4low to pull a bush out of the ground?

Alright, my turn to add to the redneck tree/bush removal thread


Just cut them off at the base with a chain saw then put an old tire around the stump and set it on fire.
Burns away to nothin.

 

Use a heavy Nylon strap, loop it around the trunk, gently get tension on the strap, and apply moderate throttle. It will come out like a rotten tooth.

 

I pulled some decent shrubs last spring with a cheap cable come-a-long hooked to the hitch on the Highlander.

Cranked the shrub with the Highlander just parked as an anchor for the come-a-long, chopped a few surface roots till the shrub started to tilt, then drove off, pulling it right out of the ground.

 

https://youtu.be/L5JLOcIaZCk

 

Another thing to do first is get a sprinkler or just use your hose and soak the base of the bushes for 20 minutes or longer depending if you have hard clay dirt or not. Softening the ground will help and shrubs should pull out easier.

 

Its a bush for Christ sake. I pulled out bushes with my old 22RE.

 

It is never a good idea to pull bushes out of the ground. So many things can go wrong.

It is always a good idea to dig them out.

Also, if the bushes are old and near the foundation I have heard of people damaging their foundation because the roots had merged into the foundation.

Do not worry about some roots being left in the ground, they will just decompose. Get your shovel and spare your truck and possibly your life.

 

Yeah but what fun is digging it out when you rip it out with your truck !

 

All you have to do is dig down around the roots and tie low and tight. use a rope or a tow strap, ditch the chains and hooks. Not that dangerous and not that difficult.

 

The multiple leads were separate pretty much to the ground and I wasn't going to risk anything falling on the house. The whole tree was well within range of the house.

 

I'll be the lone dissenter. If I had it to do again, I wouldn't.

I cracked the front diff all the way around on my K1500 chevy pulling out a shrub next to my house. These were probably original to the house, and we were removing them to replace the sidewalk. Some of them were close to 6 inches around at the base about 5 ft high, with a spread of around 5 ft. I was able to pull several of them out then had to use some guerrilla tactics. I tried running the sawzall around the base into the dirt with a 10 inch blade thinking that should be enough.

My first mistake was using reverse in 4 low. My second mistake was making it hop while spinning on the concrete . What finished her off was about a 5 ft run at full throttle.

 

No, you were doing it right

 

Did the same thing to a loaded semi and it pulled it easily. The driver couldn't believe it when he started moving.

 

https://youtu.be/EqIrR6sBiUs

 

you know it will pull anything if the tow mirrors are out!

 

Hate to tell you this but Tacoma's have CV joints.

 

Gotcha

 

Note to self cut the tree first.

 

Back to the bushes, I'd get to it with a shovel and an ax first, if they're old plants. Their roots can be surprisingly strong.

 

I'm sorry for your loss.

Gonna say something here, and just keep in mind I'm ancient. Like, almost 53. But here's the thing:

When you're in 4wd doing whatever. Getting yourself unstuck. Towing somebody else out. Pulling a stump. Whatever...

Go easy on the throttle. Some big time physics are going on when you throw a bunch of hydrocarbon into a modern internal combustion engine. Things break, things go wrong. The motors were designed more for getting you onto the onramp and merging than for 4-wheeling or doing tractor functions (like the old time 4-wheelers were).

When you're doing one of these stupid things with your truck, go all Andy Taylor. Be mellow. Try some throttle, see how it goes. If a little power doesn't start making everything good again, a whole bunch more may not either. You just might break something. Use your brain meat.

If I'm in 4lo, I'd say I never apply more than about 1/3 throttle. When you're running that low a gear ratio, the ft lbs of force that are being applied at the wheels even at 1700 rpm with quarter throttle are pretty impressive. Use that power carefully.

To the OP: If I was doing this with my truck today, I would give it a little tug and see what happens. If it starts to pull out and you hear roots ripping, tug a little more. If it's set in the ground like a telephone pole and doesn't even move, start digging a little. Dig some, tug some. Dig some, tug some. The advice previously about getting the root ball wet seems pretty smart. Makes digging easier too.