Pull forward, not reverse. Your tranny takes 3x more pressure to go in reverse than it does forwad. 4 low, 1st gear, forward. If this doesn't do it then it's probably not going to cut the cake.

 

if your going to pull them out do it from your hitch. never do it from the front. I would dig them out on opposite side in which your pulling and then get about 4-5 feet of slack in the chain. 4low 1st gear and floor it. they should just pop out if you do that. put a heavy towel on the chain just to make sure that the chain doesn't go flying into your back window if it breaks.

 

if your going to pull them out do it from your hitch. never do it from the front. I would dig them out on opposite side in which your pulling and then get about 4-5 feet of slack in the chain. 4low 1st gear and floor it. they should just pop out if you do that. put a heavy towel on the chain just to make sure that the chain doesn't go flying into your back window if it breaks.

i would also dig them a bit before attempting to pull just like stated above^^

 

From what I hear your trans would be in danger of breaking the housing for reverse. They can break just by spinning on snow and then catching on pavement. I would not do that.

 

Save your self some head aches and get a quote from someone with a small excavator. They can pop them out and load them on you truck a lot faster than you can pull one out with your truck. Plus it will look more professional.

 

Shrubs can be really hard to pull like that without some digging. I usually cut them down with a chain saw first and do some digging and only use my truck if I have to. I would never get a running start on a slack chain like someone suggested though...I just give a good steady pull, or you could end up on America's Funniest Home Videos.

 

we dig them out first and pull them out with our f250. if the tree is tall trim it down as long as its not too large where you need a tree guy. dig some soil out and they should pop right out!

 

Have you guys ever tried this trick? It works like a charm... is way cleaner than a straight pull... and is MUCHO easier on the truck.

Chain or strap the root system. Place a tire and wheel(or just a wheel) in front of the tree to be pulled and put the chain(strap) over the tire-wheel then hook it to the rear of your truck. Pull, while keeping the strap on the wheel until the slack is out and check that the wheel is straight. It'll pop right up out of the ground with almost no effort. Roots hold side to side forces... But they are not meant to keep a tree from being pulled up. With this method, you can pull HUGE roots out with a truck... And decently sized shrubs, trees, whatever with a ztr.

 

Have you guys ever tried this trick? It works like a charm... is way cleaner than a straight pull... and is MUCHO easier on the truck.

Chain or strap the root system. Place a tire and wheel(or just a wheel) in front of the tree to be pulled and put the chain(strap) over the tire-wheel then hook it to the rear of your truck. Pull, while keeping the strap on the wheel until the slack is out and check that the wheel is straight. It'll pop right up out of the ground with almost no effort. Roots hold side to side forces... But they are not meant to keep a tree from being pulled up. With this method, you can pull HUGE roots out with a truck... And decently sized shrubs, trees, whatever with a ztr.

we use ths method to pull fence post out

 

Interesting, next time I pull bushes, Ill give that a try!

 

ya we have done that and used stumps laid on their sides so you get the pulling effort up instead of laterally.

 

if your going to pull them out do it from your hitch. never do it from the front. I would dig them out on opposite side in which your pulling and then get about 4-5 feet of slack in the chain. 4low 1st gear and floor it. they should just pop out if you do that. put a heavy towel on the chain just to make sure that the chain doesn't go flying into your back window if it breaks.

If you MUST use your truck, do not have 4-5 feet of slack with a chain and "floor" it unless you want to break something or hurt someone. Dig out as much of the roots as you can, pull forward until the chain is tight, then try pulling it out. If it doesn't come out after that then you should not be using your truck (which I wouldn't suggest doing in the first place, imo pulling things out with your truck does not look professional at all). A heavy towel to keep the chain from flying into the window? How heavy of a towel are we talking?

 

How should the chain be attached to the hitch in order to minimize the chance of bending something?

 

To honestly minimize the chance of bending something attach it with a tissue.

Seriously, keep the chain on the long side and pull slow and steady, no hard jerks, a log chain is a lot stronger than your truck.

 

RENT A BOBCAT FOR A DAY:clapping:

 

If you MUST use your truck, do not have 4-5 feet of slack with a chain and "floor" it unless you want to break something or hurt someone. Dig out as much of the roots as you can, pull forward until the chain is tight, then try pulling it out. If it doesn't come out after that then you should not be using your truck (which I wouldn't't suggest doing in the first place, imo pulling things out with your truck does not look professional at all). A heavy towel to keep the chain from flying into the window? How heavy of a towel are we talking?

I heard the towel idea from an old trucker who swears by it. It keeps the chain/cable from flinging up at a high rate of speed by towards anything important. Im not sure exactly how it work and ive never seen it happen in action but thats what the guy said. I had a steel cable fly by my head because it snapped under load and i don't want that to happen again so that's why i put it on there. Any old towel will do but i usually use my sweat shirt because it is heavier and long enough to cover what I'm pulling on (come along). I have never used a truck to pull out stumps but my buddy has and that's what he does all the time. ( and yes we put the towel on the chain when hes pulling) IMO i would never want to do it but i could if i had to i would just call him because hes pretty good at it. And 4-5 feet now that i think about it is alittle extreme its more like 2-3 feet of slack. sorry guys.

 

How should the chain be attached to the hitch in order to minimize the chance of bending something?

my buddy just hooks the chain to his pintle hitch on his truck.

 

I heard the towel idea from an old trucker who swears by it. It keeps the chain/cable from flinging up at a high rate of speed by towards anything important. Im not sure exactly how it work and ive never seen it happen in action but thats what the guy said. I had a steel cable fly by my head because it snapped under load and i don't want that to happen again so that's why i put it on there. Any old towel will do but i usually use my sweat shirt because it is heavier and long enough to cover what I'm pulling on (come along). I have never used a truck to pull out stumps but my buddy has and that's what he does all the time. ( and yes we put the towel on the chain when hes pulling) IMO i would never want to do it but i could if i had to i would just call him because hes pretty good at it. And 4-5 feet now that i think about it is alittle extreme its more like 2-3 feet of slack. sorry guys.

You should never pull anything w/ slack in it, especially a chain!

 

I heard the towel idea from an old trucker who swears by it. It keeps the chain/cable from flinging up at a high rate of speed by towards anything important. Im not sure exactly how it work and ive never seen it happen in action but thats what the guy said. I had a steel cable fly by my head because it snapped under load and i don't want that to happen again so that's why i put it on there. Any old towel will do but i usually use my sweat shirt because it is heavier and long enough to cover what I'm pulling on (come along). I have never used a truck to pull out stumps but my buddy has and that's what he does all the time. ( and yes we put the towel on the chain when hes pulling) IMO i would never want to do it but i could if i had to i would just call him because hes pretty good at it. And 4-5 feet now that i think about it is alittle extreme its more like 2-3 feet of slack. sorry guys.

I guess I just don't see how a towel would keep a cable or chain from flying into the air after snapping. But, I have never tried that so that could work like you mentioned about your buddy. Just stating my opinion on how I would never use my truck to pull something out, and also wouldn't leave slack in the chain.*trucewhiteflag*

 

A little peice of advice from someone who has been pulling trees and shrubs for 40 years. Don't use the pickup or any other machine to pull with. Instead use the vehicle or machine as an anchor and then use a come a long or some other type of winch for the actuall pulling. The slow steady pull of a winch puts less strain on the cable or chain. No jerking etc. The roots will break one at a time as you slowly pull them forward.

Just this morning, we dropped several 100' tall cottonwoods. We used a payloader as an anchor, but the actual pulling was done with a heavy duty come a long. As we cut the trunks, the trees just slowly leaned over with the slow steady pull and laid down beautifully.

 

Thanks for the advice guys.

I hooked a 14' log chain around the trunk of the shrub and wrapped the other end of the chain around my hitch. Put the truck in 4WD low and very SLOWLY pulled them out. It worked really good. Pulled out most of the roots. There was one that required quite a bit of gas to pull out, but I think that was better than jerking it which probably would have ripped the tree up and left half the roots there. The key here is slow and steady...

 

I know you've all ready pulled it out, but a technique that would be good for future use is to make a stump arch. I can't seem to find pictures or anything online, though that's where I learned about it. Basically, you make a large lever to convert the forward force of the truck to a mostly vertical force that is much more powerful. I made mine with 2 4x4x6 posts attached at the top to make a triangle and braced at the bottom to keep them from pulling apart under load. Then I suspended a chain grab hook from the point. To pull a stump I wrap a logging chain around it, then set up the arch over it so that it is sort of leaning back over the stump, then I run the chain through the grab hook and connect to a tow strap that I attach to the hitch on my truck. With 4-lo I slowly take up the slack and ease the stump out of the ground. This allows me to pull huge stumps with minimal strain on my truck and no damage to lawns from wheel slip. This is a similar idea to using a tire rim, but more powerful. For every foot that the truck goes forward, the stump is only pulled up a couple of inches, which is a significant mechanical advantage, and by the time the arch tips over forward and its just a straight pull, the stump is pretty much up and out of the ground. The key is the grab hook which doesn't allow the chain to slip, making the arch a lever instead of just a pulley.

 

Use a strap instead of a chain so if it breaks it won't take your head off!
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i have a k2500 also and we usually tug a little first to see how far they are in, if its super tough we dig a little, i get back in the truck and yoink they come out, i only use 4x4 if im in grass or if the wheels start spinning, which usually doesnt happen, the 454 and 4l80E work well together, torque works!!!

 

if you must use your truck to pull the shrubs or whatever out DO NOT use a chain especially if you are going to 'snatch' it. get a tow strap. a good one. rated for much more than you think you will need and use that. chains are dangerous and should be avoided for something like this :drinkup: