CAT 973C taking out a large tree

[@pennytomlinson5463]

Bet I wasn’t the only one who said ‘Yay!!’ When it finally went over... 👍🏻

[@todlindley8101]

THATS A BIG TREE!! MAKES THE 73 LOOK LIKE A DINKY TOY !!

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

Tod Lindley Yes it does and that wasn't even the biggest tree on this property, just the one I was able to be there to video. Heather

[@todlindley8101]

BLACK EARTH EXCAVATION Hi Heather. I've done a loads of tree removal here in the UK with our CAT 955L AND CAT 977L and so I can appreciate the size of that tree compared to the Mighty CAT 973. Where abouts in the world is this video taken, just generally speaking.??, Thanks for Uploading, nice to see a CAT Track Loader getting put to some real work. Tod

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

Tod Lindley Hi Tod. It always amazes me the location of people we can connect with through KZbin! This is in Southwest Iowa, USA. We have lots of hills and timberland. The land is split between farm land, pasture and timber.

[@snowman8937]

loads of respect for that operator. dam do we know that fight on our farm had a cotton wood about the same size and it worked the crap of a d6 9u.

Getting a track loader to do a dozer or excavators job.

[@mitzvahgolem8366]

imagine 200 years ago how we were able to pull trees out.

[@charlotteatwater6957]

That was awesome

[@benhutchings3978]

Big tree to make a 73 work like that

[@davestinson5691]

Bad ass 73 by the way. Makes 53 look like a toy

[@davestinson5691]

just curious but does a tree that big not sell for good timber?? Maybe no market for whatever type it is or not worth the effort

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

Dave Stinson thanks for the comment .. cottonwood is a poor quality wood, most of them get used for building pallets. the owner of this farm did have a lot buyer come in and look the trees over,. but he would only give $50 for a tree like this. considering how much more difficult it would be to remove if cut off (loss of leverage), it would have been money lost to have logged it ..

[@josefigueroa4012]

BLACK EARTH EXCAVATION & TRENCHING, LLC that's a nice piece of equipment..

[@josefigueroa4012]

BLACK EARTH EXCAVATION & TRENCHING, LLC very strong too

[@braden3087]

Is true the higher up you apply pressure the more leverage you will have but a excavator would not be ideal for taking the tree a quarter mile across a field it's about production if I was paying 125 an hour track loader all the way

[@Will-tm5bj]

braden James neither machine will pull s tree that far fast. Better to leave them and pick up with a trailer. Take the machine to each tree down the line and not waste the time with it hauling trees. I would do this with an excavator every time if I could, you could get two or three trees down in the time it took this guy to get one. It isn't even close

[@braden3087]

@@Will-tm5bjWell I would say a truck and trailer would not get around in that freshly tilled soil even with full lockers

[@Will-tm5bj]

@@braden3087 that isn't freshly tilled at all lol. You could pull a trailer out there with a go cart

[@braden3087]

@@Will-tm5bj where I live is Rocky as hell and tractor trailer don't get around worth shit that looks like Kansas bet they got better soil and that ground has been worked up like to see a semi travel across after a rain. And to get a tree like that on a trailer you would be out there cutting on it for a 30 min just to get it on a trailer my point is that an excavator is great if ur not traveling great distance but in that situation nothing better

[@josefigueroa4012]

That's a strong tree

[@TheWorkerDad]

Built a ramp so the tree can be pushed higher up the trunk. Tracked drotts are not designed for that type of work.

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

+Paul Dunne .... Drotts? .. It was made by caterpillar

[@danfield9804]

would it not of been easier to cut the tree down then dig the stump out?

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

No, it wouldn't because you would lose the leverage. Is what you don't hear in the video, or see, is when pushing on the tree and it being moved forward, back, side to side, is the roots snapping. Without the top of the tree, you can't push it and loosen/snap those roots which are thick, deep in the ground and really strong/tough. If you cut the tree, you are just left with a short boxy chunk that is glued to the ground and digging it out and breaking roots isn't easy and very time consuming. Imagine trying to remove a nail from a board, and taking off the handle to the hammer you are using; without the leverage of the handle and being able to push on the end of the hammer to pull out the nail, it is going to take a lot more effort and time, if you can get it out at all. Hopefully that makes sense.

[@danfield9804]

BLACK EARTH EXCAVATION yes thanks it made sense dint think about it that way lol

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

Good! I would have thought the same thing a couple of years ago, prior to marrying my husband who gave me the hammer/nail analogy!

[@debigbear4821]

BLACK EARTH EXCAVATION Easier with the Cat ,imagine the size of saw needed for that monster

[@josefigueroa4012]

BLACK EARTH EXCAVATION & TRENCHING, LLC that makes really good sense..

[@jameslindley8318]

That Aint NO Drott !!!!!, whats all that about- tracked arnt made for this type of work,! Pah !!. 973 'S just do what ever you might wanna do . NO PROBLEM USING A TRACKED SHOVEL HERE. Ive dropped plenny trees with a 955L & 977L

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

Exactly! .. lot of back seat drivers on here (Trolls) ... Thank you for the positive comment and for watching!

[@todlindley8101]

A FAIR TREE TO HOLD OFF A 973 !! -- MIGHT HAVE GONE OVER EASIER PUSHING FROM THE OTHER SIDE!! IE PUSHING FROM HIGHER UP

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

Wrong .. We tried from all sides .. When the root pit is the size of house basement they dont come out easy

[@dshullfarms]

That oak log was probably worth $1000 bucks. Too bad you probably burned it.

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

We are a business, hired for a service, and the customer wanted the trees removed so the land could be tiled and farmed continuously. This was not an oak tree; it was a cottonwood. The land owner did have a tree buyer look at the trees, and was offered $50 for it. Instead of waiting on a tree buyer and stopping an entire project for $50, he had us take it out. We have not burned the trees, but I am sure the land owner will once they do some drying out.

[@dougbriggs7398]

No, never cut the tree down first. You lose the leverage that the tree gives to break the stump free. This is a job where an excavator would have worked better.

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

+Doug Briggs .... I agree with you on never cutting down a tree first - your right, you cut a tree off and the leverage is gone and makes it very difficult to remove the stump ... Far an excavator working better, the excavator that was available on this job wasn't big enough to handle a tree of this size ..

[@alvie2]

yeah, let's just see if we can destroy this nice rental machine..

[@Blackearthexcavationandtiling]

+alvie2 .. what makes you say it was a rental? There is nothing in this video that alludes to a rental