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Mini excavators rental for backyard stump removal
Posted on 2/9/20 at 7:33 am
Posted on 2/9/20 at 7:33 am
Update: The local rental place didn't have the Kubota OX40 3 weekends in a row to rent, so I ended up hiring a guy I found on Facebook. $100/ hour with a 4 hour minimum for his Bobcat 435 which is a 10,500 lb machine the Kubota was 9500 lbs. It took him 6 hours and he leveled 12 yards of dirt for me and cleared some brush also. Ended up being well worth the money, but he didn't know how long it would take and I was worried it was going to be 12 hours or more and get pricey. Probably 5 of the stumps took good digging and the other 10-12 came almost right up.
I cut down 16 Oak trees in my ‘natural’ backyard to be able to grow some grass. Most are probably about 10” trunks but a couple almost double that and a handful smaller. Some of them have roots above ground extending a good distance. So my buddy that owns an Arborist company recommend I rent a mini excavator instead of a stump grinder since they will be in the middle of my yard. I’m also going to get a truckload if dirt dumped and hopefully use the blade on the mini ex to haphazardly level the yard back out.
There’s a Kubota 0X40 that I’m trying to rent but they haven’t been available, so my next option is a John Deer 26g. I know fully well I have to dig around them and work them out.
Any recommendations? Is this a doable job for an amateur over a 2 day weekend? I’ve just never done it before but honestly looking forward to it right now especially over stump grinding.
I cut down 16 Oak trees in my ‘natural’ backyard to be able to grow some grass. Most are probably about 10” trunks but a couple almost double that and a handful smaller. Some of them have roots above ground extending a good distance. So my buddy that owns an Arborist company recommend I rent a mini excavator instead of a stump grinder since they will be in the middle of my yard. I’m also going to get a truckload if dirt dumped and hopefully use the blade on the mini ex to haphazardly level the yard back out.
There’s a Kubota 0X40 that I’m trying to rent but they haven’t been available, so my next option is a John Deer 26g. I know fully well I have to dig around them and work them out.
Any recommendations? Is this a doable job for an amateur over a 2 day weekend? I’ve just never done it before but honestly looking forward to it right now especially over stump grinding.
This post was edited on 2/17/20 at 10:16 am
5
Posted on 2/9/20 at 8:36 am to baldona
Digging a 20" oak stump up, you will have to go down no less then 7' to break the tap root. The hole around that stump will be around 12' across. A mini will NOT have the power to remove that stump from the hole. You going to need a full size backhoe or more.
Those 10" stumps, a mini can, but you will have to move a lot of dirt and you will spend a lot of time doing so.
As for as using one to level out land, not the best to level dirt at all. In fact they suck at it.
I had clear a lot of land including removing stumps. I spent a lot of time on stumps with my backhoe and know you will be pissing in the wind with a mini. It would be best to hire someone with the right equipment. More so if you never ran any heavy equipment. Oh, a 20" oak root ball weighs around 3500lbs.
Another thing, what are you going to do with the stumps? Yes, if you have the area to burn them, it can be done, but you will need equipment to push and pile as the stumps burn. That in it's self will take a few days.
Those 10" stumps, a mini can, but you will have to move a lot of dirt and you will spend a lot of time doing so.
As for as using one to level out land, not the best to level dirt at all. In fact they suck at it.
I had clear a lot of land including removing stumps. I spent a lot of time on stumps with my backhoe and know you will be pissing in the wind with a mini. It would be best to hire someone with the right equipment. More so if you never ran any heavy equipment. Oh, a 20" oak root ball weighs around 3500lbs.
Another thing, what are you going to do with the stumps? Yes, if you have the area to burn them, it can be done, but you will need equipment to push and pile as the stumps burn. That in it's self will take a few days.
Posted on 2/9/20 at 8:53 am to baldona
Fishfighter is correct, that will be a bunch of huge holes in your yard. Would have been easier to rid stumps still attached to tree using a hoe to dig around and push tree over.
I would recommend a stump grinder then using a tractor or skid steer to dispose of mulch and leveling land with fill dirt. Although one truck load of dirt doesn't go very far.
I would recommend a stump grinder then using a tractor or skid steer to dispose of mulch and leveling land with fill dirt. Although one truck load of dirt doesn't go very far.
Posted on 2/9/20 at 8:59 am to lildaddy86
quote:
Would have been easier to rid stumps still attached to tree using a hoe to dig around and push tree over.
THIS times 1,000.
Posted on 2/9/20 at 9:51 am to baldona
I rented a stump grinder “Toro STX 26” for about 240.00 a day. It was easy to operate and worked well. Grinding will probably be your best bet. (Unless u have dynamite) . Good luck
Posted on 2/9/20 at 10:33 am to baldona
quote:
So my buddy that owns an Arborist company recommend I rent a mini excavator instead of a stump grinder since they will be in the middle of my yard.
Something does not compute. Buddy owns a business doing these things why not have him do them for you. Pay him of course.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 6:29 am to CheEngineer
quote:
Something does not compute. Buddy owns a business doing these things why not have him do them for you. Pay him of course.
He doesn’t have an excavator. He’s a saying I could do it, sure I could pay someone. But renting an excavator for the weekend sounds pretty fun. I don’t think the root balls are that big, Ive dug around some of them and he is the one that told me to rent the excavator to remove them since they are in the middle of where my grass will be. He’s going to come over and give me some tips, and I know I’ll be clumsy. I have plenty of room to stack the stumps and burn them. Only will need to move them 20-30 yards at most into a pile.
Obviously paying someone with top of the line equipment is always the easiest answer. But there’s plenty of guys on YouTube with the Ox40 digging out stumps bigger then what I have.
As far as the grading goes, not looking for something perfect. I’m simply looking to level out the area with new dirt from where I removed the old stumps. Again I have a 1/2 acre but this area is the size of your avg suburban backyard so it’s not a huge area.
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 6:32 am
Posted on 2/10/20 at 8:11 am to baldona
Sounds like you have made up your mind. If you think you will enjoy it go for it. Even if you can't get the big ones, getting the smaller ones should save you some coin.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 11:04 am to ihuntsum1
FWIW my buddy recommend the OX40 over anything smaller, he said the others will be a huge pain. The OX40 looks like a pretty decent sized machine.
My thoughts are I've never ran an excavator before and its like $350 a day to rent compared to like $250 for a stump grinder. Seems like a lot more fun to run the excavator then a damn stump grinder. I may just pay someone to grind them for me. But they are in the middle where my grass would be, so I'm thinking the stump grinder may not get all the roots and lumps in the yard out.
Anyway, I was just curious if anyone had done this before.
My thoughts are I've never ran an excavator before and its like $350 a day to rent compared to like $250 for a stump grinder. Seems like a lot more fun to run the excavator then a damn stump grinder. I may just pay someone to grind them for me. But they are in the middle where my grass would be, so I'm thinking the stump grinder may not get all the roots and lumps in the yard out.
Anyway, I was just curious if anyone had done this before.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 11:27 am to baldona
So $700 over a 2-day weekend and hella work to possibly not finish.
Have you priced out a professional? I’ve had Dozer work done for less than $100/hr, so I’d imagine an Excavator would be similar or less.
You could definitely have them ground for less than $1000.
Have you priced out a professional? I’ve had Dozer work done for less than $100/hr, so I’d imagine an Excavator would be similar or less.
You could definitely have them ground for less than $1000.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 1:23 pm to LSUtigerME
quote:
So $700 over a 2-day weekend and hella work to possibly not finish.
My buddy thinks I can knock it out easily in 8 hours. On the weekend rental anything over the first 8 hours is prorated by the hour. So if I use it 10 hours its One day plus 2 hours, not 2 days.
I'm going to have 6 yards of dirt dropped no matter what. Between the exposed roots outside of the stumps and the dirt, it doesn't seem that unreasonable. My buddy doesn't either, but he's a crazy dude that climbs big arse trees for a living so...He's got a stump grinder he would do it for me for a reasonable amount. We both just agreed the excavator would be the more right way.
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 1:24 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:50 pm to baldona
What type of soil are you digging in? I did just what you described several years ago, but I don't remember the size of the excavator I wanna say a 7500 lb. Not sure how that stacks up to what you are looking to rent.
I had trouble on trees 24" in diameter but was still able to get them up. Digging in red dirt clay didn't make things any easier.
Whatever you do you need a bucket with the "thumb" on it. That way it can grab the roots easier.
I dug a small hole and burned all the stumps in the hole for over a week or two. Then filled it back in.
BUT even if you can get the stumps up with whatever you rent, you cannot level the yard back out with the blade. I mean it will look "levelish" compared to a job site, but not a yard. I would recomened a skid steer and someone that knows what they are doing to spread the dirt. Seriously, you'll waste A LOT of time and dirt trying to grade your yard with a mini.
I had trouble on trees 24" in diameter but was still able to get them up. Digging in red dirt clay didn't make things any easier.
Whatever you do you need a bucket with the "thumb" on it. That way it can grab the roots easier.
I dug a small hole and burned all the stumps in the hole for over a week or two. Then filled it back in.
BUT even if you can get the stumps up with whatever you rent, you cannot level the yard back out with the blade. I mean it will look "levelish" compared to a job site, but not a yard. I would recomened a skid steer and someone that knows what they are doing to spread the dirt. Seriously, you'll waste A LOT of time and dirt trying to grade your yard with a mini.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 3:35 pm to baldona
My neighbor rented an excavator one time to clear some oak trees. Didn't have much experience operating and none clearing trees.
Few weeks later he was forced to purchase the machine after bending the stick and messing up the turntable.
So be careful with it if that's what you are going to do. Just because they are big and heavy doesn't mean they are indestructible
Few weeks later he was forced to purchase the machine after bending the stick and messing up the turntable.
So be careful with it if that's what you are going to do. Just because they are big and heavy doesn't mean they are indestructible
Posted on 2/10/20 at 3:41 pm to baldona
Had a guy take out a willow oak stump before they started digging our pool in December. He was experienced and took him an hour to get that thing out of the ground. No rocks or clay. It would have taken me double that at least. Can't imagine 16 of them.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 4:52 pm to GoldenSombrero
quote:
What type of soil are you digging in? I did just what you described several years ago, but I don't remember the size of the excavator I wanna say a 7500 lb. Not sure how that stacks up to what you are looking to rent.
I'm in sandy loam in Florida. Yeah the OX40 is 9500 lbs. The others are smaller. I won't get a smaller one, if the Ox40 isn't available this weekend I'll just grind them.
I appreciate the feedback.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 5:32 pm to baldona
quote:
Yeah the OX40 is 9500 lbs
quote:
I'm in sandy loam in Florida
In that case I think you'd be fine from an equipment standpoint. Watch some YouTube videos on operating, it'll help speed up the learning process. They aren't hard to learn, alot like playing video games.
BTW, you probably already have this planned but make sure you get utilities marked beforehand. Nothing like showing up on Saturday and realizing someone didn't make it out. In AR it's like 24-48 hr turnaround I think.
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 5:37 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 6:08 pm to baldona
Eff it. Rent the excavator. They’re fun to operate. I’ve rented it 3 times. It takes a little time getting used to. It’s some real coordination but give it a couple of hours and you’ll be scooping full buckets. Just walking the machine to where you plan on digging, you’ll learn how to keep it from bouncing back and forth. I had to dig a 200’ trench through some chunky rock and got it done in an hour. My backyard was absolutely demolished. I used the ex for re-leveling the ground when I was done. Bad part about having the dirt hauled in is that the excavator isn’t the right tractor for moving dirt. The boss on the front will push a fair amount but if the dirt isn’t a couple of yards from where you need it, you won’t be able to move it in any timely fashion.
My $.02 is to have a chainsaw on hand. Get it as deep as you want and cut the taproot off below ground. No need to pull the whole thing out.
My $.02 is to have a chainsaw on hand. Get it as deep as you want and cut the taproot off below ground. No need to pull the whole thing out.
Posted on 2/11/20 at 9:07 am to WhiskeyThrottle
Yeah had utilities marked 2 weeks ago.
My buddy that owns the Arborist company is supposed to come over and give me some tips. I'm hoping he can dig out the biggest ones as he rents them routinely for jobs he does. Then I'll screw around with the smaller ones. I'm going to have 6 yards of dirt delivered friday and they should be able to dump it basically right where I need it. Worst case I can use the excavator to put it in a wheel barrow or whatever and move it around some.
I'm not expecting it to be perfect. But I feel like the blade on the ex can get it fairly close to where I can then use a rake and hand equipment to finish it out.
Only about half the stumps are in the middle of where I want my yard to be. The rest are scattered about. If I cant dig the exterior ones in one weekend I'll just grind them some other time.
My buddy that owns the Arborist company is supposed to come over and give me some tips. I'm hoping he can dig out the biggest ones as he rents them routinely for jobs he does. Then I'll screw around with the smaller ones. I'm going to have 6 yards of dirt delivered friday and they should be able to dump it basically right where I need it. Worst case I can use the excavator to put it in a wheel barrow or whatever and move it around some.
I'm not expecting it to be perfect. But I feel like the blade on the ex can get it fairly close to where I can then use a rake and hand equipment to finish it out.
Only about half the stumps are in the middle of where I want my yard to be. The rest are scattered about. If I cant dig the exterior ones in one weekend I'll just grind them some other time.
Posted on 2/17/20 at 10:16 am to baldona
Update: The local rental place didn't have the Kubota OX40 3 weekends in a row to rent, so I ended up hiring a guy I found on Facebook. $100/ hour with a 4 hour minimum for his Bobcat 435 which is a 10,500 lb machine the Kubota was 9500 lbs. It took him 6 hours and he leveled 12 yards of dirt for me and cleared some brush also. Ended up being well worth the money, but he didn't know how long it would take and I was worried it was going to be 12 hours or more and get pricey. Probably 5 of the stumps took good digging and the other 10-12 came almost right up.
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