Yard work...

[Dmace]

Don't you hate having to do all that tedious yard work.

Hauling wood

Pulling stumps

It's rough, but someone's got to do it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Don't worry, I didn't use the loader to pull the stump, only to move it. The backhoe rips out stumps with ease after a little digging.

 

[pilonidal]

How did you mount your hooks on your bucket? Weld them directly on it or place some reinforcing steel under them first.

 

[Dmace]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( How did you mount your hooks on your bucket? Weld them directly on it or place some reinforcing steel under them first. )</font>

I had the dealer put them on before delivering the tractor.
You can see pictures on this page from the thread I made when I bought it. The pictures are attachments to Batche33's post at the bottom. They were welded on and there is no reinforcement on the underside. They are probrably the most important add-on to the tractor so far. There just invaluable and a must have.

 

[KiotiJohn]

Man, I need you and your 20 to come help me and my 20 pull out an oak stump that is almost 3 feet across! Maybe between the two of us, we can get that monster out.
I dug all around it with my backhoe, but it's just too darn big to get out right now. I pushed all the dirt back around it, and I'm going to let it decay a little more and then try again.
This is the first stump I've not been able to extricate.
I just went outside in the dark to take this pic to show you. Funny how small it looks in the pic.
Enjoyed your post. That's some nice firewood, and I think we're all going to get to use some more this year. Supposed to be near freezing here tonight! Some day I think I'll move to the real Florida.
John

 

[coasterez]

Nice little load of firewood! Are you having fun or what?

 

[Dmace]

Hey John, I do love a challenge. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif If you look in the first picture you can see two very large pine trees in the background. Each of those is about 30" diameter trunk at the ground and probrably about 70' high. Once the tree company drops them, I will either rent an excavator to pull them or hire someone. Other than that, this little tractor has pulled every other stump in the yard.

coasterez, this is way too much fun. Just don't tell the misses. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

It's 3:00 am and all I can think of is that the sun will be up in 3 hours and I can get back to work. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[KiotiJohn]

Derek, nearly every other stump I've taken out was a pine. Getting the tap root out has been the biggest problem, but I've managed to get them. Well, actually, I DID just cut one off about 4 feet down because I couldn't get the tap to budge.
The problem with this oak is that below the ground, it's just too big and heavy.
Don't underestimate your ability to get those pines out yourself. Now, I have to say it has taken me as long as 15 hours of digging to get some of the pine stumps out, but I loved it. The largest pine was 101 feet tall and 2 1/2 feet in diameter. That was toughie.
The CK20 had no problem pulling the 20 foot long cuttings.
Keep up the good work. And get to bed!
John

 

[Dmace]

Now you've got me thinking how much cheaper it would be to pull them myself. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Now that I think about it, the many pines I pulled out (10-14" diam.) were a lot easier to pull out than the couple of small oak's (8-12" diam.). Are they easier to pull out or was it just by luck ?

Sleep ?
I'll sleep when I'm dead. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[KiotiJohn]

Generally, oaks are easier to get out if they're not too old because they don't have a tap root like pines. They do have a LOT of support roots out to the sides, but when they're old they're BIG and much larger just below ground like the pines.
The best way with pines is to fell them rather high up so you have a lever to pull on after you dig all around them.
Unfortunately, most of the pine stumps I've taken up were cut near the ground so I had no leverage.

This big oak was somewhere around 75 years old and the stump is a monster below ground. I'll tackle it again soon though, and I'll be using a chain over a large truck tire rim to get some upward pull on it.

I still may be able to pull it out of the hole, but the most I can hope to do with it after that is to drag it because it will be way too big for the loader to handle.
John

 

[Dmace]

Great Info,

Thanks !