skid steer vs. excavator

[wally hamma]

which would be better to clear pasture (timber it has not been in pasture for 25 years) a track , tire, or excavtor with a tree shear?

 

[wally hamma]

which would be better to clear pasture (timber it has not been in pasture for 25 years) a track , tire, or excavtor with a tree shear? Who makes the best shears?

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Welcome to TBN!!!

 

[smstonypoint]

which would be better to clear pasture (timber it has not been in pasture for 25 years) a track , tire, or excavtor with a tree shear?

Wally,

There's a "Land Clearing" section here on TBN. You would probably increase your chances of getting useful responses in that section.

Steve

 

[LD1]

Wally,

There's a "Land Clearing" section here on TBN. You would probably increase your chances of getting useful responses in that section.

Steve

I agree, but welcome to TBN anyway.

If you do post in the landclearing section, be sure you give details. Like what kind of trees and how big??? How you want them removed?? Stumps out?? Flush cut?? And what do you plan on doing with the trees once down?? Firewood?? Mulch?? burn??

 

[wally hamma]

I agree, but welcome to TBN anyway.

If you do post in the landclearing section, be sure you give details. Like what kind of trees and how big??? How you want them removed?? Stumps out?? Flush cut?? And what do you plan on doing with the trees once down?? Firewood?? Mulch?? burn??

flush cut, i don't to work the ground to reseed. sone trees would be fire wood some would just be piled and burned.The trees are thorny locuss ,hedge,elm,oaks, and the size are 1in. to 2 feet. I know the big ones will need a chain saw.

 

[LD1]

All those you mentioned make excellent firewood.

I wouldn't be looking at any big equipment at all. It sounds like all you need is a chainsaw and a splitter. If you dont burn wood, sell it. If ya burn wood, there ya go.

But I wouldn't be looking at a big peice of expensive equipment for this one time or ocassional use. Buy a chainsaw. There are always things to cut and trim if you are maintaining any acerage at all. And if you dont have a tractor with a loader yet, they can make the wood cutting/hauling and brush piling/burning a lot easier.

 

[JD6430]

I cleared a few acres of old pasture over the past few years. I started with a 1845 Case skidsteer that has a bucket and thumb. Worked ok push the trees over grab them with the thumb and tug till they come out of the ground. Then went to a Kubota KX71 excavator,used the same as the skidsteer but easier to pull the trees and stack.
Then I moved up to a John Deere 135C with a 36 inch bucket and thumb. Lets just say I dont have any trees on my property that cant be moved now.

Go with the excavator and remove the stumps, A shear is not needed.

 

[20 20]

For getting stumps out an excavator, for the ease of grabbing turning and pulling an excavator. For pushing large loads etc... skidsteer as long as you can get traction. It depends on your terrian if it is soft/sloppy then a wheeled skidsteer will be useless. Tracked machines reguire more maintenance, but might be well worth it depending on your needs. You can also get OTT{over the tire tracks} for skidsteers which makes a difference. You also need to plan for the future, which machine will fill your needs better down the road?

 

[SixHoeBob]

Start with a skidsteer with a tooth bucket. Remember that backing into any twig or stick will put a hole in the radiator. A steel tracked skid steer with a grinder head would save a lot of brush burning. Next would be the chain saw, followed by the skidsteer again. Then tackle the bigger trees once there are some clear areas to work in.