Cost of clearing land-dozer

[Highbeam]

Assuming you can and want to burn the slash, then I would first call in an excavator to pick and pile the slash into several large piles. You will be amazed at how much slash comes from a small area of forest. The same excavator can burn the slash, nothing stacks slash as well as an excavator.

The next guy comes out with a dozer and a root rake to smooth, level, and pile up any additional junk left behind. Depending on how well the excavator did his job this dozer step can be replaced with a tractor. This final junk pile will be dirty roots and such and perhaps you can just let it rot.

A dozer is not the best tool for clearing land that is to be used for pasture in the future due to compaction and topsoil stripping. They are good for pushing dirt around.

I bought a small bulldozer to work on clearing my 15 acres. I was able to push in pioneer roads and do some clearing but I dumped the dozer for a tractor after I hired a logger to cut trees and clear a small area. The logger had an excavator which made all the time I spent clearing with the dozer seem foolish.

I attached a picture of the area that was once dense NW forest. You couldn't walk through. The excavator left me a surface free of slash but so rough that I couldn't drive through it. The boxscraper on my tractor was used as a makeshift dozer to get it all graded smooth.

 

[InlineDieselFan]

I was quoted $1,200 an acre, cleared and I burn the stumps.

This is for stumps and brush not trees.

JD 450 $125 an hour with operator.

JD 650 $150 an hour with operator.

Rental of JD 450 about $900 for 40 hours on the hour meter, JD 650 $1,100 for 40 hours.

The types of trees and brush along with the terrain will greatly vary the cost. Time wise you have some really good operators and soem that are just okay. Find the really good operator.

steve

 

[EddieWalker]

Neither dozer is very big and you'll be hugely disapointed with them. In the JD line, you need at least a 700 to get anything done. The 750 is better and the 850 is equal to the Cat D6.

The 450 is a small dozer that you can haul around on a trailer with a pickup truck. I have quite a few hours on a 45G and can speak from experience. It's good for working on a pad for a home, or light grading work. Anything above a sapling is too much for it to take out effectively. Trees 3 to 4 inches thick will stop it cold. You can get them out with some effort with the blade, but you're wasting hours on small stuff with a small machine.

Once you get a bunch knocked down, it can't move a ver large pile. One or two small trees at a time is another huge waste of your hours.

The 650 is bigger and better than the 450, but it's still on the light side.

Eddie

 

[InlineDieselFan]

Eddie,

Thanks, I was looking at renting the JD 650 in a few months. I guess I will look around and see if I ca nrent something bigger.

steve

 

[johnnyringo]

Burning is definitely an option in my area so the windrow idea is a good one as I could stir the piles with my fel. Clearing with excavators must not be too popular in eastern OK as no one in the eastern part of the state seems to advertise this but dozers are plentiful.

I've also seen several posts and videos about mulching machines and they look like a good idea but again I searched my area and didn't come up with anything.

I meet the dozer guy on Friday afternoon. I'll keep you posted as to what he estimates. A lady I work with also gave him high praise as her family has had several projects in the past that he has done.

The county is actually putting a culvert in next week....FOR FREE! I couldn't believe it. I will get a project post going once there is activity on my property as I like following the other members projects. And with pictures!

 

[KentT]

For those considering tub grinding, I'd offer a couple of suggestions:

1. Bring in the biggest grinder you can get to your site... they bigger they are, the faster they'll go through the material.

2. Try to minimize the distance the track-hoe has to move to feed it... you pay for hours on the grinder's meter. You want those hours to be fully productive.

I paid $425 an hour last spring in East TN for a 365HP Vermeer grinder with a 24" x 50" throat, and the Cat trackhoe to feed it.

Then, I paid $50 an hour for a little Komatsu dozer to keep the trees pushed to the trackhoe so he didn't have to move much, or far, and to keep the mulch pushed out of the way.

I figure that having the dozer there saved me between $1000 and $2000 in the total price, since the trackhoe could keep the grinder's hopper full at all times. When the grinder's clock was running, it was producing mulch...

Be aware that you shouldn't typically use mulch from freshly cut and ground hardwoods for landscaping for a year or so -- they're so acidic at first, because of the sap, that you risk killing any plants you put it around... Fresh-cut trees will grind faster, but then your mulch needs to sit and age.

There's more pics here of my clearing job if anyone is interested:

Making Mulch May 5 & 8http://loonlanding.info/images/mulch/mm_1_800_small.jpg

 

[johnnyringo]

I met with the dozer guy and it was good news. He said no bigger and no thicker than my trees were he could cut my road and clear ten acres in about 20 hours. He said on average it takes him about two hours an acre on projects like mine. His rate is $100/hour with a Case 1150. Of course thats only clearing and piling with no leveling but will be smooth enough to brushhog. I think I will spend the extra and have him burn the piles since the dozer will already be there to stir them.

So with that said I am going to have a pond dug also. I look forward to sharing this project with you. I'll get some before photos posted soon.

 

[tommu56]

I had about 2 acres cleared, a hole for septic tank, and hole for drain field done in about a day. The operator pushed the trees all over and stacked them in 3 piles
his rate was $100/ hr and worked 10 hr day he was a good operator and didn't even brake for lunch. it would have taken me 10 years with my bx 23 to do what he did in a day.

tommu56

 

[Highbeam]

That's great news. Any man that can clear that much material that quickly must be very good at what he does. Most of us could learn a boatload by watching him but just stay out of his way and don't lend him your equipment. Something tells me it will be fast and furious.

2 hours per acre is outstanding and I hope you both agree on what "cleared" means. For reference, I was quoted more than 2000$ per acre of cleared and burned forest but not leveled and that was on a 100$ per hour machine. Your guy is claiming to work 20 times as fast.

This has the makings of a great story.

 

[Coyote]

I cleared 2 1/2 acres for $1600 and it took a dozer AND a track hoe 2 days. Do the math to figure for 20 acres! It will be many huge piles of trees to burn/bury/haul off. I just pushed mine into a long large windrow at the back of the field and saved a lot of money.

I'm sure it depends on where your at but the price here for a similar wooded area is 700.00/ac cleared, piled and burned. At least it was last March.