I was wondering if anyone had experience tipping or pulling whole trees up. I have a quarter of land that has many big tooth aspen (popple) of various diameters. I am hoping to be able to pull them up and outwit my massey ferguson 35 and maybe some snatch blocks to make trails and a clear area for a hunting shack. Would like to pull whole to avoid having to come back and do stump removal. Am I on the right track or going completely in the wrong direction?

Josh

Try raising your loader high for leverage and see if they go over then work and roll them out of the ground. Will only work on small ones. A mini track ho works better. You can did the off side then reach up and push them over. Getting the root ball up is easier with them also.

I think you need bigger Gear

I have used an old tire rim with some success. Roll the rim a few inches from the tree, lay the chain over it and hook to the base of the tree. Then in low gear try to pull the tree up. That way the chain will pull in a more upward direction and the high sides of the rim will help prevent the chain from slipping off. We would sometimes pull post like that. The bigger the diameter of the rim the better.

What’s wrong with a chainsaw? Are you trying to reinvent the wheel?

EDIT: Just caught your last sentence. How long until you build a shack? If it’s not less than 5 years I wouldn’t worry about stumps. You could also inoculate them with fungus and they would go extra fast.

I have seen the tire pull method on youtube. I was thinking if I tied off up 10-12 feet I could lever them over to compensate for my small tractor. Would like to do shack build in a year. Clear this summer, build next. Looks like chainsaw is probably the answer. Could maybe rent a mini excavator for stumps.

Josb

I love cutting trees with a chainsaw. I do a lot of it at work. I stack up wood faster than 3 people can haul it away. Don't know how much I would like clearing acres but will do if necessary.

Josh

When we cleared for our cabin build my neighbor took out the trees(up to 8") with a smaller backhoe. we cut them off at least 6' tall and he pulled pushed them out. They were hardwoods though not sure if popple might be too brittle. I think a decent size tractor could do they same with a strong enough chain high up truck for leverage. Especially in early spring when ground is soft.

All you will do is jerk the back end of the tractor up and risk tipping it over. Ask me how I now

Get in touch with Paul Bunyan he's up in your neck of the woods.

You need a buddy with a bulldozer. Swap him something of equal value. Let him hunt your lands maybe.

You could set up a 5/1 leverage system using pullies or get a premade one, it could end up being dangerous though if your not careful. A really decent stump grinder cost about $350 dollars to rent for a day, if you get it on saturday you can bring it back Monday and put 8 hours on it for that price and you could do a pile of stumps in that time.

I see a lot of chains being mentioned here, I just gotta say, don’t ever hook a chain to a tractor and try to pull something with it, unless you have a death wish. I’ve seen chains snap and slingshot back into the cab several times with my own two eyes and you will not walk away from that if the chain hits you. There was a video they showed us when I worked in the oilfield at our safety meeting of a guy trying to pull a tractor out of the mud with another tractor. The chain snapped and swung up into the cab and literally split the guys head in two. I mean two even pieces, right down the middle.

Do not use chains to pull if you like breathing.

Sounds like a good way to get killed. Very common for a tractor to flip backwards crushing you trying to pull out trees like that.

My great grandpa and wife and 4 girls and a boy cleared 160 acres of timber with a horse setup similar to this one. Dynamite was also a big help. There is also a guy using a tractor and blocks on the next one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIoBQzWha8A

Cut them with a chain saw as low to the ground as you can. Rent or lease a stump grinder and grind the tops of the stumps up. You won't have all that root material to deal with either.

Bryce

Cut, score and rot. Since it's poplar also spray so you don't get runners.

What Bob said
Chains are very dangerous, they break with lighting speed and kill.
Rent you an excavator for a weekend, one big enough to do the job and live to tell abt it.

Ash will push over, root ball and all. Aspen doesn't do that. It will break off about about 2 foot above grounds. A chainsaw is a good way to do it, cut the stump short and scar the edges so it rots quicker.

MnSouth,
are those the type of poplar that the lumber industry use for veneer trim? If not, I would assume the pulp industry would use them. Just suggesting ways to maybe make some money off removal instead of costing.
Maybe sell all the small limbs to beaver trappers for bait. lol