spollan
New member
Hello everyone. I have been lurking for some time and have read a few hundred posts but have confused myself to the point I don't know what the best route would be. Sorry if this gets long.
I have about 200 acres of timber land and have just acquired an adjacent property which is about 250 acres. The new property has 3 overgrown pastures which have not been maintained in several years. The brush is thick and I want to return these to pasture/wildlife plots. The main trees which have sprouted up are sweet gum and willow with a few oaks and various other species. The max height of the trees is about 20 feet with a max diameter of around 5 inches. The total area I want to clear over time is 75 acres.
With the recent purchase, my funds are low for new equipment purchases. My current equipment is limited to a Kabota L3400 FEL, 5 ft brush hog, and a Ford 7710 FEL (2wd) with a 15 ft batwing mower.
I have looked at purchasing (1) a tree shear for the Ford along with a front root rake/grapple, (2) a brown tree cutter along with a root rake, (3) an older Deere 450c dozer (along with nothing else because it eats up my budget).
Of course a mulcher setup with a giant skid steer would be the ultimate, but the budget certainly doesn't allow for that. I don't want to hire it done since it is such a large job.
Does anyone have any input on the three options or have any other suggestions for a way to get this job done. My overall budget is $15,000.
Thanks for your time.
I have about 200 acres of timber land and have just acquired an adjacent property which is about 250 acres. The new property has 3 overgrown pastures which have not been maintained in several years. The brush is thick and I want to return these to pasture/wildlife plots. The main trees which have sprouted up are sweet gum and willow with a few oaks and various other species. The max height of the trees is about 20 feet with a max diameter of around 5 inches. The total area I want to clear over time is 75 acres.
With the recent purchase, my funds are low for new equipment purchases. My current equipment is limited to a Kabota L3400 FEL, 5 ft brush hog, and a Ford 7710 FEL (2wd) with a 15 ft batwing mower.
I have looked at purchasing (1) a tree shear for the Ford along with a front root rake/grapple, (2) a brown tree cutter along with a root rake, (3) an older Deere 450c dozer (along with nothing else because it eats up my budget).
Of course a mulcher setup with a giant skid steer would be the ultimate, but the budget certainly doesn't allow for that. I don't want to hire it done since it is such a large job.
Does anyone have any input on the three options or have any other suggestions for a way to get this job done. My overall budget is $15,000.
Thanks for your time.