Removing small dead trees - best way to pull

[SouthernSky]

Due to the Louisiana drought this year (still happening), I’ve lost maybe 50 Leyland Cypress trees about 25 years old. I also lost a couple magnolias we planted at the same time which are clearly not coming back.

I’ve pulled the cypress before because after a year of being dead their roots are really weak so this will be my spring task.

The question is what gives me the most pulling power - is it best to pull backwards from the bucket end with a chain, or pull from the back end with a chain on the box blade?

With the box blade I can sometimes push on the tree to lean it one way, then use the chain to pull it out from the stump behind me.

Obviously I’d always like to push away so the tree doesn’t fall towards me but I believe I get more power with my L3200 by pulling but not sure if pulling from the back or front is best.

 

[2manyrocks]

Pulling from the drawbar will give the most pulling power and be the safest; however, it is possible to flip a tractor backwards and get killed if the roots are too strong. The flip could happen faster than a person can react.

Pulling from the bucket could tweak your loader arms. Pulling from a box blade can also tweak it, not to mention the center of gravity is higher than the drawbar.

 

[5030]

Always from the Drawbar (which is why it's there in the first place) and NEVER from the FEL as it's not designed for pulling, just lifting and pulling with the FEL, you stand a good chance of bending the arms or bending a cylinder. Pulled many a stump with my drawbar and I tend to cut them high enough to get good leverage, usually a couple feet off the ground.

 

[WranglerX]

Pull from rear draw bar, not from bucket (FEL), not from box blade....

 

[SouthernSky]

The reason I asked the question is a I see a lot small tractors with grab hooks on the FEL, either bolt-on or welded. Is it just good marketing spin from the seller or is it really a legit way of pulling? I know shoving into it isn't the way as I just popped the seals on my FEL boom cylinders from doing something stupid causing them both to leak.

The drawbar is probably the only way I haven't tried in 25 years. But it's probably because I use the box blade right away to push away whatever I yank out and that is in the way of the drawbar. I don't really want to leave stumps by just cutting the dead trees so yanking them is my best option. (I wish I had a backhoe but my L3200 is the most powerful tractor I have for this task).

As rigid as a box blade is I could probably weld a hook near the center between the middle tines. That would put me at drawbar height though the chain would go over the top of the blade to the rear for CG balance. I'm on level ground for this and will use a low-and-slow gear so I don't think I'll have to worry about tipping over.

Would I get the most leverage from lifting up and away? Or with my chain wrapped on the base close to the ground?

 

[SouthernSky]

Actually, after reading this I will probably just avoid bolt-on or welded hooks altogether, yank these first with the drawbar, then remount the box blade for pushing. This may also help me make it to my next birthday.

https://ag-safety.extension.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/English-Task-Sheets-Group-6.pdf

 

[jeff9366]

Consider using a large diameter wheel rim when pulling small dead trees from the DRAWBAR.

Be cautions. Very low gear. Steady pull. Never jerk, though tempted.

Pulling Trees With A Wheel Rim

Pulling Small Trees With A Wheel Rim I wish pulling trees and shrubs using a WHEEL RIM for mechanical advantage was my idea, but it is not. I learned about this idea from a post on TBN. I had pulled a great number of trees and shrubs before reading the post. I was a little skeptical about...

www.tractorbynet.com

Chains - Warning to those using rim to pull stumps

I was tying the wheel rim and chain method of pulling some stumps. I had cut the trees knee high about 9 months ago. They still seemed solid and I wanted to test the method. I had about 20 feet of chain. I hooked it up and pulled, the stump broke free at the base and became a projectile. As...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[bcp]

The reason I asked the question is a I see a lot small tractors with grab hooks on the FEL, either bolt-on or welded. Is it just good marketing spin from the seller or is it really a legit way of pulling?

For lifting, not pulling, (except for very light duty pulling).

Bruce

 

[paulsharvey]

Put your loader about 3 ft or so in air; climb into the bucket and wrap your chain/strap around as high in the tree as you can. Then, you can either pull with draw bar or box blade but that additional height makes a good lever to pull the tree down.

 

[5030]

Consider using a large diameter wheel rim when pulling small dead trees from the DRAWBAR.

Be cautions. Very low gear. Steady pull. Never jerk, though tempted.

Pulling Trees With A Wheel Rim

Pulling Small Trees With A Wheel Rim I wish pulling trees and shrubs using a WHEEL RIM for mechanical advantage was my idea, but it is not. I learned about this idea from a post on TBN. I had pulled a great number of trees and shrubs before reading the post. I was a little skeptical about...

www.tractorbynet.com

Chains - Warning to those using rim to pull stumps

I was tying the wheel rim and chain method of pulling some stumps. I had cut the trees knee high about 9 months ago. They still seemed solid and I wanted to test the method. I had about 20 feet of chain. I hooked it up and pulled, the stump broke free at the base and became a projectile. As...

www.tractorbynet.com

Good post but whether using a chain or a cable and the drawbar, you ALWAYS drape a blanket or heavy tarp over the chain or cable between what you are pulling and the tractor so if the chain or cable breaks or comes loose, the blanket or tarp will 'subdue' the whipp9ng chain or cable and eliminate the 'whiplash' entirely. Modern tractors all have the drawbar located well below the center point of the rear axle so the chance of pulling the tractor over backwards is basically totally eliminated.

Way back in the day when I had my very first tractor, a Farmall A, it had no drawbar but had a forged steel loop to pull from and that loop was in line with the centerline of the rear axle and I could pretty easily loft the front end if using it to pull from. I could never loft the front end on my M's. Impossible to do. The drive wheels would break traction first.

 

[masseyrider]

When doing that kind of work I pull with the drawbar and have the rear blade on. Chain goes under the blade. If the tractor does start to lift up it should sit back on the blade and not flip. Should!

 

[rScotty]

The safest way I know to deal with large trees with shallow roots like your Leyland Cypress is to use a backhoe to dig next to the tree in the direction you want it to fall. Then go around to the other side and use your FEL bucket up about six feet high on the trunk to push it over. Doesnt always work, but when it does the root ball comes right out of the ground.

But this method - good as it is - works best with a tractor twice the size of a Kubota L3200.

 

[WranglerX]

Good post but whether using a chain or a cable and the drawbar, you ALWAYS drape a blanket or heavy tarp over the chain or cable between what you are pulling and the tractor so if the chain or cable breaks or comes loose, the blanket or tarp will 'subdue' the whipp9ng chain or cable and eliminate the 'whiplash' entirely. Modern tractors all have the drawbar located well below the center point of the rear axle so the chance of pulling the tractor over backwards is basically totally eliminated.

Way back in the day when I had my very first tractor, a Farmall A, it had no drawbar but had a forged steel loop to pull from and that loop was in line with the centerline of the rear axle and I could pretty easily loft the front end if using it to pull from. I could never loft the front end on my M's. Impossible to do. The drive wheels would break traction first.

Yes with CABLE always use blanket or whatever "dampener"...but not necessary with chain.... CABLE will be like a "whipsaw" if it breaks or comes loose, but chain will just lose tension and drop like dead snake.... Chains do not store energy like a cable...

 

[bcp]

A chain WILL whiplash if the pull is hard enough to break it. I've seen several videos of it, and done it myself. In each case it was the chain that broke, not the load breaking loose.

Watch at about 2:00+

Bruce

 

[koshari]

The safest way I know to deal with large trees with shallow roots like your Leyland Cypress is to use a backhoe to dig next to the tree in the direction you want it to fall. Then go around to the other side and use your FEL bucket up about six feet high on the trunk to push it over. Doesnt always work, but when it does the root ball comes right out of the ground.

But this method - good as it is - works best with a tractor twice the size of a Kubota L3200.

similar to this except use a winch or block and tackle to pull, i find you get more purchase as the tractor simply spins. use all the leverage you can get, ideally pull the tree from as high up the trunk you can get a decent attachment to, if you can use 2 nearby trees run tree protectors around them and run a tether between them, then place a sheve as close to ground level, to change the pull angle so the opposite end is pulling at an angle close to the ground plane which minimises lifting the pulling machine off the ground, or use another tree trunk,

 

[lman]

Actually, after reading this I will probably just avoid bolt-on or welded hooks altogether, yank these first with the drawbar, then remount the box blade for pushing. This may also help me make it to my next birthday.

https://ag-safety.extension.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/English-Task-Sheets-Group-6.pdf

Wow, I never knew they had a manual for that stuff since it was common knowledge learned by all teens working on the farm when I was a kid. Back then we didn't have manuals for that stuff and learned by following the adults.

 

[mikester]

I prefer to push trees using a root rake. Push the tops over and away from the operator station, then grab the roots and push out.

 

[Mark_G]

I leave my box blade on, raise it and run my chain under it from the drawbar to the tree to pull. There is no reason to remove it. The extra weight of the box blade helps with tracton, and when I need it to push or snag and pull side roots out a bit, it is on and ready. I do use the box blade at times, with the rippers down, to pull roots just inside the dripline. THey are usually small enough to easily rip out, but as the number increases as one moves out from the trunk they collectively hold the tree down. I find it is often a help to get some of the side roots pulled when having trouble pushing or pulling a tree down.

 

[eddieirvine]

Bull doser

 

[sdef]

"The reason I asked the question is a I see a lot small tractors with grab hooks on the FEL, either bolt-on or welded. Is it just good marketing spin from the seller or is it really a legit way of pulling?"

I have bolt-on or welded grab hooks on all of my FEL attachments so chains can be used to stabilize a load that is being carried in or by the bucket. I would find it difficult to work safely without these hooks.