# Using chains to tear out foundation planted bushes and trees



## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

The "Arctic Blast" that caused severe winter storm freeze damage throughout Texas caused major damage to the flowerbeds in my front yard. All of the flowerbeds are North facing, and everything iced over. All of the bushes and small trees were damaged or have since died.

So I decided to dig up the dead bushes and begin replacing them. That was very labor intensive, and the root systems being all intertwined made the digging a real pain in the...well, everything. So I stopped....

I decided that in order to get the roots out I needed to yank the bushes out with the root ball intact. So off I went to get me some chains, clevises, and hooks to yank out these bushes and replant the beds.

Here is what I ended up with:

Tow hitch mount with no hitch ball installed:



Clevis hook to attach chain to hitch:



Now for the right chains.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Grade 70 transport chains. I bought two sizes, 5/16" and 3/8" chains. I wanted chains I could tow with, and also secure loads for safe transport on trailers.

Example of chain:


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

I bought some 3/8" and 5/16" slip hooks so I could let the chains slip onto the base of the bush and create a slip choke knot onto the bush to yank it out.

Closeup of slip hook:


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

I hooked everything up to my Nissan Xterra. It is rear wheel drive, but not 4WD.

I looped the chain around the bush, pulled it somewhat tight by hand, and then put the Xterra in neutral and let it roll forward to use the weight of the vehicle to tighten the chain slip loop. Then I backed up a little bit, and just let the Xterra roll forward in neutral, and let gravity do what gravity does.

The bushes came right up. I should note the ground was wet, so that helped. I pulled up four bushes, and was moving right along, and then the bride came out and saw what I was up to.

She told me to stop, so I wouldn't blow my knees out stooping down to put the chains on and jumping around bushes and into the vehicle too often.

She told me she wanted me to hire a crew to come tear out everything and replace the plants with new ones.

I agreed (even though I was having fun) because, well, she was right....

So I hired a guy who has a great reputation to do the work. He came out, agreed to do the job, and told me I was about a month out because he was swamped fixing peoples' irrigation system which froze and cracked pipes.

Well, we have had a wet Spring, so I saw him at another job with one of my neighbors, and he told me I was looking at the end of this month.

Now we are at the end of the month and no sign of him yet. In fairness, he does great work, and he has a lot of people in line, and we have had rain for like ten days straight. But the plants are still there and they look pretty bad.

If he doesn't show up soon, I may have to go back to Plan A and yank those out. But now there is a plant shortage caused by all the dead plants, so he told me he was having trouble getting replacement plants.

So we agreed to just clear out the beds and he can replant when plants are available.

I hope the guy comes through for me.

I do things myself because I hate being at the mercy of contractors.

So, I'll be patient, and keep my chains ready just in case....

Anyway, if you need to pull bushes up with a chain and truck/SUV, it works great!


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

Haha! Love the idea. I tore out a lot of the huge junipers that lined my property using tow straps (I liked that it tightened around the trunks as you pulled away, with the right knot). Oh, and may my Land Rover RIP... I miss that beast of a truck! &#128546;


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

@corneliani Yeah, I thought I would end up in this tire melting burnout contest with a bush, but just using vehicle weight and a slow roll was all I've needed so far.

I have a GMC Sierra pickup I could use, but I wanted to see what the Xterra could do. It was so easy.

I thought about using straps, but I have seen those tear up or fail/snap, and it was muddy work, so I thought a set of chains would be better.

I bought two sets of two chains, 20 feet each. I plan to keep the 5/16" set in my ATV when I might need them; and keep the 3/8" set in the Sierra in case I need to tow/recover something or someone....

Heavier than nylon straps, but I felt I could trust them more, in my mind, anyway. Plus you can wash them off if they get muddy....

And I can use them to secure heavy loads if I need to. The cost was about double what straps would cost, but I decided I'd rather use chains. Dang things are heavy though. I am storing them in five gallon buckets to make it easier to move as store them.

These have been getting hard to find now - I'm not the only one who had this idea, apparently; or else heavy trucking is picking back up!


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## BobLovesGrass (Jun 13, 2020)

I had some evergreen bushes of some sort against the front of our house. They actually put up a fight against a 4wd Sierra even in 4lo and on concrete.........
I had to resort to also putting an inflated tire under the chain near the bush to get some upward lift. I have no idea how old they were but they were thoroughly established when I bought the house 8 years earlier and we have heavy clay.
So I would prepare for a fight if looking to pull bushes.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

My dad had bushes to get rid of in the backyard of his house, and he made a winch setup and pulled the balls up vertically on a tripod made out of PT 4x4s with a come-along and sliced the roots with a reciprocating saw. No vehicle access possible there!


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Thank God my wife knows better than to get in between me and a bad idea that's fun &#128514;


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