Land Clearing ~ 30 acres

[tjkadar]

Downside to grinding is the stump will eventually rot. When it does, its going to leave a hole that is waiting to break a horse's leg. For some reason, cows do pretty good with the rotting stumps. Horses - well, they're an accident waiting for a place to happen.

 

[D7E]

The job is always best if you never make a stump . Big dozer to push them over wholesale then cut timber off then burn tops and bury stumps .

 

[Egon]

Then whatcha gunna do with do with the stumps?????

The root rake takes out the smaller ones. The u-blade digs out the large ones. Make a windrow of the stuff and let it rot. The root rake leaves the dirt behind. The heavy disk takes care of the rest. In fact for light bush the disk alone will work!!!!!!

Some place the trees are dozed off into windrows during the winter frost. In the spring the big disk will till it up. Breaking plough can also be used.

 

[D7E]

The root rake takes out the smaller ones. The u-blade digs out the large ones. Make a windrow of the stuff and let it rot. The root rake leaves the dirt behind. The heavy disk takes care of the rest. In fact for light bush the disk alone will work!!!!!!

Some place the trees are dozed off into windrows during the winter frost. In the spring the big disk will till it up. Breaking plough can also be used.

For the very small stuff (less than 6 inches) we sweep off in -20c but bigger stuff breaks off in the ground then having to wait till summer to dig them out so do it in two passes , Topple the big ones in summer then sweep everything into fires in winter to avoid dirt .

 

[tjkadar]

Remember guys, I live in South Carolina. :laughing: We rarely drop below 0 C and its even rarer to stay below 0 C for a whole day. I might have to wait until December for the first frost.

 

[reggiejr]

Have you considered buying your own excavator or renting one?
Without seeing the land i would suggest to rent or buy a good sized excavator with a thumb and pull and pile all the bigger stumps first.
Then rent a decent sized dozer with a root rake to level off everything else and finish grubbing the small stumps and brush out then burn everything.
I would for sure rent an excavator for a week and see how it goes i think you would be surprised what you could get done.
I would buy my own before i forked out 90k to hire it done.
Then you could do all your own projects with it and then sell it when your done and probably recover most of your investment.
Just keep in mind if you beat the machine repairs can get real expensive real fast but if you get a decent machine and use your head you could save lots of $$ if you do the work.

 

[DIRTROAD]

The u-blade digs out the large ones.

Actually a V-blade is more for busting out stumps and a KG-blade is perfect for it. A U-blade is made for moving dirt.

A Drum Chopper is also better for going over the debris than discs.

 

[Egon]

Actually a V-blade is more for busting out stumps and a KG-blade is perfect for it. A U-blade is made for moving dirt.

A Drum Chopper is also better for going over the debris than discs.

U-blade with tilt works for many things.

Does a drum chopper turn over the soil?

 

[DIRTROAD]

U-blade with tilt works for many things.

Does a drum chopper turn over the soil?

I assume that you have done this in the red clay of the south????? I think I know just a little about what I'm talking about.

 

[fishfactor]

I am close by and 36" stumps are no problem for our mulchers. I would be glad to stop by and take a look.

Leaving the stumps in the ground is a discussion we encounter constantly when prepping for pasture. We can remove them or mulch them flush. Each landowner has their opinion on which is best. Some have the same concerns you do about Horses stepping in holes. Others comment that they ride their horses on trails, etc where there are holes, loose rocks, etc and the horses don't have a problem so why would they in a pasture. I don't own a horse so we just explain the methods and let them decide which is best for them.