I don't know how many of you guys have seat time in dozers but, anything smaller than a D6 is going to stop in it's tracks (literally) if it encounters a stump that low to the ground. Best bet is a larger excavator and a good operator who can pop the stumps and swing level/ pile the debris.
Fix,
I agree. But my goal is not to remove all the stumps and fill in the holes. This is just horse pasture and after many, many thread questions I've settled on the long term it is better to just grind them down a couple inches and let them rot in place, less divots in the pasture 10 to 15 years later...
When I put in a hayfield, I'll rent an ex and pop the stumps...
Right now I have approx an acre of heavy slash like in the picture... In that aea I have two large piles of stumps and dirt and debris also.
Pushing that slash with my FEL will torque it I am positive, and grabbing a couple sticks at a time is S L O W. Raking it with my grapple for a bigger bite has already broken one hyd line, because they are jumbled up like a game of pick up sticks.
It is far too big to just burn, and I could not put it out. I need to process it and if nothing else shove it into easy to grapple piles.
It is the shoving, pushing, and bending my FEL arms I am concerned about.
That layer of slash is between 6" and over 2' thick, and there are stumps under it. Some of the large log like chunks have been driven into the ground by the constant pounding of the skidder driving over them for 3 weeks also.
I have been told a skid steer the arms lock in better for pushing and shoving than a tractor's FEL.
I will also use it on the lighter mulching debris. Yes I can (I already am) back drag a section into a row of debris with the RR. Drop the RR and maybe add the tooth bar again, and use bucket to scoop up the row, or drop the bucket and put the grapple back on and grapple most of the debris to somewhere out of the way to rot. But that is changing attachments often and like sweeping 5 acres of floor with a 6' broom & dustpan...
I apreciate all of the advice, I am learning plenty, but my situation has not improved yet... I've still got one heck of a mess, not an area I can fence and seed...
David