4WD when digging?

botaskinner · Aug 30, 2016

Hey there,
I've searched the forum looking for this exact situation but could not find anything specific, so here goes:

B2320 HST with Piranha tooth bar, 135 hours, 50 of them by me.

I need to dig out a 14" diameter redwood tree stump on the neighbor's side to enable us to build a fence. He left the stump 3' high which will give me leverage to help rock it, but I'll need to get the FEL after its root system and try to curl it out of the ground.

the Piranha has already proved its worth digging out a couple of 4' wide yucca stumps, as well as about 60' of 8" wide concrete curbing that was down 12-16" in the ground. That only took less than 2 hours.

My question: will this digging be hard on the 4WD system or should I do it in 2WD?

I do have a 4' box blade out back I can use for ballast and the rear tires are juiced. I'll be working on level, packed dirt.

What say you fine folks?

85Hokie · Aug 30, 2016

many times will digging with the FEL - the front end is off the ground if/when the teeth are pointed down, so 4wd drive is no help - HOWEVER once you go from digging to PUSHING and pulling, then 4wd on dirt is excellent.

Personally - I'd leave it in 4wd drive while on the dirt, I often see my little tires a spinning as I look down at my bucket!

North Idaho Wolfman · Aug 30, 2016

Leave it in 4wd, it will help.

You would be far better off using a Back hoe or a Track hoe.

L.C. Gray · Aug 30, 2016

14" stump is pretty big...

Just remember... a tractor plus a loader does not equal a bulldozer...

botaskinner · Aug 30, 2016

Thanks for your concerns, don't worry, I'm under no illusions a LA304 loader is a substitute for a trackhoe.

2 of the major roots are already exposed, and I'll do a bit of exploratory surgery with the middle buster and chainsaw the ones that I find, close to the trunk.

This tree is < 10 years old and Redwoods don't have a tap root.

We took down a peach tree in < 20 minutes that had an 8" trunk.

Little bites, eventually should work out.

TripleR · Aug 30, 2016

Any time I'm using the bucket digging or loading, I'm in 4WD; always have, always will.

bxray · Aug 30, 2016

What good is 4wd if you can't use it!
I have used a sawsall to cut roots with a pruning blade.
May save the chain in the dirt.

Ray

bucktail · Aug 30, 2016

I usually use an axe or splitting maul on roots, but I'd probably go sawzall over the chainsaw myself. Even a worn out bar and chain are useful in case you get your good bar pinched and can't get it out.

skeets · Aug 30, 2016

Remember if you have some place to tie it off a block and tackle will make moving things a lot easier

botaskinner · Aug 30, 2016

Yeah, I'll be careful with the chainsaw. I do have an axe but not a Sawzall (yet), so I'll get the dirt away from the roots.

Fortunately, the stump is about 3' high, so I have some leverage to rock it back and forth before I get under it with the Piranha.

jnldr · Aug 30, 2016

My tractor is generally in 4wd all the time but definitely when one digging....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

alansz400 · Aug 31, 2016

Maybe I am doing it wrong but I like to dig and move dirt in 2wd. My thought is if I am pushing or digging hard enough that I need 4wd I am doing it wrong and something else is going to bend or break. In 2wd the rear tire will spin and give you time to change the angle of the bucket or find out what you are hitting that is making the tire spin. I only use 4wd to get me out of trouble.

bearskinner · Aug 31, 2016

Do you have a truck with a winch or a chain? If the stump rocks, put a little pressure on it with the weight of the truck, it should show you which roots are still attached, a hand axe will mske short work of what's left

scdeerslayer · Aug 31, 2016

A subsoiler is great for ripping roots apart. If it won't pull it, move a little farther away until you can break it, then move back closer. May still need an axe for really large roots. Make 4 passes in a square around the stump then pull/push it out. I wouldn't even think about trying to tackle that with only a tractor front loader. Small trees or shrubs with smaller, shallow roots, sure, but not a substantial tree with large roots.

botaskinner · Aug 31, 2016

Alansz400 brought up a point that caused me to start this thread. I wasn't sure if a CUT drivetrain is designed to take hard digging in 4WD...not that I plan to make a career of this type of task, just want to do right by the machine.

Thanks to all for your suggestions!

Grandad4 · Sep 1, 2016

Using the 4wd will increase your productivity quite a bit and the drivetrain is built to handle most loader work. If you're moving material or even digging soil - what the loader is designed for - you can control how much load you put on the drivetrain with the FEL controls and by simply backing up if necessary.

However using the loader to grub out roots and stumps is some of the hardest work you can do, because it inevitably involves prying underneath a nearly immovable object to get it loose. Additionally, that can jam the front tires into the ground and put extreme loading on the front axle. The chances for damage are much greater.

A wide loader bucket is just a pretty inefficient tool for that kind of work. If you must use the loader on the tractor for grubbing, be prepared to go slow and take it easy on the equipment.

botaskinner · Sep 1, 2016

Great advice here..I only have a 4'wide bucket, and the piranha tooth bar stiffens the lower lip of the bucket, and provides extra ground penetration that is really amazing.

That said, I do take it easy on the equipment, going at the stump from multiple sides and using the curl function to do the heavy work.

My big concern was if keeping the front differential engaged was a good idea when loading the front axle.

85Hokie · Sep 1, 2016

"and the piranha tooth bar stiffens the lower lip of the bucket, and provides extra ground penetration that is really amazing. "

this is very true! The teeth pointed almost straight down and then prying by rolling the bucket is something that will not hurt really any part of the machine. Taking the bucket and ramming the living hell out of a tree sticking up ......well, now we are walking down stupid street! I took a old dogwood tree out the other day, PTB and a high trunk, 20 minutes it was out!

botaskinner · Sep 1, 2016

No way should we use our equipment for a battering ram.

I tried yanking a yucca stump out of the ground with a F250 and a 3" wide 22,000 lb test nylon strap...and the strap broke.

30 minutes of getting under it with the Piranha and it was out of the ground.

Missouribound · Jun 10, 2017

alansz400 said:
My thought is if I am pushing or digging hard enough that I need 4wd I am doing it wrong and something else is going to bend or break.

Back when I lived in Illinois I hired the snow removal crew for our properties. The owner told me they never plow in 4 wheel drive for that exact same reason.
Sounded logical then and now again when you say it.

4WD when digging?

Member

Moderator

Moderator

New member

Member

Active member

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

New member

New member

Active member

Member

Member

Active member

Member

Moderator

Member

Active member