How do I choose a tractor?
 

Hello Everyone, I live on 5 acres in Washington state. What kind of tractor do I need to remove stumps? Most of the stumps are about a foot in diameter and there are some as big around as a washer. And should I buy one or just rent one? Is there a better way to deal with stumps?

Most homestead sized tractors aren't so great for pulling stumps, and if you have one big enough to do it, it's going to be WAY too big for your 5 acres...

Your best bet will be renting a back hoe and digging them out... Or get a stump grinder and grind them down below the level of the ground.

Or hire a dozier to push them out and into a pile for burning.

I gotta disagree with this- not so much the statement, but the broad brush it was made with. What Simi's saying is likely true in your case, but not necessarily. There are plenty of reasons that a 5 acre land owner might want/need more tractor than a 100 acre land owner. It all comes down to what you need to accomplish.

To start with, if the only task you have in mind is to get rid of some stumps, then, as other pointed out, no, you don't need a tractor. Rent some equipment and go on your way.

All you mentioned is the stumps and the size of your property, so that is all we have to go on, and we can't really make an informed recommendation off that.

Your first step should be figuring out what you think you might want a tractor for. Make a list. You'll have a much better idea of which way you're leaning after doing that, and we'll be able to offer more relevant opinions.

Bear in mind while you're making your list that there seems to be two different broad classes of tractor that most homesteaders would consider appropriate for their property, and there is a somewhat fuzzy division between the capabilities of each.

What I mean by this is that some tasks require power, and a powerful tractor requires weight. A light tractor with a lot of power won't have the footing to use all its power, and sometimes a tractor is too heavy to do the lighter tasks a homeowner might want to do. For example, a tractor that is going to have the power (weight) to pull stumps is going to be too heavy to regularly mow your lawn or haul loads of mulch back and forth around the house flower beds.

You're going to find that there are great little tractors (SCUT class (sub-compact utility tractors)) that are great for landscaping and gardening but stumble pulling stumps, and there are less-little tractors (CUT class (Compact utility...)) that are great for modifying your land and small-scale farming but will compact your soil too much if you try to mow with it.

Make your list and bring it back here, and we'll be able to give you better advice.

The right size tractor can be handy on a small property. More than likely will not pay for itself anytime soon, but if you have the money for the luxury it can be handy. If you are simply wanting to get rid of stumps, the stump grinder Simi mentioned is your best bet and will probably be the cheapest and least destructive to your property. I have had various tractors over the years and still have a few. I have a compact New Holland 40hp with a front end loader and many attachments such as a backhoe that in my opinion is almost ideal for a small to mid size property. But there is no way you could justify the expense for digging a few stumps. I looked into buying a larger tractor a few years back (not a replacement, but in addition to the one I have) Again a New Holland, but not a compact but a 80hp cab tractor. Very nice for winter work, but I simply was not able to maneuver it around where I needed and after a few days using it returned it. For field work, it would have been great, but just not very usable on a small homestead for daily chores. If you invest in a tractor you need something you can do daily work with, not 1 time a month jobs, too much money in a piece of equipment that will depreciate if you are not using it daily. I will say if you are planning to have a front end loader (I will not have a tractor without one) you need to plan on a 4x4 (I will not have a 2 wheel drive tractor again) Except for my old G John Deere, but then I could not really use it for what I do with my NH anyway.

How many stumps do you have to deal with? are they hardwood or pine? how long have they been in the ground rotting?
That said;
+ A unrotted hardwood stump that's the size of a washer is a big project,
I want a TRACKHOE in the 40,000 to 50,000 pound range
Hiring it done is probably cheapest renting next and Buying is most likely highest.

You might just want to check into buying some stump remover and burning them out. Won't make near the mess of pushing them out. You'll be surprised how big the roots will be when you push a washer sized stump out makes a heck of a hole. Besides you'd need a dozer to do it. Otherwise I would hire a stump grinder, still stump remover would be way cheaper.

Unless these are 8-12" tree stumps... you will be hard pressed to find a tractor under 100hp that will pull larger stumps out easily...i'm talking about freshly cut, mature trees here, not old dead ones or skinny stuff. Need more info really.

Whatever you decide, I don't recommend grinding those stumps down. They will lay just beneath the surface for the rest of your life. You will not be tilling or plowing for gardens in that area ever. Grinding them takes care of the visual problem of stumps, but all the practical problems will remain. Dig'em out.

I have a Massey-Ferguson 24Hp 4X4 tractor with backhoe. It's backhoe is fine for digging out stumps.

A lot of people around here like to yank on stumps. Yanking is very hard on equipment. About 2 days a ago, a guy here killed himself while yanking on stumps. His tractor flipped over backwards and crushed him.

When I was shopping for a tractor, I looked at many used tractors. Most of them had stress cracks on the hub of both rear wheels, from doing hard yanking like that.

Get a small tractor with a backhoe. :)

Pulling stumps is a recipe for flipping a tractor.

I have pulled trees and the stump out... But I use leverage w/ the 130hp tractor we got...

Leave about 7 feet of solid trunk... attach heavy chains to the top... and slowly pull forward, 9/10 pull right over. Make sure you have plenty of chain though... don't wanna have a tree on ur head. Now.. mind you these topped out about 24in wide trunks.

I wouldn't even think of doing it with a smaller tractor... ours comes in at a stout 11k pounds...

In general, don't pick an asset to do a task that you will do once. That is what rental is for.

Let yourself suffer for a bit on the 5 acres and start finding what is is that you are going to be using the tractor for year in and year out. I like the sub-compact Kubota's. Skid-steers are nice on smaller property, too. But let it gestate a bit. Tractors are 'spensive.

You can look around craigs list and such a while till you find a older small tractor Like a 9N ford ,135 Massy, H Farmall etc with accessories for 3 to 5 thousand bucks. Use it a year or two till you get a idea of what you want and then sell it for what you gave for it..
Couple of keys here. Make them show you how every knob and lever works. get decent tires and keep it full of fluids.
At a minimum Id want a mower (bush hogstyle) loader ,disk and blade.

You might be able to get more, if you can get it as part of the package do so!
I have a friend who went to buy a 165 Massy they were asking $5000 for so they could trade up. Instead he got the 135 they were no longer using and its line of equipment since it was no longer sized for what they wanted.
Tractor& loader ,moldboard plow, disk, harrow, mulcher, planter, cultivator, rake, potato plow, bushog, blade, cornpicker and combine.
Granted I think he would have been better off leaving the last two in the fencerow He still got a heck of a deal for $4500.

Always ask if they have any other equipment that fits the tractor even things like a hammer mill or firewood saw are better with the tractor than rotting alone in the fencerow!

Buy a tractor for when you finish getting the stumps removed. As stated above, stump removal is a single task and a tractor is not the ideal tool for stump removal. A good excavator operator can remove the size of stumps you said you have in a day. Buy a 40HP tractor and a chain saw. Cut the trees, drag the cut trees to where you want to cut them up or burn. Then hire an operator with a large excavator to roll the stumps from the ground. Once the stumps are out you can pull most of them to where you want. Doing so will be safe, the stumps will be out and the top soil will remain in place, and the clean up will be minimal. I am not a novice at clearing ground. I have a 50+ acre project underway at this time. Getting hurt using a farm machine to do what earth clearing equipment is designed for is not worth the risk.

I found jumping stumps is a way to hurt a good tractor. I had my 48 H without a oil leak. Neighbor came down and wanted me to hook onto 2 stumps that he said he could kick with his foot. He and I hooked onto each one, he with his 55 Ford tractor, and me with the H. We got them out. I have oil leaks now.

Back hoe, dozer, or a big skidsteer with a root bucket to take care of stumps. A 30 hp or under tractor is a waste of time and money for yanking stumps and dangerous too and plain and simple a tractor is not the right choice for the job. Good advice not to grind. We used to blast with dynamite but more difficult these days

Track loader for stumps
 

My brother and I bought and old 80's track loader, a John Deere 977L. It's 32,000 pounds with a 4-in-1 bucket. I've been tearing stumps out of my property and in about 16 hours taken out about 25 stumps and a couple of acres of brush. A big machine like this can do some quick damage to 12" stumps, but the larger 24" stumps are more of a project. I have to be more patient because I've mostly just been smacking the stumps about a dozen times and they give way, but sometimes that method leaves the root ball in the ground(not good). So, a bit more digging with that bucket and then leave it to the 27,000 pounds of lift force on the loader to pop it out.

I guess I'd recommend buying a used track loader or excavator, of course get it checked out first, and use it, then sell it. I got mine for $7250 and it's been well worth it. Sometimes I'd rather approach the stump with an excavator, but I'm sure then I'd want a track loader, too. Anyway, think of this as an option: buy, use, and sell. I'm in agreement on someone else's suggestion that a 40-50K pound machine is better, but will cost more, too.

HaggHomesteader

Are you sure that 977L is not a Cat?

This was the OP's 1st post and he has not been back since, just saying!! We may be more interested in this topic than he was??

Did this Walnut stump with a Takeuchi TB145. 12000 lb machine, took 1 1/2 hours from time I pulled in til I reloaded and left.

Not a bad job for a small machine:thumb: but it illustrates why its best to have the right size machine for the job.

Although "the size of a washer" might be a bit smaller

With 50 of these to the acre it would take the OP 375 hours to clean up his 5 acres!