Help me manage my expectations for this tree puller, please

[FTG-05]

I have one of these mounted on the front of my Deere 3520. It's a bit much for it, but it does a pretty decent job. The limitations are due to the size of the tractor and FEL, not due to the device itself. Your Kubota is a bit bigger than my Deere, so you'll experience less of the limiting factors. I use mine primarily for pulling up honeysuckle and dead ash trees.

As others have mentioned.... Expect to rock back and forth to break the trees loose. Even a "small" tree can get a bit stubborn. Also, be VERY AWARE of what my come down out of that tree when you're shaking it. It's pretty scary to have stuff come down on you!! I now wear a forestry helmet with a face guard when I'm using my puller. I also keep the ROPS raised. Also, with my dead ash trees, I generally try to cut them down to 3' or 4' now as that minimizes the amount of stuff coming down on me.

Also mentioned was the use of copious amounts of ballast. I'll second this suggestion. Without ballast expect to have your rear end come up on a regular basis.

One of the reasons I went with the Notch Tree Puller was the fact that the pulling point is centered on the puller rather than being offset to one side. I wanted to minimize the chances of tweaking my FEL frame.

Looks good, but I despise web sites that don't show price. Plus they don't show distributors/sellers etc. Do they want people to buy their stuff or not?

Enough rant. How much did this unit cost?

 

[Stupit]

Just FYI. I just got an email that the Titan Tree Puller (on Titan's website) is on sale right now for $728.10 and free shipping to your home. If you decide on it all you need is a set of matching couplers to whatever is on your Kubota. They come with skid steer style couplers. I bought my 3/8" couplers on amazon.

 

[FTG-05]

Ordered! The $53 difference to buy direct from Titan vs. $675 is partially offset by not having to drive +80 miles to go pick it up.

Thanks!!!

 

[ovrszd]

Very good price!!!! As your respect for this tool grows you'll wonder how you got along without it.

 

[Coyote machine]

Uh, how about a big fat "NO!" on that. I'm +62, broken back with shot knees, walking around trying to cut down hundreds of trees ain't gonna be happening! If it was, I'd already done it.

The seller was asking $675 for it and I believe he is a regular farm equipment seller on Craigslist. I called him and he's already sold it but he may have another in a couple weeks or so. That's OK, I'm not in any hurry.

Don't shoot the messenger, I was suggesting what I did to keep you safe from trees and branches possibly falling back on you. I know the risks from working as a pro tree climber/surgeon in my younger years.
Glad you got a good deal on what you wanted - read any directions that come with it, and be careful.
Show some pics of the tool, and before and after on the area you clear...

 

[Aquamoose]

I just might bite the bullet and buy the same tree puller featured & hope my laser with 2k breakout force would do fine. Who knows, if it isn’t enough, I might add a second hydraulic ram to do the pulling if I require more force.

A DNR representative will be coming to my property to assess how much the state will pay me to thin out my stands. Who’d thunk that the state would pay me to play to do precisely what I want to do?

 

[bdog]

Instead of guessing why not just do a test? These things aren’t magical they just clamp on the tree. Go out there now and chain on to some trees and see what you can pull out. It will be slow and tedious but you will quickly find out if this attachment will work for your application or not. I am guessing you will be disappointed. My skid steer can lift close to 6,000 lbs I think and it can’t yank much of a tree out of the ground.

 

[Aquamoose]

Instead of guessing why not just do a test? These things aren’t magical they just clamp on the tree. Go out there now and chain on to some trees and see what you can pull out. It will be slow and tedious but you will quickly find out if this attachment will work for your application or not. I am guessing you will be disappointed. My skid steer can lift close to 6,000 lbs I think and it can’t yank much of a tree out of the ground.

Very, very true!!! Sometimes we need someone to point out the obvious. I’ll do that to a 4 foot test tree stump to try to mimic the pushing & tugging as well as pulling it straight up.

Thank you!

 

[Coyote machine]

Instead of guessing why not just do a test? These things aren’t magical they just clamp on the tree. Go out there now and chain on to some trees and see what you can pull out. It will be slow and tedious but you will quickly find out if this attachment will work for your application or not. I am guessing you will be disappointed. My skid steer can lift close to 6,000 lbs I think and it can’t yank much of a tree out of the ground.

Excellent point! I can attest to this from having done this while clearing a big field of trees. I would cut the tree to around 3' high, then push and pull with my bucket attached. And in many instances with my backhoe ripper tooth. What I found is the ripper would get the roots loosened at ground level or below, then I would use the bucket edge near the top of the tree stump to force the stump away from me. Sometimes I'd have to go around to the opposite side and do the same. Eventually I'd defeat it, but not without a fight.
I must state, that without the backhoe ripper tooth to tear at/out the roots around the tree's entire circumference virtually none of the trees would have given up their ground!

Very, very true!!! Sometimes we need someone to point out the obvious. I’ll do that to a 4 foot test tree stump to try to mimic the pushing & tugging as well as pulling it straight up.

Thank you!

Skip the pulling it straight up test; I can tell you it won't work, unless dealing with saplings, or trees mired in a shallow swamp. And, from my experience using my bucket to push on hundreds of stumps, the way it worked best is to have ripped the roots first, all the way around, THEN push at the very top leading edge with the full force of the tractor and bucket, forward, away from me while the front wheels climbed off the ground causing tremendous pressure against the stump's roots. Often having to do this numerous times from different angles. I was 'pulling' 8-12" stumps this way.
YMMV.

 

[TSO]

Excellent point! I can attest to this from having done this while clearing a big field of trees. I would cut the tree to around 3' high, then push and pull with my bucket attached. And in many instances with my backhoe ripper tooth. What I found is the ripper would get the roots loosened at ground level or below, then I would use the bucket edge near the top of the tree stump to force the stump away from me. Sometimes I'd have to go around to the opposite side and do the same. Eventually I'd defeat it, but not without a fight.
I must state, that without the backhoe ripper tooth to tear at/out the roots around the tree's entire circumference virtually none of the trees would have given up their ground!



Skip the pulling it straight up test; I can tell you it won't work, unless dealing with saplings, or trees mired in a shallow swamp. And, from my experience using my bucket to push on hundreds of stumps, the way it worked best is to have ripped the roots first, all the way around, THEN push at the very top leading edge with the full force of the tractor and bucket, forward, away from me while the front wheels climbed off the ground causing tremendous pressure against the stump's roots. Often having to do this numerous times from different angles. I was 'pulling' 8-12" stumps this way.
YMMV.

Dude, you've got to stop with the blue font. It's impossible to read on the app and it hurts the eyes!