Tree Removal with a Backhoe

[alltoys]

I had seen a fellow on this site that had removed trees by using his hoe. I have a 30 hp tractor with a hoe attachment I was not sure if it was big enough to do the job. Especially digging through some of the roots. My trees were close to 75 feet tall 60 inchs plus in diameter. Basically I dug all around the tree then gave it a push with the tractor. At first I was going to use the hoe end but decided not to as if I had to move fast there was to many things to lift, move contract, jump off hoe attachment, jump onto tractor, put in gear and drive. At my age I am not as nimble as I was once was.

After I was turned around I used the bucket pressed up against the tree to topple it. Here are some pics of my exploit.

 

[MikeInEburg]

Actually, this is a trick that I learned on TBN that has worked out very well... Only difference is that I throw a long and sturdy rope high in the tree before digging. I dig then move to a safe distance and pull tree over. This way I don't need to worry about moving quickly should things go wrong. I also get great leverage on the tree by going high. The only downside is that I need to find spare "dirt" to fill the void left by the rootball.
Mike

 

[Airic]

What is the gain by doing it this way? I can't see the pros outweighing the cons. Why not cut the tree down and then dig up the stump? It's much safer. I pushed a tree once and a decent size widow maker came down 6' next to me. Enough for me to not do that again.

 

[MikeInEburg]

The big advantage for me is that the root ball pops out of the ground with very little effort due to the leverage of the tree. Also -unless you're doing this during a stiff breeze, the tree will remain upright until I move to the end of my pulling rope - well out of harms way. On rootball alone I've dug for an hour go get it out of the ground. With this method, I dig for maybe 15 minutes and out she comes.
Mike

 

[MarkV]

This is a much faster way to remove ALL of the tree than digging up a stump.

MarkV

 

[Egon]

60 inchs plus in diameter.

Will we see some pictures of these trees?

 

[alltoys]

60 inches in circumference my booboo.

This is a great way to remove the root ball. Took me a little longer than 15 minutes to dig around the trees as the roots were rather large. My little hoe could only chip away at the larger roots. Although I was surprised at how easy it was to cut through the majority of them. Next time I will use a long cable to pull it over.

I had perfect conditions, nice sunny day no wind, it worked excellent.

 

[workinallthetime]

Dont we all just hate looking at stumps, lol. I have dug alot of trees and by digging with the tree intat this helps so much when your using a compact tractor, the amount of leverage is so much greater like others have stated and the fall is usually much slower. I made the mistake of cutting a few smaller oaks off my property before going after them with the b/h. due to the tap root, rocks, and clay some of the stumps are still there after a couple trys at removing them. I have noticed that when the entire tree is there the tap root on the oaks will split when you push the tree down.
lots of fun !!!!!

 

[alltoys]

I was amazed at how much it took to push over the trees especially after the roots were cut. Next time I will use a long rope to pull it over.

Years ago I helped my father remove a very large stump from our field on the farm. At first we tried digging around the stump by hand, used horse team to pull it over that didn't work. Tried a loaded farm truck that didn't work. Then our neighbor came over mixed us up some farmers helper. Drilled a few holes in the ground chained enough used tires together to go around the stump. Drove stakes in the ground to anchor the chained tires together to keep the dirt from flying away from the stump. When it was set off the blast popped the stump out of the ground just like a cork. Of course can't do that in these days and times.

What took us four days to do years ago I removed three trees complete in a day.

 

[willfick]

I've taken out many trees with my old backhoe; just take your time and don't get too ambitious.

Good luck, Wm

 

[EddieWalker]

What is the gain by doing it this way? I can't see the pros outweighing the cons. Why not cut the tree down and then dig up the stump? It's much safer. I pushed a tree once and a decent size widow maker came down 6' next to me. Enough for me to not do that again.

When cutting down a tree with a chainsaw, there is allot of danger involved. The tree falls where it is supposed to about 90 percent of the time for those who know what they are doing. For those of us who are not experts, it's even less likely to fall where we want it to every time. Then you have to dig out the stump. This is work. It doesn't want to come out, and there isn't anything helping to pull it out. It's all up to the backhoe to remove enough dirt and break off all the roots to get it out. The bigger the tree, the worse it is. But even some species of smaller trees have tap roots, which just adds to the fun. I've spent several hours taking out really big stumps with my full sized backhoe.

When taking out a tree with a backhoe, the tree takes out the stump for you. It's a very safe way to take out the tree. I've taken out thousands of trees with my backhoe and in every case, the tree goes over slowly and easily. No surprises!!!! With most trees, you only have to dig two sides of it and then push. This means less dirt is removed and less time burning fuel. It's a smaller hole to fill too!!!

No matter what sized tree it is, you dig less taking it out hole then you would if you had to take out the stump.

Eddie

 

[alltoys]

I've taken out many trees with my old backhoe; just take your time and don't get too ambitious.

Good luck, Wm

That tree is a monster it must have been in the 300 foot tall range. I see your tractor is roughly the same size as mine only my hoe attachment isn't as big.

Did you pull it over??

 

[alltoys]

Eddie I agree using a hoe to remove a large tree is the only way to go when totally removing it.

 

[Redbug]

William, that tree was huge. Tell us the story. When digging the roots and cutting them, how do you know when it's time to push? If it rocks, how do you know what way it will go? Or did you have it roped off to another tree as an anchor?

 

[jwhite]

This method is very interesting! It takes me hours and a LARGE crater to remove large Oak stumps with the backhoe after removing the tree.

I can see cutting the roots on either side of the stump and roping off the tree to avoid "falling" unpleasantness.

The sequence I imagine is to rope off (or chain and come-along) to side opposite where you put the backhoe. You then dig on either side of the tree. What do you do about the roots closest to the backhoe? I also imagine that these could spring up under the backhoe and take something out (at least a hose or worse). Do you cut the roots opposite the rope first, then reposition to cut the side roots?

I have a TC33D with an small Bushhog BH on it and I have to get a pretty good distance from the stump just to be able to cut the side roots on Oak stumps in my heavy clay/shale soil.

Please specify a little more on the exact technique. I would like to give it a go...

Thanks!
Jay

 

[JoelD]

Type of soil and tree make all the difference.

Where I live I've got nothing but rocks, shale, ledge, etc. The trees seem to grow where the most rocks are, and the roots grab hold. I can dig and dig and dig and never get to the bottom of the ball where the root goes straight into the ground.

I got the use of an excavator last weekend and the 28K machine made quick work of the trees, I dug deep on one side through all roots then pushed the trees over.

My machine (kioti 30HP) would never have been able to dig through the rock / root combo and then push down these trees, just too big and stuck.

You really need correct machine for some situations.

Joel

 

[MikeInEburg]

The process that I use is this:
1. Get big rope as high as possible in tree. I have a very slippery small rope with "bean bag" type weight (from Baileys like this Bailey's - 16 oz. Throw Weight & Line Combo) for just this purpose. Use small rope to pull up big rope.
2. With backhoe, dig a trench along "back side" of tree (side opposite of desired fall direction). Also dig along both left and right side. I do NOT dig side toward fall direction.
3. Move tractor to end of rope - that extends beyond reach of tree.
4. Pull with tractor.

Thus far, 100% have fallen exactly where I wanted and in slow motion.

If you wanted to be very fancy, you could put a large log or something on the "fall" side - so that when the falling trunk hit it, it would help to pop the rootball out of the ground.

Mike

 

[Stimw]

Been there, done that. It's 10 times harder to dig a stump out without pulling it over using the tree for leverage. AND, not as much fun!
Look at the tractor in the center pic, It's smiling!!

 

[MarkV]

I have always dug deepest on the side I want the tree to fall and then cut on the sides. That normally is all it takes for me to push it over. Generally I push with the backhoe bucket. The size of your equipment and the soil conditions will certainly make a difference but I have done it with both my 21 hp tractor and my 39 hp tractor successfully many times.

MarkV

 

[Eagleview]

2. With backhoe, dig a trench along "back side" of tree (side opposite of desired fall direction). Also dig along both left and right side. I do NOT dig side toward fall direction.

Mike

This is the recommended way to fall a tree , the dirt and roots at the front act as a hinge which directs the tree as it falls . It also stops it coming back at you if you need to get a second bite at the tree while pushing with the tractor etc . Digging all the way around leaves a tree standing on a small pad , if a gust of wind comes up , the tree can fall anywhere it wants .