Mini Ex to clear some trees?

[Big Bri]

I'm buying 3 acres of land to build a new house and the lot has LOTS of trees.
I want to keep the "wooded" look but need to clear an area for the house and driveway. i also want to clear a river bank that has trees that are growing sideways out of the bank.

My question is the local rental will only rent a TB153 or smaller to non contractors. Will i be able to clear trees and root balls with such a small machine? most of the trees, about 30 are in the 6-10" size, there are about 10 trees in the 10 to 15" and about 6 in the 15 to 20" size.

I've never taken out trees this way but have seen it done, but it was done on a much larger scale (subdivision). with a much larger machine.

Any advice will be appreciated.
Thanks
Brian

 

[TonyF]

I'm buying 3 acres of land to build a new house and the lot has LOTS of trees.
I want to keep the "wooded" look but need to clear an area for the house and driveway. i also want to clear a river bank that has trees that are growing sideways out of the bank.

My question is the local rental will only rent a TB153 or smaller to non contractors. Will i be able to clear trees and root balls with such a small machine? most of the trees, about 30 are in the 6-10" size, there are about 10 trees in the 10 to 15" and about 6 in the 15 to 20" size.

I've never taken out trees this way but have seen it done, but it was done on a much larger scale (subdivision). with a much larger machine.

Any advice will be appreciated.
Thanks
Brian

IIRC a TB153 is a 5 ton machine, you'll have no trouble digging out any of those trees, but be careful and practice a bit first. With a smaller machine in general it may be harder to push the trees over without digging around all four sides, which is risky. There is plenty of info on this forum and web on how to topple them. I've taken out plenty of 30" trees with my KX-91, which is a 3.5 ton, have to dig some big holes, but they come right down

You may want to consider tackling the small ones, then sub out the larger ones.

 

[Big Bri]

IIRC a TB153 is a 5 ton machine, you'll have no trouble digging out any of those trees, but be careful and practice a bit first. With a smaller machine in general it may be harder to push the trees over without digging around all four sides, which is risky. There is plenty of info on this forum and web on how to topple them. I've taken out plenty of 30" trees with my KX-91, which is a 3.5 ton, have to dig some big holes, but they come right down

You may want to consider tackling the small ones, then sub out the larger ones.

Thanks for the reply
How long does it take to dig out for the avg. 10" tree. I was hoping to try and do this in a weeks time. . . or am i crazy.
posing a pic of how the trees are laid out.

 

[AGGIE00]

Why not a rubber tire backhoe? Then you can push the trees around after they are down. Dig around the roots a few feet then put the bucket high up on the tree with the knuckle slightly bent. Then boom down and extend at the same time to push over. You will need to adjust your footing and the height you push the tree from. If you haven't run a hoe before, I would think that after everything is done it would be cheaper to hire out the job. Never pull the tree toward you unless you have the finess to also lay it where you wantand not down on the cab.

 

[TonyF]

Thanks for the reply
How long does it take to dig out for the avg. 10" tree. I was hoping to try and do this in a weeks time. . . or am i crazy.
posing a pic of how the trees are laid out.

If all you had to do was dig and knock them over, a week would be no problem. The real challenge is what happens when they are on the ground. A mini-ex is not the best machine to move them around -- kinda like the dog that finally catches the car. Once down, you'll spend a lot of time cleaning the dirt off the root ball with the mini-ex, moving the trees around so you can cut them up, cutting them, and moving them to a burn pile. Your tractor is probably best suited for the ground work along with lots of cheap labor. I think though, in a week you could do it. 9 days / ~60 trees = ~7 per day.

I like to topple a few, then arrange them side by side, go thru with the chainsaw and cut them into pieces I can easily handle, and then move the cut pieces with the mini-ex. I have a hyd thumb which is a real lifesaver, if you can rent a mini with a thumb, go for it.

 

[Big Bri]

Thanks for all the advice. Been on youtube watching videos trying to get my self ready for the challenge. When and if i tackle it i'll be sure to post some pic's

 

[Ken45101]

Perhaps your best approach would be to cut them off 4-6' high, and dispose of the tops first. THEN rent the machine. Otherwise you spend too much time trying to do anything with the full trees while you are on the rental dollar. Too many trees down at once becomes a tangle that is difficult to work with.

Be sure to get one with a thumb.

The time required to take down individual trees will vary with species. Something like birch, for example, comes out easily with a shallow root ball. Other trees with a major tap root are very difficult to get out and difficult to get to the tap root. Also, what are you going to do with the root balls? They take a good while to dry out enough and to remove the dirt before you can burn them.

When we built a house on a similar lot, they dug a big trench with a big excavator and buried the stumps.

 

[tlbuser]

Tree removal is a dangerous proposition. Lots of things can and will go wrong. Never cut the roots on four sides, three at the most, leaving one for a hinge. Never pull a tree towards the machine.Limbs can fall from above, straight through the ex's cage. Tree limbs can come through the front cage/glass when moving things around on the ground. Spectators aren't allowed, they will always be standing/moving where you can't see them.
We've broken things you wouldn't expect like the fuel filler getting snapped off by a falling limb.
Proper disposal becomes an issue. Burial of the waste always turns into a problem somewhere down the road.
If you still decide it's for you, call some rental places farther away. Sunbelt, United, etc. will rent you what you think you want. Check the contract terms real close. A week is usually spelled out as 40 operating hours, not 7 days. Get the accident insurance to cover the machine.

As a reminder for all of us, http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/construction-equipment/214199-accident.html

 

[ptexer]

I used to dig out trees with my john deere 310. Then I had an abandon mine land project done on my property. The contractors two different ones with large excavators told me it was dangerous to dig out the trees much safer to cut first then dig the stumps. I know from expereince it is nice to have the top of the tree persuade the stump out of the ground. I tried their method and it doesn't take much longer to dig the stumps with the tops off. one advantage is it is much easier to knock the soil off the stumps with the trees out of the way. I agree with an earlier poster to cut trees first and dispose to have area clear before starting digging. for a 14 inch stump it generally takes less than an hour to dig, clean stump remove stump and fill the whole. Compact your soil with the machine as you backfill.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a full sized backhoe that I use for tree removal all the time. I've taken out thousands of trees with it. There isn't a tree that is too big for it to take out. I can't speak for the small excavators, but would think the process is the same.

Each species of tree has a different root system. The bigger the tree is, the bigger the roots are. Cutting through the surrounding, outgoing roots is the biggest challenge. I've had some that where so thick that I had to start digging 20 feet away from the tree to get through the roots. That is an extreme case, but ten feet out is fairly common on the bigger trees.

The most dangerous encounters that I've had are with saplings, when pulling them back and messing up so that the tree or a branch hits me as it goes down. That is operator error, and in every case, it's been my own fault. Those little trees bend and twist in all sorts of directions, and when taking out dozens of them or more in one spot, I sometimes get ahead of myself.

The scariest thing to do is take down a standing dead tree. Once you start digging around them, branches or even the top of the tree can snap off and come down on top of you. I had one close call when the top part of a pine came down off to the side of me. If it had been over a little more, I might be dead. You never know with these things, but it was a good lesson that I learned the first time.

NEVER cut the tree before taking it out. The height and weight of the tree is what will take out the root ball for you. Even a leaning tree is perfectly balanced by it's root ball. Dig a ditch all the way around it and you will find that it still takes some effort to push it over, or find the sweet spot where it will go over easily.

Use the corners of the bucket to dig under the roots and under the tree as much as you can. Especially on the side you want it to fall. I can put a tree down within a foot of where I want it to go. Of course, you have to pay attention to the tree, and plan ahead how you want to dig it, where you will put the dirt so you can get to it from every angle.

Getting the tree down is pretty quick. I would think that if you get the hang of the controls and what it takes to take downa tree that you can get all 30 down in a day pretty easily. Just don't cut them first and try to dig out the stumps. If you are digging stumps, it might take an hour or a couple of hours to get out each stump.

What you do with the trees after they are on the ground is where you will find the real work begins. I drag or carry them to a burn pile. Nobody wants to buy them in my area, and for me, burning them is the fastest, easiest, cheapest way to get rid of them. I have a grapple on my backhoe that will pick up quite a bit, but for the bigger ones, I drag them with a chain. Some of the big oaks have to be cut up into managable pieces, and that really eats up the hours.

Start small and work your way up to the bigger ones.

Fill in the hole as soon as you can. If it rains and fills up with water, it will take years to dry out and the soil in there will turn to quick sand. It will feel solid to walk on, but it will swallow up a tractor when you drive over that spot!!!! I've learned that lesson the hard way. LOL

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[yellowdogsvc]

I used to dig out trees with my john deere 310. Then I had an abandon mine land project done on my property. The contractors two different ones with large excavators told me it was dangerous to dig out the trees much safer to cut first then dig the stumps. I know from expereince it is nice to have the top of the tree persuade the stump out of the ground. I tried their method and it doesn't take much longer to dig the stumps with the tops off. one advantage is it is much easier to knock the soil off the stumps with the trees out of the way. I agree with an earlier poster to cut trees first and dispose to have area clear before starting digging. for a 14 inch stump it generally takes less than an hour to dig, clean stump remove stump and fill the whole. Compact your soil with the machine as you backfill.

The second method you tried leaves less chance of a widow maker finding it's way into your cab. Good advice. We almost always cut tall trees first, then work on the stumps separate.

 

[jca57jd]

I've got a cat 303.5 and I cleared a 2 acre area with mostly big oaks ranging from 20" to 36". No problem for me. I always dug down around 3/4 of the tree, leaving the roots still in tact on the back side (the way I wanted the tree to fall). Just push on the tree leaving some extra play in the second arm and bucket so you have some extra for directing it when it starts to go!

 

[jca57jd]

Oh yeh, I meant to tell you, that tb153 out weighs my cat by about 2 tons! Should def be no problem for you!

 

[NOTV8]

I've taken a lot of trees the same size as yours with my CT235 and Woods BH 7500.... just need common sense how you want the trees to go down. I used to cut it and then dig the stumps but it is much harder to dig it once the trunk is gone. Much easy with dig two or three sides then push....

 

[Big Bri]

Wow lots of good info, i really appreciate it. tlbuser you were right on the money about the 40hrs, glad you pointed that out. Eddie, wow lots of good info, i can always count on you.
Thanks to all of you
brian