Crawler Techniques and Capabilities

[Diezelnut]

Anyone have any tips on driving crawlers and their capabilities?

I have a 1010 crawler/loader with 4 in 1.
I hope to be able to do some light clearing, hole digging, stump removing, and grading....maybe I'm too optimistic.

[Lu47Dan]

First, with a loader always keep the loaded bucket low when traveling. This will prevent 95% of the tip overs.
Second learn your machine, start in an open area and build your skills up.
Once you can handle driving the crawler, then you can start digging. Digging with a bucket loader is a game of angles, too shallow you skim along the top of the ground and too steep an angle and you create gouges in the ground that screw up the rest of the cut. Gouges tend to multiply, the proper digging angles for your machine have to be learned over time.
Learning when to use the brakes when steering and when to just use the clutch is all learned from use.
Take your time and get use to your machine before you start digging.
Dan.

[Diezelnut]

Thanks Dan.
Keeping the bucket low is good advice. I stood my skid steer on it's nose once, and learned that lesson. Had my seat belt on, and was hanging from it. Had to think quick (problem!) and use the bucket to upright myself.

To remove a stump, I plan to dig out one side and try to push the stump into the hole. Is there a better way?

Steve

[Lu47Dan]

Wait to dig your hole until you have the stump out of the ground. The actual size of the root ball will surprise you at times.
I dig stumps out with a backhoe and then push them out of the way to set and dry a couple of years until I can burn them. I have one more stump to remove then I can burn them this winter, I hope that stump will break apart instead of coming out in one piece.
Now on to how to dig it out, You need to cut the roots on at least three sides, then dig under the root ball to gain leverage. Breaking the root ball loose from the ground can be the most frustrating part of the job.
It sounds like you can bury the stump in the same hole it came out, so push the stump out of the way and dig the hole twice the depth of the height of the loose stump and with enough width to allow the stump to set flat in the hole, then shove it in with the cut side up and start to refill the hole. I have packed the dirt back in with a plate compactor at several friends houses because we had access to one.
The reason you want the stump to set flat is if it is in at an angle , you will always have voids that the fill dirt will not reach while you are back filling the hole. My one friend has an almost two foot deep hole from burying stumps in his yard when he built the house. He has some fill but he is waiting until he has enough to cover the hole a foot higher than it is now. The hole looks to be about 20' X 40', so it is going to take a lot of fill to fix it.
That is why I prefer to burn them when I can.
Dan.

[Ray III]

Dan pretty much summed up what I figured out was the best way to get them out. I dig out a V shaped hole around the stump (to cut down on maneuvering all over the place) and get a bunch of roots cut. Every now and then push on the stump toward the side that you haven't dug out yet, when it starts to move get underneath of it and lift and push to tear the loose side out of the ground. As you roll it over the rest of the roots on the other side will be ripped out by the leverage.

Burn the damn things, they make sinkholes when they rot. Same for any other wood waste.

When you have material in your bucket you can reduce wear on the tracks by making gradual turns and avoiding rough ground.

Never drive over large rocks, the edge of a concrete slab, or any other protrusion with tracks regardless of the load. The track chains can break if all weight is put on one spot.

Make sure the clutch housings stay dry of water and oil or they will get ruined.

[JD440ICD2006]

The last big stump that I took out was a Sweet Gum. I had considered using one of the crawlers, but instead borrowed my cousin's backhoe. I now know that I saved myself lots of time and effort by using the backhoe.
I did use the 440 ICD to push the stump to it's final resting place once I got it out of the hole.

[Paul Buhler]

You may want to have a light load in your front bucket when digging out your stump with your back hoe. It helps to stabilize your machine and makes your ride a bit smoother as you tear at the roots. Take small bites and be patient - fixing an over worked machine takes longer and costs more in the end. You'll probably wind up digging a bigger hole than you'd think, but putting the loose fill back is easier and faster than reefing on a still fastened stump. Good luck.