My Crawler is not Omnipotent

[Diezelnut]

I recently got my 1010 crawler/loader going after much toil and anticipation of it's power.

I have also recently had 5 acres of 25 year growth mixed timber cut with a dozen or so whopper hardwoods, and a few large pines.

Now I need to clear the stumps and grade the rest of my runway.

I am realizing that the crawler doesn't have the ability to dig up stumps(unless you work at it for an hour or more), the loader doesn't carry much, the 4 in 1 is not a very good grapple, and with the 4 in 1 open, the blade is not really wide enough.

I had grand expectations for this machine, I thought it would be "all powerful".

It does pick up a single large tree and drive away with it.
It also will shave a few inches of hard packed dirt road in a single pass.


But, I think it would be better if it had a regular blade and a log lifter in the rear instead of the loader bucket...

Last week, I bought a 1968 Case 580CK backhoe with leaky sleeve seals ( a common Case prob, water leaks into crankcase). I've got to get them stumps out!

I hope the crawler will do a decent job grading the land after I dig the stumps with the backhoe. I have learned that grading is TOUGH!

Diezenut

[Lu47Dan]

D'nut, if the trees are not cut off yet, you can cut the roots on three sides and pull or push the tree over. I pull the tree's over with a 40,000lb capacity tug-um strap after cutting the roots. My neighbor has a 555 Ford backhoe, he cuts the roots and I pull will a International Super-H tractor. We took down a 70' tall Black Spruce this way. The butt end of the log was 36" in diameter.
You can cut the smaller diameter trees about 4' above the ground and use the bucket to push the tree stump over. Once the tree roots have been broken, you can pop the stump out with the bucket.
If the trees are already cut then digging the stumps out with the hoe is your only choice short of dynamite.
Dan.

[Tigerhaze]

Hi Dieselnut-

I have a diesel 2010 crawler loader, and consider it to be a "finish" crawler. What I mean by that is that it is suitable for finishing rough grading, dropping small to medium size trees, and medium loading jobs. I rented a much larger turbodiesel CAT crawler loader (939 HST) to do my mass earthmoving and grading and large tree felling.

Trees (especially hardwoods) are really tough to remove, regardless of crawler size. The roots have a lot of holding power! I have picked up the rear of my 2010 before trying to pry a stump from underneath with roots intact. For small to medium size trees, I put the loader bucket high on the tree and use leverage to topple the tree intact.

I just bought a stump bucket for my Bocat skid steer to help pry roots on small stumps. It works pretty well but it is still a chore.

[Diezelnut]

A backhoe is a fine tool for tree removal. In the past I have dug on three sides as Dan suggests, put the edge of the loader bucket on the ground (to prevent sliding back), and pushed trees over with the hoe about 12 feet high on the trunk. You have a lot of leverage with the hoe just before the booms are straight out. Pushed over some pretty good sized trees this way, and later built my Hangar on the site (60x80 from salvage red steel).

Problem was, I ended up burning up all of those trees to get rid of them. What a waste.

I had a timber company pay me for trees recently cut, so now I have 4 or 5 acres of stumps to clean up, but maybe the money I made will cover the fuel I burn digging!

Is there some trick to grading to avoid the Whoop de Doos?

I imagined that starting on level ground and lowering the blade until it is just shaving the surface would provide smooth results, but it seems that I am slowly getting lower and lower all the time. By the time I realize this from the crawler seat, it's all messed up.

[JD440ICD2006]

I agree with the backhoe method. I pulled out a large sweetgum stump (pics posted several years ago) with a FORD 555 backhoe.

As for grading, the only way I can explain it is it is similar to flying an airplane. You develop a "seat of the pants" feel for it. Too much action on the controls and things do not work well.

[Gil]

I have a Model 831 loader on my JD440 and it drives me crazy to try to get it to grade smoothly. I think it is due to the design of the loader (it couldn't possibly be operator error). The loader is designed to be self leveling when it is raised. As you raise the boom, the bucket automatically, by virtue of the way the arms are shaped and pined, moves upward to keep the load from dumping out of the bucket.

This works great for loading, but when grading, the bucket is in that worst possible spot where there is excessive slop in the linkage arms. When you try to set the angle of attack of the bucket, it will either glide above the surface of the ground or will bury its teeth into the ground and head for China. I try to get it to start making a bite and then level it out, but the slop in the linkage doesn't allow for a controlled setting of the bucket angle. The result is a wash board undulating cut.

I have a Model 91 loader I could put on instead and I often wonder if it would be any better? Anyone have any better experience with that? Until I come up with a working technique, I have resigned myself to using my JD440 bulldozer whenever I want a smooth graded surface.

[JD440ICD2006]

Grading with a solid bucket would be about as hard as loading with a blade.
A 4 in 1 will do the job pretty well, but not like a 6 way blade, that is the ultimate.

I only have blades now, but years ago we had a loader. The only way we could come close to grading with it was to roll it over and use the teeth to somewhat level the dirt. We had to go back with a blade to finish it most of the time depending on what we were looking for as a finish grade.

[Lu47Dan]

D'nut, the 4 in 1 bucket can be set to be used as a scraper, you open the bucket to about 6" inches and set it on the ground adjust the angle of the blade to get the desired cut. This position will carry dirt along filling in the low places and cutting the high spots down. It is not as fast as a regular blade but will get the job done. Each machine is different, so some playing around is necessary to get it set to work right, I graded many a loading area at the different pits we had on Fort Ord, and its satellite posts with a 4 in 1 bucket on an Allis 645 while I was stationed there as a Heavy equipment operator.
Fill your stump holes in layers, packing them in as you go, once the hole is full then grade the area and move on to the next stump. Stack the stumps and let them dry for a year or two them burn them.
Dan.

[Tigerhaze]

I have a backhoe attachment for the crawler so it is nice for attacking the roots as well.

Using the 4n1 bucket as a scraper is a good idea for leveling the "whoop de doos".

I don't have that luxury (just have a GP bucket), but as JD440IC says you get a feel for how to position the bucket over time to get good results. I have found the key is the angle of attack from the bucket curl position. If you have that set right, you can avoid digging in too much by simply raising and lowering the boom control slightly. Too little adjustment is better than too much to avoid digging in.

I should aslo note that I only use the crawler for rough grading- when I need to fine grade I use a wheel tractor with 3-point blade.

[JD440ICD2006]

10-4 on that with the wheeled tractor for fine grading.
When I graded for the new shed, I used the 440ICD w/ 6 way blade to do my rough grade and fill most holes. I used the 440 IC w/ 602 to move dirt around and get to what I call "sub grade".
Then, I used the FORD 600 with a home made device that my dad designed and built to finish to "blue top".


BEFORE


AFTER


JD440ICD W/ 6 WAY BLADE


JD440IC W/ 602 BLADE



FORD 600 WITH HOME MADE LANDSCAPER

[Lavoy]

You know, I see a problem here. If you had to use the Ford, that must mean you need another crawler!
Lavoy

[JD440ICD2006]

Lavoy,

One of the best excuses I have heard to get another crawler.

[Lavoy]

Since when have you needed and excuse to buy another crawler!?!?!?!?!?
lavoy

[caribcanuck]

i find that going slow and steady yields the best result when levelin with a blade. then back it to finish it. works well with d65 i run at work or my 420c. as for leveling with a bucket we do that all the time with the komatsu wa380 loader.


that a pad i di with my 420c

thats what i started with had to move it all to the back

thats the d65 i run. we use it mostly for cutting fire breaks

[Tigerhaze]

Backdragging is a pretty important part of the grading process to fill out the low spots.

This was a pretty good discussion concerning grading with a crawler:

http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/ ... light=road