Clearing woods, building a pond

[Leejohn]

Mike,
I have not meet them yet. I moved here in 1997 from Rockton, Ill and only go to town when I have to. I like working in my shop and running my tractors everyday, there is always something to do to run one of them. If I run across them I sure well tell them you said hay.
EddieWalker knows how to take trees out and if you need more help on that I would be calling him.

Good luck on getting the trees out, have fun doing it and be safe.

Lee

 

[Tororider]

I agree with Eddie and Have_Blue, stumps aren't any fun. I cleared about 3/4 of an acre with a chainsaw a pto mounted chipper, 6" capacity, and some chain. The stumps that I left too short weren't any fun to try and pull out and it was made lots easier with my dad on the tractor and me on the ground with an axe chopping roots. We were able to chip anything under 6" and made quite a bit of chips, although not as much as you would think for the amount of trees that went through it. I don't have a backhoe/excavator, but I am sure that would have made it infinitely easier to get the stumps out.

I think if you can find someone willing to work with you on logging your area you will be time and money ahead. Even if you tell them they can have the lumber if they leave you a fully cleared and level area, you can save yourself lots of time and effort.

Eddie would be one of the best to get tips on building a pond from, although I would second heading over to Pondboss.com as there are a bunch of people who do that for a living over there.

Good Luck!! And keep us updated.

 

[mkane09]

"That's why trees blow over but stumps never do! "... I wish I would have said that.

Good information, fellas. I'm going to start clearing as soon as deer season is over. Just after Christmas. I'll try to get some pics in progress.

Mike

 

[john_bud]

"That's why trees blow over but stumps never do! "
Mike

That is an Instant Classic!

 

[EddieWalker]

How about using a trackhoe with a thumb for pulling and carrying trees to a burn pile? I'm also cutting a drive onto the top of a knob and clearing a building site. Any advice on stone/gravel base for the drive? The pond will come much later, so I have time to do the right research before I start that. I have a LOT of trees to remove...

Thanks for all the help.

Mike

Mike,

The trackhoe is probably the best machine for land clearing that there is. Especially if you want the roots gone. If you are just wanting pasture of a field, then a mulcher is faster, and faster is always cheaper. With a trackhoe, you want enough HP to get it done without wasting allot of money buying HP that you don't need. Where that is will be the mystery. I'm thinking a 160 class machine is about right on up to a 200 or so. The smaller machines will be a challend on the larger trees to get anything done, and since you are not transporting it, there is no advantage to going smaller. The bigger machines are just so expensive that it's hard to justify the cost of them. Be very carful with a trackhoe and a burn pile. They have very good AC in them and it's real easy to get too close for too long to a fire and not know how hot it is outside. This is how allot ot trackhoes catch on fire. Look around and they are almost the only machines that you will see that catch on fire. Good advice is to leave the door open when working a burn pile. If it's too hot for you in the seat, it's getting too hot for your hoses and any oil leaks that you might have. The only disadvantage to the trackhoe is if you have to carry the logs or stumps any distance. It's just not very good or efficient at transporting anything. It's very, very slow. You burn where you are clearning and then move on to a new area, you start a new burn pile.

For gravel driveways, you want a good crown and drainage on the road first. The secret for a road to last is to keep it dry. Get the water off of the road as fast as possible is rule number one. The wider the ditch, the slower the water will move, wich makes for easier mowing and less erosion. When putting down the gravel, you can use fabric, but if the soil is compacted, dry and has a crown to it, fabric isn't needed. I don't use it, but allot of guys swear by it. Get road base type rock. It will be from several inches across to very fine powder and everything in between. It must have jagged edges too!!! The reason for this type of rock is that when it's compacted, it will lock together and form a water tight surface. Four inches is the minimum for it to lock together with 6 inches being better. Anything after that is just wasting money.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[mkane09]

Eddie, how much should trackhoe rental run me? I've been quoted $285/day by the local Kubota dealer for what looks like a fairly small machine (sorry, don't have the model number details). How much to rent a small dozer on average? Also, what is needed in the way of diesel supplies on site to keep working? How do I manage that? Buy/rent a large diesel tank, say, 200 gallons or so? How much diesel will a trackhoe burn in 8-10 hours?

I walked the land again today. There are more big trees than I originally thought. Not necessarily in diameter, but in height. Some have to be 50-60 feet tall. I'm thinking maybe a two stage plan here: I take down everything I can with the tractor and trackhoe, cut the bigger stuff into 8 feet logs and transport everything I can with the tractor, call in the professionals for the really big/tall stuff. What do you think?

Mike

 

[have_blue]

That's going to depend on the HP of your equipment.

I think a rough estimate is ~.5 Ga. per HP per 10 hour day.

 

[EddieWalker]

While Kubota makes an excellent trackhoe, it's a toy compared to what you want for land clearing. You really need to be thinking yellow iron and monthly rental rates if you are going to rent.

Prices are very different around the country on rental rates, and I'm not up to date on them myself. I did get some prices years ago and decided to buy the equipment that I needed instead. It takes allot of time to get anything done, and I've been at it on my land for over 5 years now with the results just starting to show.

Some of the numbers that I remember were in the $5,000 a month range for an 80 hp dozer. Most of the dealers rent equipment, but it didn't take long to do the math on renting versus buying when I needed it for years. Some months I don't do anything with my stuff and that's fine since it's paid for. Other months, I run them every day.

When I'm done with what I'm doing, I'll sell everything that I own and buy one brand new tractor to maintain the place. What that will be, I have no idea, but I also don't know when that will happen either. I do expect to sell each piece of equipement for what paid for them, or even more then what I paid, but probably a bit less then what I have into them with the repairs and rebuilds that I've done to them. New engines and things like that.

If you have a budget, then we'd be able to offer suggestions on what you could consider buying. My favorite, all around, do everything tractor is going to be a full sized loader/backoe in 4wheel drive and have a 4 in 1 bucket with quick attach so that you can remove the bucket and put on other attachments.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[cmuncy]

If you want a good idea of rental prices, go to Construction Equipment Rentals & Tool Rentals -- Rental Equipment, Rent Tools & Equipment | Sunbelt Rentals .
If you enter your zip code, it will give you a good idea what the equipment will cost you, that is, if you have one in your area.

If not, try using 77378 for a zip code as I have one just a few miles down the road.

 

[EddieWalker]

Cool site. I checked some prices and a Deer 160 excavator was $4,500 for a month, which I'd think would be the minimum for land clearing, though smaller would work, it would also take allot longer. The Deere 750 dozer, which is smaller then my Case 1550 dozer is $7,000 for a month.

Eddie