Pulling out tree stumps?

Question

I've recently had some trees cut down in my backyard (I have rather big property) that were obstructing space, but a few tree stumps are just sticking out like a sore thumb. They're just in the way of everything, and I wanna get them out. I wondered if I could try pulling them with my car, but I wasn't sure. The stumps are about 12". Would I be able to pull them? I have a Subaru Crosstrek AWD 

Answer 1

You can cause a stump to die off quickly with some home made remedies (google search) or buy a container of Stump Out for under $10.00

Answer 2

The roots of a tree are about as big around as the crown of the tree was.  So pulling them out may not be possible without some preparation.  

Get a drill and a 1 inch bit, and drill some holes around the edge next to the bark.  Fill the holes with Epsom salts and then wet it.  This will kill the stump and then it will be able to rot, and they will be much easier to get out.

If you want to try to do it without that - and it does take time -  you need to cut off the roots, dig under the stump as much as possible and cut if off from the roots.  

Some kinds of trees will sprout and grow from the roots and stump - if that is the case you will have to do more work.  

Answer 3

Just call up a local company that gets rid of stumps.  Having to ask means you are a perfect candidate to get hurt and/or damage a vehicle.  Your Subaru will go up a steep mountain through two feet of snow but it ain't pulling out tree stumps.  Whatever you do, do NOT touch a chain saw  -  ever.

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Answer 4

Step 1: Clear dirt, debris and rocks away from the tree stump using your mattock or shovel. Step 2: Using your chainsaw, cut as much of the stump as possible. Ground-level is ideal. Step 3: Place the stump grinder wheel a few inches above the stump and turn it on.

Answer 5

Go and look at YouTube. There are many videos of people doing this and you will see why it’s not a good idea!

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Answer 6

NEVER use your car to pull out stumps. It can totally ruin your transmission. You need a tree service with a stump grinder in order to cut all the main roots off and dig out these stumps. 

Answer 7

You might be able to rent a stump grinder to grind them out.

If legal, you could burn them out. Best to cut them as low to the ground as you can, and pile come charcoal briquets on top, and light. Keep water handy! Oh and if local government gives you grief, have a pack of hot dogs there and a stick. You are cooking food.

Don't do this if there is a burn ban.



Digging is back breaking hard work to remove those stumps.

Requires a Maddox, Ax, and possibly a saws-all. Plus a shovel.



You could rot them out if you are not in a hurry.



Before Timothy McVeigh, you could easily buy ammonium nitrate fertilizer, make an explosive, and blast them out.

Now they want a special license to buy the stuff.



If you can dig out more than 1/2 way around, you might be able to pull the rest with a big truck and heavy chain. Quite dangerous though.



FYI some trees will send out sucker growth from a stump or part of a root. Depends on the tree.

Answer 8

Do you mean the stumps are 12" across, or 12" high? Without being sure what size they are, I couldn't say what might work.

Answer 9

No way , dig them out. Rent a small backhoe if needed.

Answer 10

Dig around the stumps and go until you hit side roots then cut them with a jobber sawzall blade and keep working it until  you think it has loosened up enough. Buy a chunk of logging chain and wrap around the stump and get a snap strap and figure out a connection point that won't break anything. Ease into the pull and go until your wheels start spinning - if that happens without budging the stump you have a lot more digging and cutting to do.

Honestly I have an ever green stump that is dug deep and cut and it is defeating my F-150 4x4 on pavement,

TBH - renting a stump grinder would probably be easier if not cheaper in the long run. Maybe check with some neighbors and see if they have any stumps to grind and split the cost - I did a dozen in one day 9 of my own but it was fun and I was just being neighborly. 

Answer 11

You have a problem removing them because you have cut them down to the stumps, so you will never pull them out with a car. 

The best way is to cut the tree down to about ten feet high, with the branches removed. Dig and chop all the way around the roots. Tie a rope to the top of the tree trunk. Then pull the tree over with the car. This pulls up the roots. Chop the rest of the roots with an axe when it is leaning over. This way you use physics and leverage.

Answer 12

DO NOT use your car. All that will happen is that you will wreck your car. You would have changed one problem for another. Probably worse than that, the stumps could easily be superbly well bedded and so will defeat your car, which is almost a dead cert anyway, and also, will remain, anchored as firmly as before.

Answer 13

a professional with a tree stump grinder is the only way 

Answer 14

If I know I'm removing the stumps, I cut off the tree a bit higher so there is more leverage for hitting it with my bulldozer and then pulling it free after breaking the major roots.  In the city, I simply hire the local arborist to grind the stump below the surface, add the locally preferred chemicals or bio-activators, and let it rot away in a few years.  Out in the woods we may just leave them cut flush with the ground, being careful not to put the chainsaw tip into the dirt or rocks...

Answer 15

NO  WAY........You will only destroy your vehicle...... Hire  a " Stump  Grinder "

Answer 16

you can get the stumps removed professionally.

Answer 17

There is no such thing as just dirt.  There is rocks, boulders, gravel, mountain, you get the idea.  A little car like a Subaru won't touch them.A RAM won't touch them.  

. Leave them alone and cut them close to the ground.   Cover over with dirt and they rot.

Answer 18

You will tear up any equipment you use except for a bull dozer.  Your car will be destroyed.   My question is why didn't you think about this when the crew was working?  They could have at least cut them off at the ground line.  Call them up, tell them to come back and bring a chain saw and a stump grinder and you want the stump 2" below ground and covered with some dirt.  It will be a lot cheaper than giving that stump a tug with a rope tied to the bumper.  You do know that cars are designed do fall apart when excess stress is applied?  Like in a car wreck?  Or trying to pull a stump?   Digging out that stump.  It is probably the hardest work you have ever done, but would be worthwhile for you to do it to see what it used to be like.  Different trees have different root systems. But you will have to cut every root you uncover which will tear up a saw because it is in the dirt.  And you are working below your feet, which is extra hard.  And your stump is too short to use it as a lever to help.  So you have a mess.  The best route is the stump grinder.

Answer 19

A stump that size you should be able to dig out by hand, although it would have been easier if a couple of feet of trunk were left (it gives you leverage to get the stump out).



EDIT: You're going to end up making something of a mess regardless. Tree stumps aren't just some half-buried log; they have many, often large, roots growing from them.

Pulling them out (assuming your car could even manage it, which I doubt) would cause more mess, as it would pull most of the roots out with it, tearing up the soil in the process.

Digging would contain the mess to a smaller area, as you would simply cut through the roots at around 6 inches out from the stump.



To dig them out, first dig out all of the soil to about a 6 inch radius around the stump, going down until you hit thick roots you can't simply chop through with the spade. 

Once you have dug that trench around the stump and located the roots, you need to excavate a little around them so that you can more easily chop through them. To cut the roots, use loppers (assuming they are under about an inch and a half thick) or a cheap pruning saw or wood saw (don't use a good saw, as the soil will blunt any saw you use).

Once you have cut through all of the horizontal roots, start trying to rock the stump. Use a stout iron or wood bar to lever it if you can. This may be enough to get the stump out on its own, and if not, you should be able to work out where the remaining roots are based on where the most resistance is.  Dig out some of the soil from beneath the stump until you find the remaining roots, and cut through them, then lever the stump out.



I've dug out stumps this size solo in 30-40 minutes before using only a (sharpened) spade and an old pruning saw. 

I did leave about 2 feet of trunk on them for leveraged, though. If your stumps are cut low it will take longer, as you have less leverage. Time taken will vary based on the species of tree, too, as some trees have harder roots, more roots, or more roots going directly down than others, so will be harder to dig out. It will be easier if you can get someone to help you, though.

Answer 20

I would not use that to pull them out. There are stump grinders you can rent, 12 inch stumps one can dig and cut out still.