Today I used my 88” to pull out a stump; or rather I attempted to pull out a stump. I haven’t had the opportunity to pull out a stump before, so I am therefore lacking in the correct method. That is the question.
What happened:
The stump was that of a Holley bush. It wasn’t that large, perhaps a foot across (with many small shoots coming out of the center of the stump.
I put a choker chain around the base of the stump (a chain which my father had bought new only two weeks prior); the chain being 3/8” thick and about 3-4’ in length. To this chain, I attached a short (3’) section of nylon rope. I backed right up and hooked up the rope to the Rover. I gave it a good jerk in 1st gear, 4-low. It didn’t like it. The Rover shuddered to a stop. I gave it about 4-5 more good pulls, and stopped when the Super Traxion’s dug several nice 6” deep holes in the yard. I decided that I needed more rope length, as the short piece wasn’t giving me a very good pull length. So I hooked up my 20’ nylon pull strap to the chain. I gave it 4-5 more good pulls. The strap seemed to work nicely as the Rover wasn’t coming to such an abrupt stop as it had with the short rope. After a few more pulls, “BOOM”. I kill the motor and hop out. The chain has broken clean in two, the pull strap is all the way under the Rover out past the front bumper. I consider myself lucky, and investigate the stump. It is very loose and comes out with a few sledgehammer hits.
So was the chain just not big enough? Or should I have used a tree strap (or similar) around the stump?
What happened:
The stump was that of a Holley bush. It wasn’t that large, perhaps a foot across (with many small shoots coming out of the center of the stump.
I put a choker chain around the base of the stump (a chain which my father had bought new only two weeks prior); the chain being 3/8” thick and about 3-4’ in length. To this chain, I attached a short (3’) section of nylon rope. I backed right up and hooked up the rope to the Rover. I gave it a good jerk in 1st gear, 4-low. It didn’t like it. The Rover shuddered to a stop. I gave it about 4-5 more good pulls, and stopped when the Super Traxion’s dug several nice 6” deep holes in the yard. I decided that I needed more rope length, as the short piece wasn’t giving me a very good pull length. So I hooked up my 20’ nylon pull strap to the chain. I gave it 4-5 more good pulls. The strap seemed to work nicely as the Rover wasn’t coming to such an abrupt stop as it had with the short rope. After a few more pulls, “BOOM”. I kill the motor and hop out. The chain has broken clean in two, the pull strap is all the way under the Rover out past the front bumper. I consider myself lucky, and investigate the stump. It is very loose and comes out with a few sledgehammer hits.
So was the chain just not big enough? Or should I have used a tree strap (or similar) around the stump?
Comment