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Pulling out a stump

Bruizza

Bruizza

Full Member
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Apr 22, 2009
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Not sure if this is the right section for this so if it isn't mods please move it to the appropriate section.

This weekend I will be cutting down some big bushes.  I then plan on using the avy to pull the stumps out.  I am not exactly how big the stumps are going to be but the biggest bush is about 4-4.5 feet tall and 7 feet wide.  So my question is what is the best way to pull out the stumps?  Chain, tow strap?  Hooked to the hitch or what?  I have never pulled a stump out before so I have no idea what the best way to do it is without hurting my avy.
 
I use a tow strap when I use my truck to pull stumps out. You can use a chain also but if a tow strap won't do the job a chain isn't going to make it any easier. I usually hook the tow strap to the ball on my hitch.

Just a word of caution. Don't pull too hard. You will have to loosen up the stump first by doing some digging around it. If the stump won't come out with a few gentle tugs in 4WD without really gassing it, you need to do some more digging. I say this from experience. If you pull so hard with the truck that you are burning or just spinning the tires, more that likely the tow strap or chain will snap and when it snaps it will come directly at the truck and cause quite a bit of damage. Make sure that there is no one around the stump when you are pulling on it because if the strap or chain does break or come loose, it will literally take someones leg/arm/head off.
 
A little water goes a long way. Soak the crap out of the root ball. I know we have had a lot of rain here but, SOAK IT! It also makes it easier to dig around the stump.  If you think you are just going to hook a chain up and go  :laugh:. Also check with the Colorado utility notification to make sure there are no underground utilities in the area. I sound like my Dad.  :laugh:


plumbob
 
i just did that myself this week. i pulled twelve stumps from some overgrown evergreen bushes. DEFINITELY dig down to at least near the bottom of the root ball. I used an industrial chain with a 7000 lb rating. Wrap it around the stump LOW. I try to get it under a root near the back to give it a little extra lift, and then i took the chain through the trailer hitch. I also put the truck into 4wd LOW to get the most torque with the least wheel spin. I slowly tightened up on the chain so it would not shock the drive line. Most came right out, but a few i had to pull, let off and pull again. If a stump is close to a utility line, dig down and cut it out in pieces with a chainsaw or sawzall. Had to do that for one of mine. I was surprised at how thick and deep the roots went. FYI, no lawn damage at all!!

good luck. paul.

PS. my stumps were an average of 12 inches in diameter.
 
On the way home from work yesterday we seen the neighbor in a hole up to his waist that he had dug around a bush he had cut down. So we stopped and asked if he would like it pulled out.  It took a couple good jerks to pull the stump out and drag it to the curb.  He was very appreciative!  (y)
 
I say use the chain over the tow strap. The last one I pulled, I started with the tow strap, and it just stretched it out, didn't move the stump. Switched to the chain with the 7,000 lb. rating, and it came right out. Also, I use the tow hooks up front instead of the trailer hitch. This way I have a good view of what is happening rather than trying to see it in the rear view mirror. Just my $.02
 
It depends on the stuff your yanking out. I pulled a very large bridal bouquet out without digging. Most stuff though, as said above, you'll at least want to dig down around it a bit, especially in the direction you are pulling. This also helps get the chain as low as possible.

I always use a chain for this stuff, put the truck in 4-Lo and always pull from the trailer hitch. I've seen chipped and broken gears from pulling in reverse. Once the digging is done I give a few quick tugs with about 1' of slack in the chain to kind of get things moving. After that I get about 2-3 feet of slack and start getting after it. I usually keep it to about 3/4 throttle or less, drive with 2 feet to engage the torque converter before I let go of the brake.

I pulled a concreted in fence post out last weekend with mine. I was smoking front and rear tires on my driveway for a little bit.  >:D
 
Somewhere on youtube there is a video of some fools trying to pull out a stump or a tree with a jeep Cherokee and a chain.  I cant remember if the chain came off or it snapped, but the short version is it flew into the rear window and smashed it.


USE CAUTION
 
Thanks for all the info.  I will post some before and after pics so you guys can see what I am working with.  I guess whoever owned the house before me loved big ass juniper bushes but had no idea how to trim them.  So I have a big ole bush right in front of the house that the bottom half is brown and the top is green as can be.  It looks absolutely awful IMO.  This project may get delayed for a weekend, until my brother can help me.
 
Put heavy blanket over strap/chain..

This way if it breaks blanket holds down the whipping free ends..
 
ygmn said:
Put heavy blanket over strap/chain..

This way if it breaks blanket holds down the whipping free ends..
Click to expand...

Good advice, I've seen guys use an old sleeping bag soaked down over center of a chain.
No sure of best placement, depends where it snaps and how long the chain/strap is. 

I use a 25 year old braided plastic 40' towrope, never used it on stumps though. (it's almost as thick as my wrist)
 
Yeah bro, listen to these guys.

I pulled a stump once with an old 1968 International Travelall out of my fathers front yard.  We basically did everything everyone on this thread advised not to do.  We used a chain and I was pulling from the yard, facing the house on the other side of the street.  It was only 2wd, so when the tires started spinning, my father had the bright idea to put some slack in the chain and get  a running start.  Being the fool I was, I did this, the stump stopped the truck dead in its tracks, I was thrown forward (head went down and hit the steering wheel, this probably saved my life).  The forward lurching caused me to floor it.  A split second later (or at the same time, this all happened really fast), the chain snapped and came flying through the open rear doors, directly over my head, through the windshield and embedded into the wall of the neighbors house across the street.

My foot being on the gas still, the next thing to go flying across the street was the truck and I was pretty dazed and managed to bring it to a stop three or four feet from the neighbors living room after climbing the curb pretty quickly. 

I was only 16 at the time, so I obviously didn't know what I was doing.  Never did that again.  I don't like pulling things out with chains now because of this and usually use tow straps.
 
I was going to try and pull this large thorny flowering bush near my property line after the house next door burned.
Glad I waited, I got the backhoe driver to dig it out for me when he knocked down the house  (y) 

I've seen chains and towstraps snap or what they were connected to break off. Never more than a ding or dent and nobody in the way to get maimed or killed other than the driver. One guy had the hook hit inside the box & top of the cab a few times but miss the backglass. Beat up old truck, driver laid down across the bench seat as he goosed it and broke more than one chain. Good fun to watch from a safe distance, great way to learn at a young age what not to do with my own truck  :B:

The wet blanket method does work pretty good too.
 
I used an old K-5 Blazer down in 4-low. The tires spun in the grass and left nice little K-5 ditches. So I kept the chain around the stump and pulled it tight with the Blazer and left it there parked. I took a 5 foot pry bar and cut the tight roots with it. As the ball would loosen, I would move the Blazer until everything tightened up again and would start cutting roots again. Worked fairly good that way. Pull and cut. Pull and cut. I did the same thing a couple years later with a little Toyota 2WD truck so 4WD is really not necessary. Don't try to muscle it out with the truck only or bad things could happen with the chain or strap hooks. Safety first.
 
Here are the bushes I have to cut down and then pull out the stumps. 

100_1263.jpg


100_1264.jpg


100_1265.jpg
 
Yeah, I have too.
I don't think they have that big of root system so you shouldn't have much digging to do if any.
 
There's a lot of good advice in this thread.  (y)
 
I can't stress enough, please call "Utility Notification Center of Colorado."  Its free. You pay this with your Excel bill.
1-800-922-1987.
I know its kind of last minute with doing the work this weekend. As a plumbing contractor or a homeowner you can call and get immediate service. All you have to do is say you have a broken water or sewer line, and you have an eminent danger.
As a plumbing contractor I see roots wrapped around gas lines all the time, better to be safe than sorry.


plumbob
 
I am not going to be able to do it until next weekend so I will give them a call tomorrow and have them check it before next week plumbob.
 
No worry on vacant lot I hope to obtain soon next door but still be careful.
I watched them cut off water and gas lines at the street and electric is overhead.

In Michigan phone MISS DIG at least 3 business days prior to conducting excavation on your property, call MISS DIG at 1-800-482-7171 or by dialing 8-1-1. MISS DIG will notify the public utilities in your area so that they can locate and mark the approximate location of underground lines within your proposed work area.

Michigan MISS DIG

Don't know if other states are online with it too but sure beats getting put on hold.
Worth a try, google your state with your statename.org
 
Well I used a tow strap and the avy and it worked flawlessly!!!!  I will post up some pics of what I pulled out tomorrow, it has been a LONG weekend working in the yard.  Thanks for all the tips!!!!
 
carnut said:
i just did that myself this week. i pulled twelve stumps from some overgrown evergreen bushes. DEFINITELY dig down to at least near the bottom of the root ball. I used an industrial chain with a 7000 lb rating. Wrap it around the stump LOW. I try to get it under a root near the back to give it a little extra lift, and then i took the chain through the trailer hitch. I also put the truck into 4wd LOW to get the most torque with the least wheel spin. I slowly tightened up on the chain so it would not shock the drive line. Most came right out, but a few i had to pull, let off and pull again. If a stump is close to a utility line, dig down and cut it out in pieces with a chainsaw or sawzall. Had to do that for one of mine. I was surprised at how thick and deep the roots went. FYI, no lawn damage at all!!

good luck. paul.

PS. my stumps were an average of 12 inches in diameter.
Click to expand...

Paul,
you should have called me...the BigBlock loves pulling Sticks...I mean Stumps out of the ground...

 
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