OP
Removed my first stump. Less than 2 minutes work and I have no idea what I'm doing! 
Small tractors, and what to look for?
- Thread starter Irun
- Start date
Did you use the backhoe?Removed my first stump. Less than 2 minutes work and I have no idea what I'm doing!
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Not if it took him less than 2 minutes! I bet he put that bucket on the stump about 3 feet off the ground and rolled it out. WAY better than digging a hole.
Where I live if you need a backhoe you rent an excavator and for now (until I retire) the big equipment rental companies will demo me anything I need to get our business at work. I have 20 eucalyptus stumps to dig up that i need to get after soon or I’ll have to wait for a substantial amount of rain to soften the ground, the other issue is large rocks…lots of them.
OP
Bucket for this, but dug out 4 stumps with the backhoe. The root ripper would be better, but that didn't come in yet. Loving it so far. I should have bought one years ago. Now I just need seat time to get more efficient with the controls!
Here in the Midwest and East, we have lots of sand and water. Makes it a bit easier, but you don't get many decent sized trees that don't need to be dug. Lately though, I'll leave a 4 or 5 foot stump and try to push em before digging. Leverage is power!
If you run into a few stubborn stumps a pressure washer works wonders trying to coax them out with the tractor.
OP
Yep, learned this fast. The trees I cut to this height came out easily. The ones that were cut at the ground took a fair amount of work to remove with the baby backhoe.
OP
I'm loving this little tractor. Cleared my first area today, removing about a dozen small tree stumps. Also used it to move a stack of cedar I cut, which ended up being 6'x6'.
OP
After waiting 8 weeks, my root ripper and mechanical thumb came in. I installed the thumb and went out back to test it. Must say, it's a very useful addition.
I've always believed there is a special place in Hell for salesman, lawyers, and pedofiles. Change my mind.
And people who drive slow in the fast lane!
Bxpanded makes great stuff. My favorite accessory on my Kubota BX2370 was the "piranha tooth bar" for the front bucket. I highly recommend getting one.
OP
Be careful with the thumb on the backhoe. I bent the shit out of mine dragging logs about 2 days after I installed it. Mine is the factory thumb but it looks identical. Probably not built quite as well as the Bxpanded. You have to keep the weight of what you're lifting/moving centered where the thumb has support (90 degrees). Move the tractor to the object rather than using the arm to drag it where you want it. If you use the arm to drag something too heavy from left to right, you'll bend the thumb's "fingers". Hope I'm describing what I'm talking about enough for you to get it. They cost a ton and I wish I had someone to give me the heads up.
I also have the piranha for my bucket. I found it to be somewhat over-hyped. It certainly helps but it's not making worlds of a difference. I'm a toss up if I'd buy it again.
I also have the piranha for my bucket. I found it to be somewhat over-hyped. It certainly helps but it's not making worlds of a difference. I'm a toss up if I'd buy it again.
I think you're going to be underwhelmed by the "root ripper". I hope I'm wrong but the tractor/backhoe isn't going to have the HP or weight you'll need to get anything significant out of the ground. That's not a ding on the product, I just don't think the tractor is large enough for the implement. I would bet a root in the 1.5-2inch thick range will be too much to "rip". The backhoe will just gas out or lift the tractor. Getting a stump out of the ground is 2 mins in very rare with these little tractors. Some of them come right out, others you feel like your digging to China.
My root ripper was underwhelming on my Kubota BX 2370. I could never get enough traction to pull through any significant root. The ripper would grab the root and the tires would just spin. I also thought I could dislodge rocks with the ripper except it just ride up over anything bigger than a football.
That's pretty much the deal pulling stumps. I hooked up to a 3" stump on my Yanmar which is 4wd and almost 2 tons with a 20' choker and proceeded to dig 4 holes simultaneously, even with a running start. Amazing how a Cat on trac's doesn't even know the stump was there.