green earth would any one want to pull out hickory trees????

Wait a minute... is there a much simpler way to get rid of them that I'm missing? Come on, man, stop holding out on me!

On a more serious note, I like hickory trees and we have some nice ones. I think the squirrels must be on the hickory payroll, because they plant those things like nobody's business. Some of the ones I want to remove are in the way of a path or area I want to open up. Others are scattered around in areas where they don't get enough light to develop into a well proportioned tree.

-- Carl

 

[skeets]

I guess you could just let them die of old age, and in the mean time pick up the nuts and sell them

 

[m32825]

I'd put a couple of wraps of chain around the trunk, and try to pull it with the 3pt drawbar. You have a lot more lift with it than with the fel. You are also adding significant weight to the rear tires so your traction will improve as you try to rock it out. I'd also top the trees, to avoid destroying my canopy.

Hadn't thought of the 3pt drawbar, have to give that a try. Good point about topping the trees, I'd have realized that after the first one smacked me in the back of the head!

-- Carl

 

[m32825]

I'm thinking of making one in the spring to help pull small stumps that were left in my now front yard when we cleared some trees this last year.
I'm using a vertical I beam frame with outriggers and a hydraulic ram for the pull, think fork lift design.

Yeah, that's kind of what I have in mind. I wonder how much force it takes to pull up a tree, anyway? Maybe I could use an I-beam as a lever and lift it with the FEL to experiment cheaply. Seems too simple, has to be something dangerous I haven't though of yet...

-- Carl

 

[m32825]

Step 4 - attach other end of chain to front hooks on 4wd truck, engage 4wd and back up.

I was with you until step #4... because I drive an '87 Toyota Camry.

My L3800 in low with 4wd will lift off the ground backing up, that's with filled rears and box scraper on. Any other type of tree that small and it would be out of the ground. I'm developing a lot of respect for hickory the more I work with it.

-- Carl

 

[m32825]

Well if your set on getting them out, you might try using and old trick we used for pulling fence posts,, in your case you will have to chop around the roots.
Find a piece of 3 or 4 inch pipe about 4 feet long weld a flat piece on one end then a u shaped bracket on the other, chain as low as you can go in the stump, run the chain over the U to the draw bar on the tractor. then lift the pipe up as high as you can wedging it in place then low range 4wd pull forward. The chain will pull tight against the U, and the pipe will in effect try to stand up right as you pull ahead. Now if you remember your high school science you have created a fulcrum and you have multiplied the power of your tractor.
So the chain is in effect pulling the stump/roots up while you are moving forward. Just a thought

I apologize for not reading the whole thread before replying, because you DID know a better way and you WERE holding out on me!

Thanks for the suggestion, and bonus points because I've even got enough parts to try it out. How do you calculate the leverage with that setup? Is it height of the pipe over distance of pipe from root?

-- Carl

 

[SteveF]

Skeets I'm trying to follow along here... won't there be a tendency to lift the rear of the tractor as the chain tightens? Maybe I'm just not envisioning the mechanical advantage correctly.

 

[Underwhere]

I've pulled countless trees with a tool called the Brush Grubber Extreme but you can do the same by simply looping a chain around the trunk.

A trick that I have heard works is to take a wheel (without tire) And place it right next to the trunk. Place the chain over the center of the wheel. As you pull on the chain it will not only apply lateral force to the trunk but will pull the trunk upwards at the same time.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

If it was me I'd save on killing myself or breaking something. As JPZ mentioned chains and tail gates are a nasty combo. I'd flush cut to the ground and either rent a small stump grinder or hire someone who has one and pay a few hundred bucks to get rid of them and work half as hard doing so.

 

[skeets]

Eric I think you do have a better way
Steve you have to use a bit of a long chain so you are pulling and a long angle to the top of the pipe, the closer you got say with in the length of the pipe would give you the greatest lifting force and there is a formula for figuring out how much you would get but I don't remember it. Getting old sucks

 

[SteveF]

Before the BX25 backhoe, we used to wrap a 3/8" x 20' chain around the base of the stump after digging by hand and cutting side roots, then put a log, the bigger diameter the better, with the chain over it close to the stump, positioned so that the log will roll with the direction of pull. That process worked to pull many small sized stumps from the Pennsylvania clay. We always use 4wd and attach the chain to the front of the truck so that the pulling action puts down force on the already weighted front end. Have broken a few chains but no tailgates. Now I just dig em out with the hoe, a lot more fun.

 

[Lil Foot]

Before the BX25 backhoe, we used to wrap a 3/8" x 20' chain around the base of the stump after digging by hand and cutting side roots, then put a log, the bigger diameter the better, with the chain over it close to the stump, positioned so that the log will roll with the direction of pull.

I use the same technique, except instead of a log, I use an old wheel rim. Mine is a 15" x 12" hot rod rim, very stable because of the width- my buddy uses an old 20" heavy truck rim, taller, so more leverage, but kinda tippy. Of course, a little common sense is required, neither of us has had any problems with this technique.