T post pulling

[Mr_Yan]

So guys I have 7 t-posts that I need to remove and the ground doesn't want to let go.

I worked at one for about 20 or 30 minutes using a shovel, post hole digger, and working it back and forth. All I did was get it loose, wobbly, and dig a hole but it won't come out.

As I start looking around for ideas I see several post pullers. The simplest of these is a steel rectangle that you attach to a chain and lift out with a tractor bucket or jack. (Like this one)

Is there another option without spending $15 to $20 for one of these or $50 to $100 for a dedicated puller?

Would giving the post a wrap or two of chain and locking it off with a quick-link or bolt be a bad or dangerous idea?

 

[w_r_ranch]

I've seen people use a chain attached to a vehicle & a spare tire. It works, but there is a high probability of getting hurt if the chain should break (I have seen this method take out windshields)... Very similar to this video.

If you have or can borrow a bumper jack & have a decent chain, you can do it this way.

Personally, I think $40 for a T-post puller is money wisely spent myself. The other option is just cutting it off flush with the ground.

 

[Mr_Yan]

@w_r_ranch The first vid using the spare tire looks effective but breaking chain and the subsequent whip could be deadly. Brings me back to my assumption that most people are idiots. I watched the second vid before starting the thread. The only part that kept me from doing something like that is I didn't think I had the hardware on hand. I do tend to wood working rather than mechanic (or redneck) type stuff.

After church I walked up to the garden and found a length of chain (about 1 meter worth, medium weight I guess - links about 30 mm long and 5 or 6 mm material diameter) that had a quick link on one end. I was up for giving that a try using the bucket of the tractor to lift the t-post out. I pulled the tractor up to the post so the bucket was next to the post. Put a double wrap of the chain around the t-post really low to the ground and closed it off with the quick-link and attached it to the bucket using the centered chain hook. I do know enough to slide the chain link into the hook and not loop the link over the hook point - guess many in my generation don't know that, damn millennials. After all was hooked up I jumped back into the seat and slowly lifted the bucket and the post came right out. After 20 minutes, and 14 times in and out of the tractor sear, all seven posts were out. I didn't even run over a kale plant next to the row of posts.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Oh yeah on the spare tire method. My car is a 5 speed Kia Rio and I'm still not great at driving a manual. I'm not sure I'd be able to use that car even if I was crazy enough to try it.

 

[Mike]

Haven't tried the spare tire method but when we replaced our fence in the back yard we had a few poles that needed to be pulled out. We used a truck, pull strap, and a 2x4. Tie the pull strap low on the pole, place the 2x4 under it then attach to truck and slowly pull. The 2x4 causes the pulling motion to be straight up then out. Worked perfectly.

 

[wolffman]

If you have access to a tractor, I built a very simple fixture for my 3 point hitch that will pull T-posts easily. Its just a piece of metal welded on to a drawbar that is cut so that it engages the little nubs on the T-post. I just back up to a post and lift it out.

 

[Wormee]

I have spare mud tires lying around the garage and could be used on this trick. Would want to try this but wouldn't it be easier if winch will be used? My worry on this trick is something terrible might happen if the cable might snap or the 2x4 would slip. Also, how do you prevent the tires from fly back if you'd use the truck to pull?

 

[Mike]

Also, how do you prevent the tires from fly back if you'd use the truck to pull?

You're slowly pulling, not yanking. The slow pull with the strap and 2x4 is applying just enough torque to pull the post up not to cause it to go flying. Slow and easy wins the race.

 

[ksk]

As Ranch mentions above,I have pulled them with a four foot bumper jack and chains.Some were even in cement.

 

[Mr_Yan]

A few weeks ago I had to pull a piece of 3" PVC I drove in about 3' deep to hold the upright for a trellis. I used a double 8' 2x4 as a lever, two cinder blocks about 2' from the PVC and a loop of 550 paracord through a hole in the PVC. It levered right out.

This PVC sleeve idea works great for uprights. Oversize the PVC relative to the upright and get it close to level (vertical). Then slide the upright in and back fill with sand while holding the upright plumb. When you want to remove the upright you can simply remove the sand and slide the upright out. I learned this from my grandfather when we set a 25' flagpole.