Smitty Two wrote:
Based on Archimedes' bold lever concept and some drinking, I've come
up with a plan to pull down a dead tree with my Toyota Avalon and a
few lengths of stout towing chain. The tree is a birch, about 8-10"
diameter and maybe 30' tall. Those are rough estimates as I'm not
currently on site.

I'd like to pull it down rather than cutting it down, so that I can
get most of the roots and leave a nice hole for a replacement tree.
The plan would involve chaining the tree about 15' above ground, and
hooking the other end to some stout part of the car. There is plenty
of clearance around the tree, and it's right next to the driveway.

Now that I'm sober, I'm ready to suffer the slings and arrows of your
feedback. Is this concept even remotely feasible? What if I rented a 4
wheel drive truck with manual transmission? Or, if I could get even
more chain and a come-along, use the base of a bigger tree across the
street?

I've used a come-along to remove trees up to 4-6 inches in a similar manner,
with the addition of digging and cutting roots on the far side to remove the
largest resistance. Your chances on a tree that size are near zero, from my
experience, without a lot of root cutting first.

Leverage does work, but the forces incolved on a tree that size are very
significant. Got a big bulldozer?