Clearing Brush - best attachment(s)?

[cart99]

I am planning to purchase a CUT/FEL/BrushHog soon (NH TC33DA or equivalent) and one of the first things I need to do is clear out about 30k sq. ft. of heavy brush to put in a fence line.

The brush is currently unpassable blackberry, honeysuckle, vines, poison ivy, Sumak trees 1/2" - 12" diameter, downed trees/limbs of various sizes, old barb-wire fence, snakes, ticks, lions, tigers and bears.

I am already planning to have a toothbar installed on the bucket, and probably a couple hooks welded to the top edge, but I was wondering what else I should consider? Specifically, is there something I can get that would grab the brush so I could yank it out without having to get into it with a rope/chain?

Thanks in advance!

 

[stevenf]

cart99, I'd have to say that my M9000's buggest job on a weekly basis is cleaning and clearing our 350 acre ranch. I'm not sure how big your tractor is but I bought a BTR grapple rake from CE attachments and it is bar none my favorite attachment to use it is very expensive and there are others that are not nearly as pricey but I only wanted to buy it once so I bought what I considered the heaviest, best made one I could find and time I was done with remote hydraulics for it the cost was something around $5,000. I'll include a picture
Steve

 

[tcb]

sounds like fun, make sure you get the cutter designed for right of way clearing there is a difference. i have a light duty 6 ft bush hog for mowing purposes and it makes some strange noises when i cut anythint larger than and inch and a half, just does not like to do it. i also have a extra heavy duty for clearing its rated to four inches but i swear it would do . just ease onto the tree and away it goes. if you can get a grapple for your loader and between the two all should go well.

tim

 

[jeffinsgf]

I'll second steven's rec. on a grapple, though mine wasn't quite that pricey. A grapple rake as opposed to a grapple bucket makes brush clearing faster --- you can grab something longer than the bucket and it can dig down and get the roots of shrubby plants and vines. Mine is for my Bobcat, instead of my tractor, but the principle is the same. I got mine on eBay from Attachments International for $1,400. I had to have my own hoses made, which added another $100 or so. I don't know if NH uses skidsteer design quick mounts on the FEL, but many do now. If so, this is what I would recommend.

 

[stevenf]

cart99, Jeff has a good point my grapple had to be custom made to fit my M9000 if you get a tractor that will accept skidsteer loader attachments you will be way money ahead because an awful lot of attachments are made for skidsteers that is custom on tractor loaders. It also becomes an advantage if you need to rent a attachment for a brief period as you will find most rental yards have rental skidsteer attchmts and almost none will have them for tractors probably because there is no real standard as there is in bobcat type attchmts.
Steve

 

[RedRocker]

You can add a grapple to your bucket too for a pretty reasonable cost.

 

[FL_Cracker]

I always start with my grapple. This gets all the dead stuff, small under brush, and then I work on the large trees. First I push on the tree at about 6' off the ground to test it and then I use the grapple to dig the roots. Just hit both sides a little and then push on the tree again. Soon the push will lean the tree almost all the way over. Then the grapple goes under the root ball and out the tree comes. Now I just move around to the side and pick up the whole tree and carry it to the burn pile. It really works great. Some times I'll bushhog between the clean up phase and the tree removale phase if there is a lot of small brush and vines.

Make the grapple the first attachment....

 

[have_blue]

Cart99,

The bush hog will take care of the 2" and smaller stuff, no sweat. That should clear it out pretty good. I would mow it 2 or 3 times over a period of a month or 6 weeks, and then take a another look at the big stuff.

If the ground is right, you can get the 3"-6" stuff with the FEL. Just snip some roots on 2 or 3 sides with the FEL, and then push the trees down. Since the brush is already chopped up, you won't get torn up when you dimount the tractor. You can hop off and chain them up and drag them to a brush pile or burn pile. You may even have room to build several small brush piles, and when you have maneuvering room, you can push them into a few larger brush piles.

The stuff over 6" will need some big iron to knock them down, or a chain saw.

 

[hobbyfarm]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The brush is currently unpassable blackberry, honeysuckle, vines, poison ivy, Sumak trees 1/2" - 12" diameter, downed trees/limbs of various sizes, old barb-wire fence, snakes, ticks, lions, tigers and bears.
)</font>

I'd start with a Rhino rotary cutter. They have some of the best specs for cutting the big stiff with 30hp min. <font color="brown">One model</font> is up to 4" stuff for your power.

 

[Tom_H]

I'd think about cutting & pulling out the poison ivy, cutting the trees with a chain saw, bulldozing everything into a pile, then burning it. The reason for eliminating the poison ivy first is that smoke with Toxicodendron oil is easily lethal.