When I had my 1975 Ford E150 I used it to remove heavy brush. I would hook up a couple chains to the trailer hitch and to a shrub I wanted to remove. As some of these were rather large, I put on my seat belt and then cushioned the steering wheel with a large moving blanket before starting a suicide run. 10 feet of slack on the chain usually made for a successful run. Only a few times I came to a sudden stop. This was before air bags. I now have a 2000 Ford F150. My question is, how big of a tree can I attempt to pull, without setting off the air bag.
There’s only one way to find out…
Actually, I don’t think you could make this happen in this manner. Airbags usually go off after a collision with an immovable object at around 30mph or the equivalent. The most speed you can get in ten feet is maybe 7-10mph, not enough to set off the air bags.
You may also want to consider getting an older beater truck to do this with since it is not good at all for any vehicle, unless this is your beater truck. I certainly wouldn’t do that to a daily driver, since you could easily bend or break something. One other thing: get a headache rack for the truck before you do this stuff. That will prevent you from getting whacked in the head and killed by a flying tree stump coming through your back window, which is entirely possible in a pickup and a non-issue in your old Econoline.
Make sure this activity is being taped,you may have gold here.
Yup!
America’s Funniest Home Videos, or any of various programs on TruTv would likely be very interested in a video of this exercise.
Use your F150 truck to haul a chain saw, a 55 gallon barrel (with no top or bottom) & some hardwood scraps & a bit of old rubber tube.
Cross hatch the stump to ground level on about 4" centers both directions.
Soak stump with diesel fuel and put the barrel over the stump, light it up and have a beer while sitting on the truckbed.
Void in CA so you don’t set the whole state on fire.
Have you considered a heavy duty tripod with a powered winch, or perhaps a hydraulic unit? Once it’s rolled up, a winch on the truck can then be used to drag it into the pickup bed.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper, easier on your vehicle, and all around more fun to blow it up?
Fairly certain those with clean records are allowed to use ANFO in situations like this…
Especially if you rip the frame off.
You might look into how to disable the air bags temporarily. A quick look at the internet makes me think that it should be possible, but that you are going to have to wade through a wealth of misinformation in order to find out how to tranquilize the silly things. It may be as simple a matter as disconnecting the electrical connection, but you’ll want to make sure you understand exactly what you are doing before you do it.
… Not that safety and this method of stump removal would seem to have a great deal of common ground.
I pull stumps in reverse using the tow loops/hooks just under the front bumper bolted to the frame. ( mine is a 4X4 )
Does your truck have these ?
I used my big honkiin GMC in a similar fassion, pulling small (4") stumps. I got one of those big hooks a tow truck uses and hooked it into the stump. I gave it a good running start. After the second or third try the stump gave. Gave and I saw the whold mess, chanins and hook included, go flying by the cab. I have learned since that it pays to do more smalled nudges and just loosen the offending stump. you can see it weaking and finally come out with no such disaster, and much easire on the truck.
Your airbags won’t go off unless you hit something with the front of the truck. Pulling stumps won’t qualify. 2nd generation airbags won’t go off unless you hit something rather hard. They even sense whether or not you have your seatbelt on or have a passenger in the right seat. They won’t pop at low speeds if you’re buckled in.
Yes, a tall tree, even a weak one like a poplar, could toppple into the truck. The higher on the tree you can fasten your chain to, the more leverage you will have to get it out of the ground. Stumps, of course, are rather short by definition.
Have you considered taking a used truck dealer’s wares for a test pull?