Both look like good units if your loader has good capacity and you are looking to pull trees or posts out. I think the Notch one looks like it may be better if you are trying to take out bushes - things with not much of a large central trunk, like shrubs in landscaping, etc.

Rob

 

It's hard for me to imagine what your honeysuckle stands look like.

If it is like brush and brambles like I have - stuff like wild blackberry and multi-flora rose - I just use the tooth bar on my bucket. I can just make a pass with the bucket level and about 2" under the top of the soil and it grabs this stuff up as I move forward.

Honeysuckle might have a much deeper root system - I have no idea.

My biggest concern with an impliment like you are looking at is having enough hydralic power to actually lift the stuff out of the ground. A heck of a lot of money to spend if your tractor hydraulics aren't up to the task.

 

Here's a pic right outside of my window. This should give you a pretty good idea of what I'm dealing with.

I have a Piranha tooth bar. It does OK for this stuff, but isn't quite what I want. I have "bad honeysuckle" interspersed with "good trees" so I want a little more of a "surgical approach" rather than what the Piranha or a Ratchet Rake does.

The hydraulics should do what I want. Like I said above, I don't have any delusions of pulling a 6" maple tree.

THANKS for the feedback so far. :thumbup1gif:

 

Here's a pic right outside of my window. This should give you a pretty good idea of what I'm dealing with.

View attachment 333570

I have a Piranha tooth bar. It does OK for this stuff, but isn't quite what I want. I have "bad honeysuckle" interspersed with "good trees" so I want a little more of a "surgical approach" rather than what the Piranha or a Ratchet Rake does.

The hydraulics should do what I want. Like I said above, I don't have any delusions of pulling a 6" maple tree.

THANKS for the feedback so far. :thumbup1gif:

Thanks for the pic. Your reasoning sounds reasonable to me.

I kind of like the idea of the Notch also - can be much more selective than with the other one. Plus the fact being able to pull one at a time will help with limited hydraulics compared to a skid steer. With the buckthorn you would have to take a scoop of them at a time.

 

Is there anyone that thinks the Buckthorn Puller (first link) would be a better choice?


THANKS to all for the opinions! Interesting how I asked for them her rather than on the other board where I got the info from in the first place! You guys rock! :good2:

 

One time use?

If this is your only job for either one, I'd go talk to an equipment rental company and see what's available rather than buy something. A skid steer with a forestry head would take care of what's in the picture right now, no worries and leave a nice mulch surface as well. If you are going to have a continuing need, I agree that the notch looks slightly better although the option of mounting the other one on the 3 ph would give you more lift capacity. Personally, I'd want the guard to help control the tree once it's up and definitely want a cab or steel canopy over my head if you are lifting trees and moving them around. It's not so much the tree you are carrying as the ones you brush. It's pretty easy to break a dead limb that would just conk you on the noggin if you don't have protection.

If I can get video, I'll post a demo of cleaning land with various skid steers and different forestry heads and mini-excavators with forestry heads. I'm going to the demo the in April and hopefully get to run some of the equipment. I can't justify buying any of it but rental is another matter.

Treefarmer

 

This is going to be an ongoing project. We have 5 acres (which I know isn't a huge piece of property compared to a lot of you) that has all this honeysuckle. The best way to get rid of it is to pull it by its roots. I've considered having someone with some sort of "forestry attachment" on a skidsteer (basically a heavy-duty flail mower on the front) to come in and clear the stuff out, but that's more of a "slash and burn approach" which is going to take out a lot of smaller trees that I want to keep.

I've lost a ton of ash trees on the property as well, so I need to work around those. So the project is going to be an ongoing combination of removing the honeysuckle and doing something (chipping mostly) all of the fallen and dead ash trees.

Would look forward to seeing any video you might have. :good2:

 

Hope on the videos



I hope to get video but don't know for sure.

Sorry about the ash trees. Those are great trees and beautiful lumber. I understand how you could stick the notch puller into a clump of trees but generally speaking you will have to have room to run a tractor between trees anyway. The forestry heads are usually machine width so either way you are clearing a path. The skid steer I've run with a forestry head were drums with carbide teeth but it was on a large skid steer so that width was probably wider than your tractor. On the other hand, skid steers have a smaller turning radius so maybe it evens out.

We completely cleaned about 5 acres of stuff that was considerably more overgrown than your pix in a week using the skid steer and forestry head. That was taking everything down, including some trees that were well over 6" dia and 25-30' tall. (Those were a bit dicey as there was a lot of stuff falling around the cab. Fortunately, it was fully armored.)

If you get the notch puller, I hope you post videos. It will be interesting to compare with the company video of it on a skid steer. If I saw a rental company with one on a skid steer to rent, I'd probably plunk down the :gizmo: to rent it. We've got some old fence lines that it might work well on.

Treefarmer

 

I've seen all kinds of videos on you tube with all kinds of equipment for doing what you want. Some very high end some not. You might want to watch some you tube. All kinds of ideas.

 

I'm with the second choice mainly because your tree would be in the center of the tractor.. Sounds like that would be a lot safer ,, no matter what size tractor you may have.

 

Well, on Friday I pulled the trigger and ordered the Notch tree puller (the second link). Should be done in about 3 weeks.

And, I know the rules... there will be pics and videos when it gets here! :flag_of_truce:

 

Awesome! Looking forward to your opinion and pics.

 

The first time I saw one of these being attached to the front of an ATV I was sure someone was going over the bars, but actually seeing it work made me want to run through a sappling orchard. With the blades sharp and a gentle bump of speed to cross over the tree leaves a short clean stub, if you're ok with leaving it there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF9uxexunYo

 

LOL! I've seen that before! I thought the same thing you did - that guy is going to fly over the handle bars! :lol:

That won't work for me. I need to get my stuff out by the roots or the honeysuckle will just regrow out of the stump.

 

I'd pass on pulling honeysuckle out by the roots for a couple of reasons.

1) your disturbing the soil which will open it up for all sorts of other wonderful stuff to get a foothold like Buckthorn.
2) you better get enough of the root so that it doesn't re-sprout from the root and start all over again.
3) your not going to get it all with a large crude instrument like a hydraulic puller. Some smaller ones will remain.

If it was me, and believe me I have dealt with and am currently dealing with all sorts of woody brush including honeysucle I'd cut it to the ground and treat the stump RIGHT AWAY with a 20% mix of Glyphosate. Honeysuckle is very sensitive to Glyphosate.
You'll cause the least amount of disturbance to the area this way and once cut and treated it will die completely.
You'll still have to deal with the seed bank but there is no way around that.
Its a never ending job, thanks to all nursery and landscapers who continually bring in non-native plants that are very aggressive.

If you have a really bad re-sprout issue from the seed bed I'd build a big brush pile and burn it on top of the area. I've done this underneath buckthorn bushes.
It will kill everything seed wise in the soil.
After the fire is done get a leaf blower and blow the ash away, rake around the area and seed it with or plant what you want in the area. Don't leave it with nothing planted as nature loves an opening.

 

Points well taken, klunker! :good2:

My original plan was to avoid glysophate as much as possible, but that plan has changed! [emoji23]

I still don't want to use chemicals, but will in certain circumstances. If I am cutting at ground level I will use it. But there are some place where I am wanting to use the space immediately so I will pull the honeysuckle. Putting glysophate on the stump takes a better part of a year before the stump dies and it's taken care of.

Coaltrain's memory is good (especially considering that he's an old guy like me!). I have a ton of honeysuckle here and have tried every possible thing to work on getting rid of it. I've bought a camera to start recording some of the methods and pointing out the pro's and con's. But, that stuff takes time. In addition to my tree puller, I also have a Brush Grubber (used with both my tractor and my Jeep( as well as a manual puller called an Extractagator. Plus I have a brush hog on my Gravely and one for my Deere. I also bought a saw blade for my Stihl Kombi. All of the tools have their places and pros and cons. Like I said, I really should do some videos showing this stuff.

Too bad I have a job that takes too darn much of my time to do this stuff! [emoji23]


Sent by Tapatalk using the tiny keyboard on my phone. That explains the typos!

 

Before I made the investment, you may want to just try a chain, or "grabber chain" and either use the rear hitch, or hook on a bucket and try lifting them straight up and out. At least you'll know if your machine is capable ...and this just might work for you fine.

 

Hi, I have used a grabber chain a number of times on brush and on small trees, pulling it with my 1025r, and with my truck. I was disappointed with it. The chain grabs but it rolls, and generally just pulls the bark off everything. I hope that you're experience is better..........

 

Another point about the grabber things vs. the implement we are talking about - you have to get off and back on the tractor for each pull - twice.

From what I remember the OP has a huge area with small stuff like honeysuckle etc to clear. I really see his point in an implement like this for the job at hand.

 

A wicked grapple would do some damage to honeysuckle.

 

Yes, it would!! :good2: And, trust me - I gave that a LOT of thought. One of the primary reasons that I went with the tree puller instead of a grapple was to give me a little more "surgical control" when pulling the stuff. I have a lot of honeysuckle growing in between trees and right up next to them. In many spots, the space between the trees might not be wide enough to allow me to get in there with the grapple.

If I had room to store attachments and money to spare, I'd have both! :laugh:

 

I came across this last night on ebay and was intrigued by the designed. Price is nice, the jaws are fairly centered in the mount, and it only weighs 350. I may give this a shot. I just wonder how those teeth will do on gripping small saplings. With enough clamping pressure I should think they would work fine.

John Deere Front End Tractor Loader Tree and Post Puller Attachment - Ship $179 | eBay

Rick

 

Well I ordered one of the tree puller's I referenced yesterday, so it should be here in Maryland tomorrow. Once it arrives I'll start a new thread.

Rick

 

How far from Westminster? Can I borrow it :lolol:

 

That looks pretty good! I think those teeth will be fine on smaller saplings. The teeth on my Notch are similar. Every now and then I'll "bite" all the way through one, but it's fairly rare.

I'm looking forward to a review and maybe some video! :good2: IIRC, that total price is about $450 less than my Notch and it's less than half the weight as well. I think you did good!!
:good2:

 

I guess that 465.5 miles was too far to drive to borrow mine! :lolol: