Skid steer ?

[tdb8254]

I am trying to decide how to clean up mess left by logger on 6 acres. I do not yet have a tractor but am looking.
Mulching was too expensive. Could a rented skid steer with grapple or 4-in 1 bucked be good choice to pile slash for burning? Never operated one, do rental companies give you basics on how to operate?

Thanks for any suggestions

[rd_macgregor]

Is the land slated for reforestation (replanting or natural regen)? If so, leaving the slash distributed across the site is probably the best approach, biologically...but the aesthetics suck for a few years.
If you have other uses for the site...or just can't stand how it looks...then a grapple rake or bucket grapple will do the job. If the site is very rough/hilly, I'd prefer a tractor over a skid steer, which has lower ground clearance than a tractor, but also lower center of gravity and better maneuverability. For slash piles, the tippi-ness of a skid-steer probably makes less difference than for moving whole, uprooted trees...though remaining stumps may be a ground-clearance issue for driving the SS through the lot.
BOB

[SixHoeBob]

A skid steer with a toothed bucket is the simplest approach to land clearing.
Rake the area by back dragging with the bucket teeth. Push every thing into piles. Roll the brush as you are pushing it to allow the dirt to fall off. The object is to have piles of brush with a minimum of dirt. Dig out all sticks, weeds, and small trees. They have a way of poking holes in the radiator. Given a month or two, the piles will be dry and burn like kindling. Don't make the piles to big, once they start burning you are committed. I only burn when it is raining to avoid setting the county on fire.

I have a grapple rake, but I only use it if I need to move piles. A tooth bucket
is sufficient in most cases.

Skid loader is much faster than a tractor.

Work when the ground is dry.

[tdb8254]

Thanks for the input. The site is to be for my new house. I need to pile the slash in two areas of the property to get proper clearance from the remaining forest so I will need to pick up and move the brush up to 350 ft from where I pick it up. I think that I need something that can gasp the brutish so that I can transport to the pile.

[Birdhunter1]

a tracked skidloader or a compact track loader with a tooth bucket and a root grapple will do everything you want and need to do. Learning how to operate one isn't difficult, with tracks they will go places no tractor would dare to ever go and they are very stable and ride smooth. This is one of those situations where bigger is better and the largest compact track loader you can get is what you want. I rented one a few months ago at a rate of $1100 or so a week, it was a Bobcat T 300.

[radman1]

Do not get a 4in1 bucket. Yes, it can grapple some stuff, but the amount it can carry and ease of use/speed is nothing compared to a true grapple bucket.

[tdb8254]

Thanks for all the feed back. i was able to watch several videos on Utube of a skid steer with a root grapple and a tractor with a root grapple on a FEL. Seems either would work for me but I thinkI will go with a skid steer ( if I can find one to rent) as it seems to be a bit easier to get into tight spaces between trees.

[davygp38]

a tracked skidloader or a compact track loader with a tooth bucket and a root grapple will do everything you want and need to do. Learning how to operate one isn't difficult, with tracks they will go places no tractor would dare to ever go and they are very stable and ride smooth. This is one of those situations where bigger is better and the largest compact track loader you can get is what you want. I rented one a few months ago at a rate of $1100 or so a week, it was a Bobcat T 300.

I was looking at buying a T300, how did you like it? plenty of power? Easy to use?

[Birdhunter1]

I was looking at buying a T300, how did you like it? plenty of power? Easy to use?

I rented a T300 from a local rental yard and while it was a nice machine and I got alot done with it it was lacking in the power department. I could kill the machine pushing too hard and while it should spin the tracks before loosing power it did not spin the tracks it instead died. While it should run around with an empty or full bucket of dirt uphill as fast as it can go I had to baby it up hills (that were not steep) or else it would tucker out. I can say it was underpowered with certainty, a friend of mine has a large concrete business and his T300, while literally being the same machine I rented, is much more powerful. I suspect the machine I rented needed a fuel filter changed, I know the air filter was filthy but I cleaned it out as best I could which helped some. I also suspect the rental yard may have turned the fuel down so the machine can't be run as hard, I have know way of knowing but even my fried I mentioned who owns 6 of them said he would burn it if it were his. I used my friends T300 quite a bit when he was at my place prepping the spot where my shop is now. While shopping you should know that a T 250 and 300 are the same machine with a different lift path thus making the T300 have a higher lifting capacity. He also has 2 T250's which I have run them as well, for what I was doing they were plenty powerful enough as well.

For what it's worth the T180 my buddy has (2 of them actually) are fine machines as well. Not near as much power as a T300 but you can get alot done with one. The T190 is the same machine but vertical lift path instead of radial on the 180.

[davygp38]

Hey, thanks for the info. I have been asking around about these machines for a while, and thats the most info I ever got. I really appreciate the info on the T250.