jdbower
Platinum Member
We’ve got some wet-ish woods behind our house and the wife would like to have a 4-6’ wide and roughly 1/2 mile long winding trail cut through them for walking – probably to discuss feelings or something but I don’t mind since I’ve got headphones. Tree spacing won’t be an issue since I'd prefer to clear around them rather than cut them down but I will have to remove the undergrowth which mostly consists of thorny brambles. This is more of a long-term project than a job that needs to be done quickly, so I don’t mind extra seat time if it means getting some simpler but more generally useful tools and making multiple passes. The primary workhorse (besides me) is a John Deere 2520 with R4 tires, 4WD, 20HP at the PTO and 25HP at the wheels.
I’m thinking that the first step will involve use of either a rotary cutter on my 2520 or a standalone cutter like a DR walk-behind mower – benefit of the latter being maneuverability but at the expense of yet another gas tank to feed and engine to maintain. As of now I’m leaning towards a 4’ or 5’ rotary cutter which should match the roughly 4’ wheel stance of the 2520 (with a 4’ I’ll probably make a second pass to try to widen the path a bit). During the cutting I’ll be using the loader to down any saplings in the way and to find rocks, I’ll probably be making a pass or two with the loader for this purpose and to scope things out before attaching the cutter.
After that I was planning on pulling a box blade to try to level things out, this will likely be a few weeks (and possibly a few cuts) after the initial clearing to let the roots die off a bit. I’ll probably need plenty of extra fill for some of the low spots during this phase, but that shouldn’t be a problem. If I’m clearing 5’ of bramble I was planning on getting a 4’ blade. Of course, if you guys recommend a slightly wider blade like a 5’ given that a 4’ will barely cover the tractor footprint I’m open to cutting a 6’ swath in multiple passes.
After the box blade, which I assume will be at least an annual event (probably more in the beginning), I was thinking of getting a water-filled tow-behind roller to compress the ground again. This would be the same size as the box blade. I’m assuming that the steel would be preferred to the poly version in general or is there no real performance difference?
Longer term I’ll probably get a spreader to build up the sand content of the soil so it compacts better and helps stave off some growth, but really this is an excuse for a long term project and reason to play with (and acquire!) toys. I probably won’t be starting this project for a while, but I’ve got some more immediate use for a lawn roller and box blade so I was hoping to ensure that I look at the right sizes. Is this a viable process? Does 4’ sound right to you learned fellows for trail maintenance given a ~5’ cleared area (at the narrowest)? 4’ seems to be the magic number since that’s the 2520’s footprint.
Thanks for reading a lengthy post!
I’m thinking that the first step will involve use of either a rotary cutter on my 2520 or a standalone cutter like a DR walk-behind mower – benefit of the latter being maneuverability but at the expense of yet another gas tank to feed and engine to maintain. As of now I’m leaning towards a 4’ or 5’ rotary cutter which should match the roughly 4’ wheel stance of the 2520 (with a 4’ I’ll probably make a second pass to try to widen the path a bit). During the cutting I’ll be using the loader to down any saplings in the way and to find rocks, I’ll probably be making a pass or two with the loader for this purpose and to scope things out before attaching the cutter.
After that I was planning on pulling a box blade to try to level things out, this will likely be a few weeks (and possibly a few cuts) after the initial clearing to let the roots die off a bit. I’ll probably need plenty of extra fill for some of the low spots during this phase, but that shouldn’t be a problem. If I’m clearing 5’ of bramble I was planning on getting a 4’ blade. Of course, if you guys recommend a slightly wider blade like a 5’ given that a 4’ will barely cover the tractor footprint I’m open to cutting a 6’ swath in multiple passes.
After the box blade, which I assume will be at least an annual event (probably more in the beginning), I was thinking of getting a water-filled tow-behind roller to compress the ground again. This would be the same size as the box blade. I’m assuming that the steel would be preferred to the poly version in general or is there no real performance difference?
Longer term I’ll probably get a spreader to build up the sand content of the soil so it compacts better and helps stave off some growth, but really this is an excuse for a long term project and reason to play with (and acquire!) toys. I probably won’t be starting this project for a while, but I’ve got some more immediate use for a lawn roller and box blade so I was hoping to ensure that I look at the right sizes. Is this a viable process? Does 4’ sound right to you learned fellows for trail maintenance given a ~5’ cleared area (at the narrowest)? 4’ seems to be the magic number since that’s the 2520’s footprint.
Thanks for reading a lengthy post!
