What did you do WITH your Ranger today?

[KNI]

I DID NOT try to pull out this mother-stumper today! The Ranger stayed in the garage. My old '04 SCab pulled out so many shrubs, rhodos, trees, and stumps, I shoulda called it "Stumpy". That was the 4.0 V6, 4x4, 5 speed stick, and I'd wrap the chain around the trailer hitch, get a start, and yank away. But I was afraid to do that with an automatic, even with 4-low. Visions of expensive trans repair danced in my head (I'm not an auto guy). I dug and dug, steel bar, and chain sawed all day, not a smidgeon of budge. So time to call for a backhoe...no offense, Pepper

Since I do similar stuff on my not forest anymore yard with hand tools I'll give you few pointers which may help:

• Satisfaction of success is multiplied by time*effort
• Weight is bad. That stump is too heavy for crowbar so make a horizontal ground level cut first to remove excess. Then two or three vertical cuts and you have separate blocks. F1 *d1 = F2*d2 and you can probably push 80kg on 4:1 ration on the crowbar so ~300kg would be max block size.
• I assume you use that log as pivot point. If not, use the log as pivot point.
• Water is your friend. Water the ground to make it softer.
• Use chainsaw with chain in it's last leg for for cutting the roots. File often, file sharp.
• Don't recognize the tree, but if it's with tap root forget the crowbar.. you may have root up to 6 meters down there..
• Rotary hammer with wide chisel bit works wonders
• If you have fixture positions (other trees, etc.) use mechanical advantage with multiple pulleys.
• When you get part of it moving, put something (rocks) under it and lift to other way. That way the rock will act as pivot point and multiply the lift/pull.
• When all hope is lost, rent a stump grinder.

In summary. Reduce the block size, increase the leverage and reduce the resistance.

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[AzScorpion]

Did you feel the vortex (and not the lame GM Vortec)? Or is that just around Sedona?

lol I know what you were talking about and a lot claim they can but I never have. Even when we're in Sedona I still don't, maybe I am possessed?

 

[TVRangerSTX]

Since I do similar stuff on my not forest anymore yard with hand tools I'll give you few pointers which may help:

• Satisfaction of success is multiplied by time*effort
• Weight is bad. That stump is too heavy for crowbar so make a horizontal ground level cut first to remove excess. Then two or three vertical cuts and you have separate blocks. F1 *d1 = F2*d2 and you can probably push 80kg on 4:1 ration on the crowbar so ~300kg would be max block size.
• I assume you use that log as pivot point. If not, use the log as pivot point.
• Water is your friend. Water the ground to make it softer.
• Use chainsaw with chain in it's last leg for for cutting the roots. File often, file sharp.
• Don't recognize the tree, but if it's with tap root forget the crowbar.. you may have root up to 6 meters down there..
• Rotary hammer with wide chisel bit works wonders
• If you have fixture positions (other trees, etc.) use mechanical advantage with multiple pulleys.
• When you get part of it moving, put something (rocks) under it and lift to other way. That way the rock will act as pivot point and multiply the lift/pull.
• When all hope is lost, rent a stump grinder.

In summary. Reduce the block size, increase the leverage and reduce the resistance.

Wow, thanks, all good stuff I never thought about, but should have since I'm an engineer (although metallurgist). It was a Japanese red maple I cut off a few years ago, funky roots getting too big and too close to my septic tank, will try again, but got a line on a guy down the road with a backhoe, never knew was there. That said, I have a ton of big douglas fir to cut down next. I'll save the old chains on my Stihl! E=mc2

 

[rang19ca]

I took the Ranger for a drive up Highway 33 and had a picnic lunch. Here are a few pictures. I was buzzed by a C130 on the way home.

 

[BlackRanger01]

omfg call the paintless dent repair guy

 

[TVRangerSTX]

Well I found a guy with a backhoe on his Kubota for the mother-of-all-stumps. But after 2 hrs of digging and pulling, it wouldn't budge. Taking a cue from Jaws, I finally said I think we need a bigger boat! So I found another guy with a mini-excavator, and, like one of you guys said, it took him longer to unload it than actually pull it out. He put it on a trailer and I used the Ranger to haul it up into the woods. Now what? Luckily I was able to get it off myself...Finally gone, now for patching the lawn, and leveling the hole, to be landscaped with river rock, no more trees!

 

[Ronbo]

Who says you can’t haul 12 foot lumber with a Ranger?

 

[KNI]

Who says you can’t haul 12 foot lumber with a Ranger?

Law?

Don't know your particular laws but I'm assuming that on average the load may not exceed 4 feet from beyond the rear of the vehicle.

Quick calculation says that you got (144-61-12=71) roughly 6 feet extension there..

 

[Ronbo]

Law?

Don't know your particular laws but I'm assuming that on average the load may not exceed 4 feet from beyond the rear of the vehicle.

Quick calculation says that you got (144-61-12=71) roughly 6 feet extension there..

Up to 4 feet you don't need flags in my state. Beyond 4 feet, you need the flags like I have attached. The overhang is within the law.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Law?

Don't know your particular laws but I'm assuming that on average the load may not exceed 4 feet from beyond the rear of the vehicle.

Quick calculation says that you got (144-61-12=71) roughly 6 feet extension there..

In Georgia you need a warning device of some sort, orange flag, amber blinking light, etc etc for anything over 4 feet past the bed. There is no law on total length, just you are responsible for properly securing whatever the load is.

 

[Scott D]

omfg call the paintless dent repair guy

My thoughts exactly! There's no way I could park in that parking lot. It looks even more narrow than usual.

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

Stump Grinder when ever possible. Rental or contractor.

No worries about needing a bigger machine, or how to dispose of a big stump. Chips to burn or landscape with.

I did 23 in a day, many over 30 inches with a hydraulic macine and no previous experience. The second time I rented a smaller manual machine and did 13 stumps in 4 hours.

Both fit on a small trailer with 1600lb capacity.

 

[TVRangerSTX]

Stump Grinder when ever possible. Rental or contractor.

No worries about needing a bigger machine, or how to dispose of a big stump. Chips to burn or landscape with.

I did 23 in a day, many over 30 inches with a hydraulic macine and no previous experience. The second time I rented a smaller manual machine and did 13 stumps in 4 hours.

Both fit on a small trailer with 1600lb capacity.

OK Jay,
I've only ever hired a tree guy to remove some trees and grind the stumps. They were not as fussy as I would be and left some remote roots untouched, as well as left the chips in the hole, so no grass could be planted. Had to dig that out myself and add topsoil, which I have a big pile of.
I have a bunch of tall pines to cut down on the property line next, already did 2, and when I get the rest, I'm planning to rent a machine myself and do the stumps all in a day, as you suggested. I'm thinking of buying my own trailer as it's a pain to always have to borrow one.

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

OK Jay,
I've only ever hired a tree guy to remove some trees and grind the stumps. They were not as fussy as I would be and left some remote roots untouched, as well as left the chips in the hole, so no grass could be planted. Had to dig that out myself and add topsoil, which I have a big pile of.
I have a bunch of tall pines to cut down on the property line next, already did 2, and when I get the rest, I'm planning to rent a machine myself and do the stumps all in a day, as you suggested. I'm thinking of buying my own trailer as it's a pain to always have to borrow one.

I find allot of rental places also have reasonable delivery rates.

Make no mistake, it's still allot of work, but less and easier clean-up I find. You can also do better end work on roots without the last piece always sticking up. I'm guessing if you did all that digging by hand, playing with a stumper will be a rewarding day.

This was my place when I moved in, and I'm not anti-tree by any means, but they were all dead, dying, or where my new house is going. They've all been felled and most stumped, but I have 5 stumps to do this week, if the rain holds off. I'll gets some photos/video if I can make it work.

I also rented a 120 foot boom for a day, as the roadside and property line trees all leaned the wrong way, and we worked from the top down. Cost me $3K complete, and the contractor quoted me $24K.

 

[AzScorpion]

Did you feel the vortex (and not the lame GM Vortec)? Or is that just around Sedona?

Trevor, we were down in Sedona yesterday and went by this place. It didn't work I still never felt a thing!

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