Am I Nuts?

[cyamaha2007]

I would see what rental of a skidsteer with brush hog would cost. That way you dont have to worry about wear and tear. I rent on a 3 day weekend so i get 3 days for the price of one. My cost for last weekend was 250 for a 60hp skid loader. If you break your tractor it would likely cost way more than that. Also a skid loader is lightly armored on the bottom and you can probably get one with tracks. That being said i did a ton of brush work with by 3130 but wish i wouldnt have due to how fast i finished it with the skidloader.

 

[El Wood]

Thanks for all of the comments and advice! Well, I drove out to my property today and backed my tractor out of my neighbor's pole barn. He has been nice enough to let me keep it there while the house is being built. I then drove down to the neighbor's place who owns the excavating business to talk to him about heavy equipment. When I arrived there, I found he wasn't home. So I sat there on the tractor for a minute and thought I couldn't just pull it back into the garage and go home! So, I decided to go back to the site, push some dirt around, and see how it goes. I started going VERY slow. What I found is that due to the nearby wetland, the soil was pretty soft (or my grapple is a brute). I was actually able to drop the grapple tips into the soil, move forward and take a big chomp out of the brush. A lot of small trees just popped right out of the ground. The rest of the stuff, I just pushed over. I then fliped around and backed the cutter over the downed stuff until it was shredded. This is what it looked liked like pushed down...



I tried to keep a good eye on what was going underneith the tractor. I jumped off every 10 minutes or so to inspect the equipment. I'm glad I did because a few times, small branches jammed themselves up underneith. After awhile, I really started enjoying myself and started thinking what "jinman" said.... I didn't spend all this money on a tractor to keep it shiny hidden in the garage. All I can say is I had some GREAT seat time today and I think it's coming along nicely. I'm about 500 feet in with about 500 feet to go. There's no turning back now! :thumbsup: Here is how it turned out. Any suggestions on the job? Also, should I be greasing each time after this? Checking fluids? Thanks!

 

[bubbacuse77]

Like others have said: What are your concerns, time or wear on the tractor? I like your thought of getting your neighbor in there with the heavier equipment and using the tractor to clean up and do the finesse work but it looks like you put the throttle down already. I have the same set up and like you said watch to make sure larger sticks and branches don't get kicked up into the underside of the tractor catching on hydraulic lines. Have Fun!

 

[Gordon Gould]

Good for you :thumbsup: I was really surprised by the responces you were getting. I agreed with jinman. There is nothing there in your photos that I can see that a tractor and bushhog can't handle. All you need is a method, confidence, and common sense. You get those by experience. :thumbsup:

 

[B8FISH]

Looks like good "work" for your combo! Keep an eye on the levelness of the MX-5, while having the rear higher makes it easier to back into the brush, it also lets more debris fly out. If you work for a while and then make the deck more level and run over the entire area a time or two it will really shred everything and leave a smoother path (this is where a hydraulic top link really shines!!). You should be able to chop anything in the 1" range easily, but definitely go around the 2" ers as Jinman suggested.

also, just noticed the tree line in one of your shots--did there used to be a road or laneway back to the pond--those trees are in a nice straight line!

 

[DT86]

All you need is a method, confidence, and common sense. You get those by experience. :thumbsup:

Yeah, what he said.

If you can't get this done with your grapple then why own one??

Have fun, stay safe and post lots of pictures.

 

[dave1949]

I would go through with a chain saw first cutting the larger stuff off at ground level. Lay that stuff down and grapple what you can, bush hog over it to take off the thin whips.

If you make a first pass about 12' wide and get that clear, you can drop trees and brush from both sides into that space and use the grapple on them.

Yes, you can use your cutter on that stuff, but a first pass with the chain saw will take a lot of the punishment off it and reduce the chance of "spearing" something on your tractor. It really doesn't take that long to go through with a chainsaw first, you will be using the tractor to do the hard part of the project--picking up and moving piles of brush.

 

[tractorshopper]

Looking good.

 

[RoyJackson]

Personally, I don't see a problem with cutting most of what's shown in the pictures (first post). Do go slow and keep your bucket as low as possible to find any obstructions you may not want to run over.
The stuff you show in the pictures is no thicker then I cut with a 16.5 PTO HP Deere 670 and a Landpride medium duty cutter (about 4-5 acres of neglected right-of-way). Most of the brush was as high as the cowl, some as high as the ROPS. I just went as slow as I could (1st gear Low Range...about 0.7 MPH) and kept the radiator screens cleared.
After you clear the underbrush, you can take down those trees with the proper equipment.

As far as damage or excessive wear and tear..I just don't see that as a problem

 

[EE_Bota]

I don't see anything that scares me TOO bad, but do the math right in case something goes wrong: Don't count your fun because anything you rent to do the work would also be fun. But do pretend you are renting your tractor for this work so if you damage something, or bust a tire, etc, you won't get down about it or feel foolish. If you formally lay aside the rental fee saved, if in the end no damage was done, you might reward yourself for your decision with a new implement.