For Those Without a BH, How Do you Do It?

[Kyle241]

Such tasks as boulder/stone removal, stump removing, etc.? I currently have a Kubota B20 and am looking to upgrade however a 40hp+ tractor with a BH is expensive so I was wondering whether I could survive without one. I do have a lot of stones on my property and I have a number of stumps I need to remove (4"-10" trees - elm, ash, birch). I am currently looking at a Kubota MX4700 or a Kioti DK45SE and would purchase a BB.

Other than renting a mini-ex, any other tips if I am sans BH?

Tks.

 

[TripleR]

Nope, we just rent when needed. If we needed one on a regular basis we would buy one or fix up the one we have sitting in our shed.

I will be interested to see any ideas which may save us money.

 

[Glen Watkins]

You are planning on get a fel also right?

 

[galaxie428]

Before I got my BH, I rented a stump grinder to remove stumps. I did 13 in one day I think. I could not have dug up 13 in one day for sure as big as these were. They were about 36" in dia and would have probably taken me 2-3 hours with the Woods BH-80x on my Bobcat.

I don't have many large rocks so I can't help you there. I did dig a few up with my bucket before I got the BH but that was very time consuming also.

 

[Reg]

"Sans Hoe"
OK, I'll pass on the obvious opportunities (-:

I think renting a mini-ex is your best alternative and may help you decide if you REALLY want to dig stumps (-:
The first few are "interesting" after that it becomes boring and/or frustrating, boring because some come out easily, frustrating because others don't (-:

Your current tractor doesn't have much weight to it, so tricks such as dragging a sub soiler across the roots to loosen them and then PULLING trees down instead of CUTTING them down may not be an option.
This works by getting the root ball out of the ground AS THE TREE FALLS (a twofer).

If you go to a 40+ HP tractor with a weight closer to 3 tons things change a bit, but the hoe is still an expensive option.
4,000 lb tractor + 1200 lb loader + 1000 lbs liquid ballast ~= 3 tons.
Figure another 1,000 to 1,200 for a hoe, but some other implements weigh close to that anyway, so JUST for weight on the ground to tug trees down you don't need to spend big bucks on a hoe.
There are stump buckets and stump grapples, just be sure your FEL frame can take actual DIGGING before committing to one of these, they are built for skid steers and although they clip right onto skid steer compatible loaders that doesn't necessarily mean that you can dig with your loader - depends what loader you get on whatever next machine you get.

If I was doing it all again (with 20/20 hindsight, etc.) I would probably hire out the tree removal and stump disposal - dozer & a decent sized ex, etc.

OTOH, if I really felt a NEED to SPEND on a hoe, it would almost certainly be a side shifting one.

 

[Runner]

x 2 on the stump grinder. I rented one for a half day and, for a couple of hundred bucks, took out about 10 stumps.

Pallet forks come in handy for moving rocks and can be used to pop smaller trees.

 

[Kyle241]

You are planning on get a fel also right?

Yes, definitely with a tooth bar as well.

I had not even thought of a stump grinder but that is a good idea. To Reg's point, digging up stumps is not always fun and some can really get frustrating. The grinder is a decent option as it wouldn't create the big holes that removing a stump does.

So now I just need to figure out what to do with the stones. Some are decent size, not just little nuggets. The forks some like a possibility but never had them so no experience.

Tks for the tips and I'll think long and hard about this because once you have a BH, it's hard to give one up.

 

[k0ua]

I have dug up a lot of stumps with a FEL, but I wont lie and say it is super easy or anything, sometimes a big stump can take a half a day, and you got a big hole mess to fill and backdrag, but it can be done. It is best to pull trees over if your tractor is big enough, saves all that nasty stump digging. I have never used a stump grinder but it sounds great!

I have a semi-funny story, about stump grinders: I had cleaned out a fence row, of everything but about 6 large stumps, and on one particulary large one, I had put a "smile" in my old Long tractors bucket by pushing/lifting with too much traction by having the tractors rear wheels on pavement. So called it quits for the day, with the stumps intact. Went back at it the next weekend, drove to the fence-row and stared at it in disbelief, as all six of the stumps had disappeared. Left in their place, was just ground up wood chips. :confused2:
Apparently thru the week the "Stump Fairy" had come and ground up the stumps. I never learned who or what had done it, but I was grateful:thumbsup:

James K0UA

 

[Kyle241]

I have dug up a lot of stumps with a FEL, but I wont lie and say it is super easy or anything, sometimes a big stump can take a half a day, and you got a big hole mess to fill and backdrag, but it can be done. It is best to pull trees over if your tractor is big enough, saves all that nasty stump digging. I have never used a stump grinder but it sounds great!

I have a semi-funny story, about stump grinders: I had cleaned out a fence row, of everything but about 6 large stumps, and on one particulary large one, I had put a "smile" in my old Long tractors bucket by pushing/lifting with too much traction by having the tractors rear wheels on pavement. So called it quits for the day, with the stumps intact. Went back at it the next weekend, drove to the fence-row and stared at it in disbelief, as all six of the stumps had disappeared. Left in their place, was just ground up wood chips. :confused2:
Apparently thru the week the "Stump Fairy" had come and ground up the stumps. I never learned who or what had done it, but I was grateful:thumbsup:

James K0UA

James, now that is funny. My guess is you have a very nice neighbour!!!

 

[Scrambler82]

Such tasks as boulder/stone removal, stump removing, etc.? I currently have a Kubota B20 and am looking to upgrade however a 40hp+ tractor with a BH is expensive so I was wondering whether I could survive without one. I do have a lot of stones on my property and I have a number of stumps I need to remove (4"-10" trees - elm, ash, birch). I am currently looking at a Kubota MX4700 or a Kioti DK45SE and would purchase a BB.

Other than renting a mini-ex, any other tips if I am sans BH?

Tks.

I would consider the tractor size, do you need as big as you are looking at, maybe alittle smaller will make up for an added package deal for the BH.
Get it you will never regret it.

I am new to tractors and have only a small yard and I own a small tractor, a CCY-SC2450 - TLB.
I pruchased the SCUT first for snow remaval and then decided that a FEL would be nice, then thought on it and got the TLB and I am glad I did.

I am never in a rush to do anything so digging up two stumps in five to six hours is not a problem but being able to do and when I want to are the key things.
I have built a small stone wall that would have run me in the ground and remove the two stumps that may never have tackled but the tractor and BH never batted and eye lid while performing the tasks.

My point is if you can get a good deal on a Tractor with a BH/3 pt hitch and you can afford it then get it; it is better to have it and use it when you need to than not to have it.

This is IMHO and I for one never looked back at the extra money for the BH, it has paid for itself last summer and with the drainage ditch and the patio/firepit going this year, it will more than makeup for money spent.

 

[Carl_NH]

Kyle,

Since you have a 4000LB TLB now, I cant imagine why you would not want one again, but also there are just some jobs that these machines cant do as fast or well as a larger machine or alternate methods e.g. stump grinding.

I have thought about upgrading my B21 (to an L39/45) but thats costly as you know, and since my neighbor has a CAT 416 and Excavator I hire him for low cost to do the heavy lifting as needed(3-4' rocks and such). He is not always available or the machines are at a job site so I have hired other work out too.

I tackle stumps up to about 8-12" but have rented a stump grinder and even hired a fellow for a flat rate of 350/day and he can grind about 10 30"-40" base in a day. The worse part about that is the clean up..

For large rocks (too big for my BH thumb) I use the bucket/chain method and wrapping the chain around the rock and to the center hook and tilt back.

The other option you might consider is a used L48 or L39 - these can be found for around $30-32K with not too many hours. The other option could be a older Case/Deere full sized hoe for $8-15K range.

 

[SixHoeBob]

Use one of my other five. Any size backhoe is better than none,

 

[wolc123]

I have a JD 4120 with a 400X loader and heavy duty bucket. What I do to pop stumps, boulders, dig small holes, and move trees is bolt a 30" long piece of heavy, 12" wide x 3" channel-iron, flat under the center of the bucket. It sticks out the front about 20", making a nice, stout, 12" wide shovel. I dont know if Kubota makes a heavy enough bucket to get a way with a cheap trick like this, but it works very well for me. I only needed to drill (1) 9/16" diameter hole thru the bottom of the bucket on center to mount it, and also use (2) of the 9/16" toothbar mounting holes to attach the "shovel" with (3) 1/2" bolts. I also bolt a couple pieces of heavy, 4" angle-iron under the bucket in line with the lift arms on occasion for moving logs, etc. which required drilling a couple more 9/16" holes thru the bottom of the bucket, and again also using a couple of the toothbar holes. I dont have chain hooks welded to the top of the bucket, but I keep a couple loose ones in the toolbox, and again, bolt them to toothbar holes whenever I need hooks. Them toothbar holes sure are handy, even if I never do add an actual toothbar. I plan on digging a small pond some day with that tractor/loader, and I will probably spring for a toothbar before that job. The tractor is quite heavy up front though and does a pretty good job digging even without a toothbar, especially in the spring/fall when the ground aint too hard.

 

[newbury]

I've a small BH/B7610 combo. My eventual purpose, if I ever get retired and moved, was to use it to learn and also build narrow trails on my land. I've about 300+ acres in Ms of timberland, and 75 in Vt.
But until then I play with it on my little suburban lot in Va. I've attempted to dig out 4 stumps in Va. The first one I documented here
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/147380-my-first-stump.html

The next two were relatively small 8" pines, came out like greased lightning.

The last was a 30" plus maple with main lateral roots up to 12", I dug a 4' deep hole around it and it had big roots going down deep into heavy clay. It won.

Then to make matters worse, after I filled it in, thought I packed it down, and left it to sit for 2 months it bit me again. As I went to level the area around it I started sinking in, when I went to get out the front tire was about hub deep and came up against one of the 12" roots and I almost buried the little tractor. Now if I had had the BH on I could of lifted my self out maybe

 

[drivadesl]

Wow Newbury, how'd you ever get out of that hole?

 

[Scrambler82]

Wow Newbury, how'd you ever get out of that hole?

X2, wow !

Did you break anything ?

 

[Kyle241]

Carl_NH, I know what you mean about missing a BH. My B20 has done a great job all round and the only stone/boulder that I could not move, I buried deeper (it was as big as my tractor). I haven't met a stump I couldn't remove but there have been some stubborn ones (big elms). I have looked at the L45 but it is too much money even though it's a beautiful machine. I have looked a little at used L39's or 48's but up my way there are not a lot around.

Newbury, I think you needed to yellow tape that area. Now that is a hazard!

 

[newbury]

X2, wow !

Did you break anything ?

I had 3 helpers, my son George, our friend Jack (farm-jack ) and a cute little winch.

 

[Knight]

If your asking the questioin... that means you want one.
You won't rest until you have it, Once you have it, you'll use it all the time.
Be safe!

 

[Runner]

"If your asking the questioin... that means you want one.
You won't rest until you have it, Once you have it, you'll use it all the time."

That's what I love about TBN: Not just idle chatter, but in-depth analysis.