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Originally Posted by JMER
Hi, I'm brand new to the forum although I've been reading for a few weeks now. We just bought 2 acres of land that I want to start clearing to build a house. The land is completely wooded with mostly 12" diameter and smaller trees. There is also about 2/3 acre with very thick undergrowth, vines, thicket type stuff. The rest of the land isn't as thick. I want to pick and choose the trees I take down as there are a ton of dogwoods i want to save.
I'm planning to buy a tractor (maybe in the 25-30hp range?) w/a FEL to clear this land. My question is:
1.) Is this size tractor enough?
2.) What are the techniques to use to clear the 12" and smaller trees AND to clear all the vines and thicket w/a FEL?
3.) Should I buy a backhoe?
The vines and thicket run from the ground up about 7'-8'. I know it would make more sense to hire a CAT to clear it all, but I want to do it myself and I want to have a good reason to buy a tractor. Any suggestions on what type of tractor are welcome as well.
Thank you to everyone who is able to reply. I'll post this in the projects forum as well since the questions span a couple forums.
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I'd be looking at a Kubota BX24 with FEL/backhoe or equivalent. It's powerful enough (24hp engine, 17hp
pto) to handle your site preparation and construction chores.
You can detach the backhoe and get yourself a rototiller to put in your lawn. I used a Kubota B7510HST/LA302 FEL and a $300 used Yanmar RS1200 rototiller to put in lawns for my new place in 2006. Get yourself a nice riding mower for lawn maintenance, maybe a ZTR-type if you have a big lawn.
A 4-ft rotary mower (brush hog) is fairly inexpensive ($700 or so) for mowing the rough areas. If your trees are closely spaced, maybe a flail mower is the way to go. These are used quite a bit around here in the olive and almond orchards.