Need advice on hickory stump removal - underway

[lhfarm]

Just got a Bro-Tek ripper this week and tried it out today on a couple of stumps. Had some standing dead trees dropped earlier in the week. First picture is of the ripper on my TC40DA. The second is the pine stump I took out in about hour while learning to use the ripper.

Pictures 3 and 4 are of a hickory stump. I've been at it a good while now and have ripped the roots on all sides. I can move the entire stump a couple of inches, but assume I'm dealing with a large tap root. I'm trying to run the ripper as far under the stump as possible and also moving the tractor around to each side while I continue to try and move the stump.

Is there some method to use at this point? Do I need to put the bucket back on and plan on digging a big, deep hole?

Any advice appreciated. This is right by the drive and the first things guest see when they drive up. So I need to finish what I've stated.

 

[k0ua]

Can you get a loop of chain around it and hook to the fixed drawbar of the tractor and pull it?

James K0UA

 

[cttractor]

Man IhFarm, that's quite a job you've got. Hickory stumps are the hardest I've ever had to remove. The darn taproot on hickories goes much deeper than the other hardwood trees I have to remove (oak, maple, cherry, etc.) Even with a full-size 18,000 pound backhoe, I've had long fights with hickory trees only 24 inches across. I wish you the best of luck and will keep watching this thread to see how you do. Thanks for sharing!

 

[cttractor]

I meant to add in my prior post that you might want to try digging out underneath the stump so you have more access to the tap root. Unless you can get to it from underneath or have some way to grind down from the top, it's going to be a long, hard fight. The ultimate is to use a large excavator to just grab the thing and rip it out with sheer hydraulic force (I did that once -- very satisfying!) But you'd likely have done that if you had a big machine available. So, you've got to expose and go after the tap. I've not been able to do it any other way with smaller equipment.

 

[rekees4300]

Any advice appreciated.

Rent a stump grinder.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Put the bucket back on and start digging a big hole beside it. Dig down a few feet and as close to the stump and under the stump as much as possible. You need to get a hole with the tap root along one side of it so you can then pry the stump over into the hole. At this point the root should hopefully break loose from the soil. You will end up with a huge hole no matter how you go about it, my experience has been the smaller the hoe, the bigger the hole ends up.

Good luck getting it back out of the hole, they can be deceivingly heavy. I dug out a clump of oak stumps with a B26 Kubota once and it was so heavy there was no way for the loader or hoe to lift it. I finally dug a nice long ramp down to the bottom of the hole, put a cable around it, and with the B26 and my B3200 pulling in tandem I was able to pull it out. Kicking myself now for not getting some pics.

 

[USNative]

Put a couple of sticks of dynamite under it ! :laughing: That should loosen it up.

But on the serious side, that looks like a monster of a stump and looks like you got some work to do to get that bugger up out of there!

 

[LD1]

Yep, hickories have one heck of a tap-root.

Even small ones. I have tried to dig up and transplant ones that were no bigger around than a pencil and only a foot high. After digging down 2'+ with a spade, the tap-root was STILL bigger than the trunk above ground:confused2:

I agree that you need to dig a hole/trench on one side about 2-3' down. That way, you can try to pry it into that void instead of just straight up and out. Getting that trench beside the stump will loosen the soil around that tap.:thumbsup:

 

[Deere Dude]

Just got a Bro-Tek ripper this week and tried it out today on a couple of stumps. Had some standing dead trees dropped earlier in the week. First picture is of the ripper on my TC40DA. The second is the pine stump I took out in about hour while learning to use the ripper.

Pictures 3 and 4 are of a hickory stump. I've been at it a good while now and have ripped the roots on all sides. I can move the entire stump a couple of inches, but assume I'm dealing with a large tap root. I'm trying to run the ripper as far under the stump as possible and also moving the tractor around to each side while I continue to try and move the stump.

Is there some method to use at this point? Do I need to put the bucket back on and plan on digging a big, deep hole?

Any advice appreciated. This is right by the drive and the first things guest see when they drive up. So I need to finish what I've stated.

Just keep the stump there and put a yard gnome on top of it with a "Welcome" sign in his hand :laughing:

 

[BethesdaEC]

Next time leave about 3 or 4 feet of the stump to act as a lever. Break as many of the roots as you can with the backhoe. Then push keep pushing it over from different directions with the loader until it breaks. Do not ram the stump, just apply a steady pressure.