We build logging roads in northern Michigan. Currently looking at buying a D5GXL would a ripper be worth it for loosen stumps? Mostly in hardwoods & rocky ground. Trying to stay away from a large dozer cause alot of the work is lite work brushing old roads & speading gravel. We use a excavator for new road building. Anybody useing a ripper?
What size trees? I've done it before in a D8T and it was a pain some times I couldn't Imagine a small dozer like that unless it was smaller trees. It was easier with the D8 just to dig around them and push them out sometimes, but this was one some fairly large trees.
depends on tree sizes, you need the weight of the machine more than anything. Rippers are good at breaking root support but better to have the longest shank a D5 can get , I don't know Cat ripper sizes. I break up the roots and get the tree swaying then one strong push and over they go. Sometimes with a large tree you need to build a berm or ramp to get you're machines weight nearer the center of the tree, but don't let the tree stump come up under the dozer or you might get thrown. Rippers are important.
Yeh, thanks for your imput. Trees that require a dozer cutting the roots around the stump is where the problem is. Corner loading the blade plus lifting up is what I want to avoid. Both a D4HLGP & a D5C, c frames have been cracking. Wondering if a root rake could take this stress instead of the blade.
used a 6N with two shanks in the the outside the tree had been cut using a buncher. I used to rip one way with the tree between the shanks move around the tree 90deg rip the roots again then back up again and rip through the centre lots of times they poped out and if they didnt the stump split and I could push them out with the centre of the blade
Ha, a D6N would make things a lot easier Do you need weight in front of the machine for balance? I've never seen a ripper work a stump like that, any pics or YouTube
5Hs can do it to just have to work it a bit more with the ripper. I have no pics or vids i rarley bring a camera onsite and no weight needed for balance I always thought a 6N was balanced pretty decent.
dirtman55, In Australia 99.5% of dozers all have rippers on them (very rare to see a dozer big or small with out rippers),so know one has to worry when you pushing trees you always rip them first,same with the stumps a good rip means less dirt on the stump. Also we use ripper tynes (i think you call them frost pics ??) on excavator they are also quick and leave less dirt on the stumps . cheers Leroy
What size excavator do you have right now? Thumb on it? You don't have to travel at all to pull a stump with an excavator whereas you have to constantly be moving with a dozer to get a stump out. Around here, almost everyone stumps with excavators rather than dozers.
A hoe is a great tool to use for stumping its just not always feasable to walk a hoe off the job its doing when the dozer that crashed the area can stump and pile on it's own.
Very true. It just sounded like there was already machine available in the original post, in which case, that might be a preferable option. No experience stumping with a ripper here, so there's not much more I can add.
Just throwing this out there but why not just buy a 953 trackloader? They are alot easier to clear with and you can also brush up roads and spread gravel with them just takes a little bit longer.
Yes generaly a 150 Hatachi with thumb is used when there's lot of stumps & for loading trucks or casting fill onto the road bed. Not sure if stumping or working in sub zero weather is harder on the dozer blade. Could steel become brittel thus cracking at stress points?
around here we use a pin on grubber on the blade to cut side roots and get under tree...I wouldnt touch a stump that hasnt been grubbed with a root rake you are just asking for it to fail
Hey Dustin, The grubber you use does it pin onto the top of the blade like a root rake?
yes just more narrow, it is 3 ft wide and about 6.5 feet tall the main beams are made out of 2" x 6-8" (it is tapered) steel...there is a cutting edge at the bottom a couple of feet under the blade...You have to be careful not to make it too long or you wont be able to lift your blade high enough to clear obsticals on rough terrain. The dirt basically flows through the grubber much like a root plow but at a much smaller scale. while you are pushing you can also pull up on the stump without fear of sideloading blade most grubbers are mounted in the middle or slightly off center (for better view) I have a pic but am having trouble uploading.
I made a pattern for mine out of large pirces of cardboard and took it to a machine shop had the whole thing made mounts and all for $2800
Not sure, but freight trains will break alot more rail when the weather is cold.
Ok heres a more technical description of why metal is brittle at cold temps. Now the molecular makeup of steels means that the atoms are formed in lattices, large blocks of these lattices make crystals, now when a your steel structural member is loaded, the metal flexes. Now above glass transition temperature, the metal behaves like we mostly know it, that is can bend and does not fracture like a ceramic does. If however the metal is below the glass transition temperature, the metal will act structurally like a ceramic, that is as it is loaded it can fail with no or little warning. The ultimate strength, of any metal at below glass transition temperature is less than its normal ultimate strength. Hope this is of interest Cheers Alex
Hi all, In Australia where trees have to be chased a 'tree pusher' is on most smaller machines. Just makes an enormous difference to be able to reach over the height of the canopy to clear obstructions [low limbs] or the whole tree. One tip; as soon as the beak of the tree pusher // tree spear contacts, drop the blade or it will push the machine down and bend the pusher. Once they bend they tend to stutter up the tree rather than bite in. As soon as the roots breach and the tree is on it's way begin to lift the blade to pick up the pusher after hitting reverse. Next, hope you can push the tree away...:beatsme
Thanks Alex, So what temperature does steel start getting weak? 10-20 below freezing F. A person should just stay home on those days but when your trying to freeze over a swamp that cold weather really helps.
A D6 with a six way would be about as multi-tool as it gets for road and stump clearing. Its shouldn't be a problem to cut roots roll stumps.
Dirtman55, thanks for the response, if you have any more questions i can give more info. Now from my delvings in my text books it appears that the glass transition temperature is quite variable with the material that we are looking at. For instance aluminium is far more susceptible to temperature than a high strength steel. Now in the early days of manufacturing, in the 1940-50's there were quite a few accidents with ships that split in half due to the steel entering this transition range. Nowadays there has been far more research in metallurgy and the strength transition for steels will not be as dramatic. All steels will become more brittle as they cool down, but if you are using a high quality, high strength steel, it will be more stable over a large temperature range. I think i would only worry about cheaper machinery, from second rate companies. The quality of the steel that they may be using could inferior to more complex and modern steel alloys, used in more expensive equipment. Now another factor could be the welding rods that are used too, the steel plates may be ok, but if they are using an incorrect grade welding rod it could fail prematurely in colder conditions. A good example is a hard facing welding rod, try and weld to bits of steel together, and then load it up until the weld fails completely. Now re-weld with a low hydrogen rod, or high strength welding rod and repeat the process, you will find that it will take a lot more force to break the weld seam. This is because the hardfacing is very hard, but at the same time it is very brittle. The low hydrogen rod isn't as hard, but has much greater structural strength. Hope that explains a little Any questions feel free Cheers Alex