What't the best way to push up small diameter trees? I have been getting them in the center of the blade and starting them over and then dropping the blade under the base and pushing them over. A friend of mine that's runs a dozer all the time said the best way is to tilt the blade all the over and put the high side against the tree to push for better leverage. Looks like this way puts more stress on the blade and the cylinder on that side. What suggestions do any of you have? Bandit44:
first post just been told that best to roll them up so your friend is correct to tilt to one side edit: walk them down first going straight, then pile at an angle to roll them into a tight pile
Welcome to HEF edor! :drinkup
What kind of trees are you pushing over, and what is the root structure like?
For you smallers scrub trees it is best to get a few in a pile then push them towards the pile, but for larger trees each one is different. If you try to silde an oak tree you will find that it will roll and leave a HUGE mess. Best way with them is to either catch the stump with the blade and push it to your pile or if the stump is off, get a good "choker" chain or cable and do the same, pull it length ways not sideways(learned not to roll an oak, bigger mess than when started). Each type has different charateristics and needs to be attacked a different way. my two cents Trbo
Pushing trees with a dozer. Hi, Bandit44. There are probably nearly as many versions of how to push a tree PROPERLY as there are operators - and others - doing it. Here are my thoughts on the matter, which don't necessarily make anybody else's ideas wrong, just different. Firstly, ALWAYS check for dead limbs and anything that might hang the tree up as you push it. Also, try to ensure that you have a clear 'drop zone' to fall the tree into and that nothing else is going to suffer for that tree falling thataway. Once you have established safety, 'guesstimate' the effort needed to push the tree over and only raise the blade high enough to give you that amount of pushing power/leverage over the tree. This helps to reduce break-offs and the resulting large excavation when you dig out the remaining stump. For bigger trees near the limits of the dozer that you are using, approach the tree with the blade slightly less than right up. This way, when you contact the tree, you still have some blade lift left so that you can lift against the tree to help lift it out and also put some extra weight on the front of the tracks for extra traction. For smaller trees. I prefer to knock them pretty much flat before backing up to pick up the root ball. With scrub and small saplings, it is often a good idea to flatten them at right angles to the direction you will be pushing them to dispose of them. If one is available, you can push a larger log ahead of you when doing this to cut a wider swath with each pass, thus speeding the job up a bit - we hope. This trick works well when using rake on the dozer 'cos all the saplings are already lying across the line of push just waiting to be picked up. How well it works depends on how well the sapling's root systems can hang on when the saplings themselves are horizontal. Personally, I tend to keep the blade level when pushing trees as it keeps the stresses more even on the blade and track frames and I'm all for lowered stress levels. LOL. Hope this helps.
Most of the trees that I have been cleaning up are sweet gum and around 6 to 10 inched in diameter. Most of the small ones come right up but some of the bigger ones take a little effort. Thanks for the help with the replies, I will try the suggestions as soon as it dries up enough to get back in there. Bandit44