Mini X tips and tricks...

ghost

ghost

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 25, 2006
Location
Hartsville/Camden,SC
So I'm renting one again. This time I'll be moving the big ass pine logs and digging up the stumps. It will be a Wacker Neurson EZ38. No thumb available though. So I moved some smaller trees last time by just shifting the bucket in and using the root ball to keep it from sliding out. These will be cut pine logs 26" is the biggest two 12' - 14" long. I figured I could use a log chain to drag them if I could not pick them up. I figure the biggest ones weigh about 2500 lbs. I can't seem to find a load lift limit on this thing. I figure I'll be no where near it. Also Pine stumps... I know I will not likely be able to just rip it out so I'm thinking dig around them to get them out. Am I thinking right? @jeepinmatt @Croatan_Kid Seems like you two are the ones I remember having mini x's.
 
I rented a Bobcat e42 when I took out all my trees. There's no way I would want to do that without a thumb, but I took down 20 some trees. I guess I wouldn't be much help other than you will have to dig around them and push them over. The e42 was a 12k machine and the one you are getting looks like a 10k. I would really suggest a thumb if you can find one. I rented from my local bobcat dealer.
 
Pine stumps shouldn't give you too much trouble, although I pushed mine over the ones that broke dug up without any issue.

That machines appears to be almost 5ton and 24hp. My kubota is 47hp and just shy of 6tons. So similar in weight but I'm not sure how the hp will effect It. The kx161 will pick up the logs your describing without hesitation. I know this might not be much help but it's what I got.
 
Thanks guys. It's what I have available so I'll have to make it work. I wanted the thumb even though it was another $75 but they don't have one available.
 
Does it have a blade on it? If so, you can use the blade/bucket to balance the root ball. Track to where you want to go and dump it. I've done this before taking tree's down at my old house. Had a sweetgum root ball that was every bit of 5' in the ground and I was able to balance it out of the yard.

Thumbs make everything better, but you can do still do a lot without one.

Pines have tap roots, you might be able to just push them over. If not, dig some dirt out and keep pushing. I found that by curling the bucket in/out under the roots was a great way to break them.

It should be able to pick the logs up for resawing into shorter lengths. The mini I used was an old, POS Deere that a contractor let me borrow/have for a year. I was able to pick up all of the sweetgums I felled and they were 2ft+ around.
 
Idk about where yall live, but every pine stump I do around eastern NC has a tap root all the way down in to the blue clay. I've dug 10 foot deep before and not gotten all the way to the bottom, cut them with a chainsaw, and dragged them out. Hopefully your tap roots aren't the same diameter as the tree's trunk.

More HP = more better. I stalled mine a number of times when I'd get it in a bind. It was almost 6 tons, 53 hp turbo Kubota engine.
 
YJJPWrangler said:
Does it have a blade on it? If so, you can use the blade/bucket to balance the root ball. Track to where you want to go and dump it. I've done this before taking tree's down at my old house. Had a sweetgum root ball that was every bit of 5' in the ground and I was able to balance it out of the yard.

Thumbs make everything better, but you can do still do a lot without one.

Pines have tap roots, you might be able to just push them over. If not, dig some dirt out and keep pushing. I found that by curling the bucket in/out under the roots was a great way to break them.

It should be able to pick the logs up for resawing into shorter lengths. The mini I used was an old, POS Deere that a contractor let me borrow/have for a year. I was able to pick up all of the sweetgums I felled and they were 2ft+ around.
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Yes it should have a blade. The last one did and all the others had them when I was last over there. This helps a lot. Now I have an idea what to do to move the logs.

Croatan_Kid said:
Idk about where yall live, but every pine stump I do around eastern NC has a tap root all the way down in to the blue clay. I've dug 10 foot deep before and not gotten all the way to the bottom, cut them with a chainsaw, and dragged them out. Hopefully your tap roots aren't the same diameter as the tree's trunk.

More HP = more better. I stalled mine a number of times when I'd get it in a bind. It was almost 6 tons, 53 hp turbo Kubota engine.
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Yea I figure it will have a tap root. I know for a fact 2' down and I'm in clay. I've had to bury two dogs on this property and had to use a pick axe to break up the clay after a couple feet.
 
Got her picked up. Started working on the stumps. Was getting disheartened when things started working.
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If all else fails, you gotta dig deeper.
 
Like others have said, thumbs are great, and you need a bigger machine, unless it won't fit, then you need a smaller machine :D

Give the tree a push at about 8-10 ft up and see if it moves. I don't mean if the top wiggles, I mean if the bottom wiggles ;)

You will probably have to dig out the vast majority of the trees you're talking about. You will have the best success digging with the blade down, facing the tree, and working on either side. Shearing at 90degrees to the roots will cut better. For most machines, the bucket curl will be the strongest motion, so try to get under the roots and curl them up or towards you. Check periodically to see how much it's moving, and once you see a good rocking action at the roots, center up and push it AWAY from you, haha.
 
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Mini ex tip: always be mindful of the tailswing, and if you ever get up out of the seat pull the safety lever up.
Mini ex trick: look like a badass by picking your trailer ramps up smoothly with the machine after you load it.


Gay ass Matt covered most of it, some smaller machines can actually push the tree using the tracks with more force than they can make with the dipper and arm. Test the machines strength by grabbing under a primary root and seeing if the machine has enough ass to pull itself over over the blade. Drink a beer while doing it.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Like others have said, thumbs are great, and you need a bigger machine, unless it won't fit, then you need a smaller machine :D

Give the tree a push at about 8-10 ft up and see if it moves. I don't mean if the top wiggles, I mean if the bottom wiggles ;)

You will probably have to dig out the vast majority of the trees you're talking about. You will have the best success digging with the blade down, facing the tree, and working on either side. Shearing at 90degrees to the roots will cut better. For most machines, the bucket cutl will be the strongest motion, so try to get under the roots and curl them up or towards you. Check periodically to see how much it's moving, and once you see a good rocking action at the roots, center up and push it AWAY from you, haha.
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This is a decent machine but not enough ass for these stumps. I had to actually break some of the roots with the teeth. Curling under them stalled it. I think I have the idea now for what to do with these things...
 
I got to where I could get 2-3 foot diameter pine stumps out in about 20-30 minutes. It seems like that was just about all anybody ever wanted me to do was dig stumps!
 
Also, fill in as you go, so that you can drive over and pack down the holes every chance you get. Keep your work area as reasonably clean and organized as you can while you're working, and it will pay dividends later.
 
Thanks @jeepinmatt I actually tried to use the dirt from stump two to fill hole from stump one. I’m pretty impressed I got two up already and only use 3 hours of time. Especially for a guy that has used one of these things once before.
 
That's exactly what I did. I had him come in and mulch it with his skidsteer first so we could see what we were working with, then he pushed everything over.
 
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ghost said:
Stump three is out. Lunch with the wife and @XJsavage then we burn.
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Knock as much dirt as possible off of the stumps before burning. I have no sage advice on methodology as it's a total pain in the ass no matter what, and you can't get nearly as much off as you'd like.
 
Get what off of them you can by rolling them over. I'd tell you to pick them up and drop them, but you can't with no thumb. The teeth will do decent with digging dirt out too. I'd probably let them dry out for a bit before I tried to burn them...unless you have lots of used motor oil :D
 
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