Combo stump bucket and tree puller?

[2manyrocks]

^digging out stumps will leave holes to be filled and smoothed over. Even if you smooth them, they will settle over time.

A mulching head on a compact track loader or excavator could mulch paths for you without leaving a bunch of holes or you could cut the stumps flush and let them rot over time.

 

[Smokeydog]

Have used a chain to pull trees or brush out over the decades. This is much easier. One of the best employees I’ve got. Have used it reach up and tear off cab slapper branches. Use FEL hydraulic pole saw for the bigger stuff. Welcome to the jungle.

 

[2manyrocks]

I had thought about suggesting using a chain to pull some trees just to assess how stubborn they will be to remove, but the OP bought a nice cab tractor. My experience using a chain is that the tree invariably seems to hit the back of the tractor and me in the back. I have an open station, but would imagine that the back window on a cab would get broken using a chain pretty quickly.

One good thing about your danuser is that guard that helps to protect your tractor hood, and having it on the FEL also puts more distance from the operator's station. Not all of the tree pullers have quards on them.

 

[BnRidge]

The guard does keep trees from tipping back onto the hood. One of the neighbors doesn't have that, and one of his complaints was that the branches could tip back into the cab of his skid steer. The grill guard on the front is just treated deck boards. I later added something similar for underneath to protect the wiring and hoses.

 

[Rich_Z]

I ended up getting a stinger stp-34 tree puller for clearing prickly ash, buckthorn, honeysuckle, mulberry - invasive brush that had taken over the woodlots and fencerows. It does a real good job at that, and I was able to clear large swaths of 2-3" or less. I would pull an area, then come back with the grapple and gather into piles to burn later. The neighbors of course noticed what was going on, and by the next year I see at least two acquired their own and started clearing their places. The one I got supposedly has blades and barbs on the front for digging, as in digging roots and stumps, but I wouldn't recommend using it for that with a FEL. You could, but it's not the right combination, not very effective, leaves a mess of tangled broken roots sticking up, too easy to screw up doing it wrong. If it's that hard to remove, just cut it off at the ground and leave it. Even if you put it on a skid steer, which could handle that type of work better, I'm not sure I would because of the mess it leaves behind. Better to cut it off flush, and let the stump rot away until a nudge with a bucket or pinch with the grapple can push it up and out.

Looks like a good device, but not crazy about the exposed cylinder.

Saw this one by Notch -> Notch Manufacturing Inc. that I like the looks of.

The Danuser device just seems rather difficult to buy. Their dealer network leaves a lot to be desired, IMHO. Probably just as well, as the price is a bit steep anyway.

 

[Rich_Z]

Yes, you will need ballast for FEL work.

Intimdator works good ripping out the little stuff. Longer tongs makes for better line on sight.

A much cheaper option is Piranha tooth bar. Great for removing small trees and brush. V-teeth grip and pull up small trees. Low grips and cuts small stuff. Helps carry off stuff but nowhere as good as a brush grapple. I can clear brush faster and smoother with the Piranha bar than the grapple. Might even do your driveway hump. Hope you optioned the heavy duty bucket.

Land planes are wonderful too.

Nice to have options.

Actually that tooth bar looks right handy to have to deal with small brush and generally push through a trail. My bucket is still a virgin, so maybe now would be a good time to measure it and order that bar. Thanks for the suggestion. This one never even entered my mind.

 

[2manyrocks]

My personal experience and opinion with the toothbar is a bit different.

My soil is moist in the Spring, but pretty hard right now. For some reason, the toothbar will rip out briar roots like crazy, but shears off small saplings leaving behind a stub that I feel I have to cut down to the ground with loppers for fear the stub will otherwise puncture a tire. I suspect the briar roots are so close to the surface that they simply are pulled out by the toothbar. With the sapling roots being buried deeper in our hard soil, it seems like the toothbar shears the sapling trunk leaving the stub behind.

With softer soil, you might have a better chance of pulling out the roots than I have experienced.

One other thing the toothbar will do is where some thorn tree starts trying to grow out in the field, it will dig into the ground enough that I can remove small ones where the smooth lip on the bucket wouldn't otherwise do anything useful.

But be careful around the teeth.

 

[Rich_Z]

Based on the specs of my tractor:

The T474 weighs 3,660 lbs. 48.3 HP at the engine. FEL lift capacity is 2,152 lbs at pivot pin. Breakout force at ground level is 3,198 lbs.

What is the maximum weight I should consider for a tree puller and/or stump bucket?

 

[2manyrocks]

There are weight estimators for logs like this one. Green Log Weight Charts & Calculator | Sherrilltree

The problem is how do you estimate the weight of the entire tree plus the root system and the dirt when you pull the whole thing out with a tree puller? And then add the weight of the tree puller to it to compare against your loader's lift capacity?

 

[Rich_Z]

Realistically, I don't expect to be pulling up any "trees" more than around 3 inches in diameter. Bigger stuff is for the chainsaw, leaving just a stub in the ground to deal with using the tractor. And even then, I will choose to go around more trees than I will want to remove. No sense living in the woods if you remove all the woods.