Pictures from a skid steer mowing contractor

[Lineman North Florida]

Im $100-$120/hr with my MX and 8' twin.

Clearing with a SS is a whole different ballgame.

There is sorta a competitor here that uses a tracked SS and front brush cutter.

In reality....we rarely overlap on jobs. I want the big open areas and have been cut within the last year or two. Pastures, unplanted fields that have became housing lots, etc.

I shy away from anything that has alot of saplings or brush. My mower only "rated" at 1".....and a 8' mower with the tractor....not very maneuverable. And I probably would have avoided the job in the first pic.

But get on a 5-10 acre open field and a SS is not very efficient at all. Slow and a rough ride. A job that would take me an hour or two at the most is gonna take a SS half a day.

I understand before I bought my skidsteer there were jobs that I would turn down because they were just to rough for my liking and I am still peculiar about putting my tractors where they really don't belong, but my skidsteer is made for just such places which gives me the ability to do a variety of jobs.

 

[EddieWalker]

My neighbor has hired a guy to clear areas of his land, next to he creek, three times in the last five years. They do a great job of opening it all up and making it look great, but then he never keeps it mowed and in a few months, it's all overgrown again. In my opinion, it comes back thicker every time it's been mowed. I have the same stuff growing on my place, next to the creek, but I dug it all out with my backhoe, and hauled it to my burn pile. There are no more roots in the ground after I dig it out, so it's super easy to maintain once it's opened up. I'm about 80% done clearing my area, and he's worse now then when he started.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Well me and my neighbor got the bearings changed out on the roller tube that the belts ride on and I went straight to the field and got it rolled without a hiccup, ready to start loading it and hauling to the barn in the morning, except for 15 rolls that are sold right in the field.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

My neighbor has hired a guy to clear areas of his land, next to he creek, three times in the last five years. They do a great job of opening it all up and making it look great, but then he never keeps it mowed and in a few months, it's all overgrown again. In my opinion, it comes back thicker every time it's been mowed. I have the same stuff growing on my place, next to the creek, but I dug it all out with my backhoe, and hauled it to my burn pile. There are no more roots in the ground after I dig it out, so it's super easy to maintain once it's opened up. I'm about 80% done clearing my area, and he's worse now then when he started.

About anything you do requires a little continued maintenance be it mowing, or selective herbicide or whatever, I tell all my customers to not let their property get overgrown or they will need me or someone else to come back and do it again.

 

[cathy liebchen]

Yes sir, an operator who keeps his machine moving steady and gives you the actual time that he is billing you for can accomplish quite a bit in a 4 hour window and his price sounds very fair, here in my part of Fl a machine of that size would start at $250 per hour, most guys with the mulchers will only bid by the acre or by the job.

We hired a contractor with a 75 hp bobcat and a Cimaf 150d mulcher for 5 days (40 hours) at $200 an hour, for a variety of trails, fields and glens on an old pasture parcel. Best money we ever spent

 

[two_bit_score]

I looked at renting one for a week and by the time I factored in diesel(not sure what it burns/hr but I'm betting it's thirsty) and rental I'm not sure I could do it much cheaper myself. Of course then I couldn't do other work and I'm sure it takes a little time to get proficient with it. So $250/hr seemed very fair to me.

I looked in to renting a Cat CTL with a bush hog type cutter. For a month with delivery/pick up, insurance it was going to be about $4,000. That was close to a year ago.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I looked in to renting a Cat CTL with a bush hog type cutter. For a month with delivery/pick up, insurance it was going to be about $4,000. That was close to a year ago.

You can do an abundance of work with a rig like that in a month, and that is a good price, the most important thing to make sure of if renting a bush hog type cutter for a CTL IMO is to make sure that it has carbide teeth on the bottom of the blade carrier to process/shred the material that you cut down when you back drag over it, there is no comparison to the finished product.

 

[ptsg]

Can't quite wrap my head around the thousands of dollars people pay for a skidsteer and brush cutter.

Over here, a 100HP tractor with a chain brush cutter will cost about $100 to $120/hour and will run circles around the skidsteer while leaving the same, if not a better finish most of the times.

About the only thing that would beat it in finish would be a mulcher, but even that is ran off the tractor.

 

[Hay Dude]

Well me and my neighbor got the bearings changed out on the roller tube that the belts ride on and I went straight to the field and got it rolled without a hiccup, ready to start loading it and hauling to the barn in the morning, except for 15 rolls that are sold right in the field.View attachment 808494View attachment 808496View attachment 808497

What’s your round bale weight? Mine were 800-900lbs. Ever since I switched to the large square baler, I have been able to start making “cubes” that weigh about the same as my 4x5 round bales (most weigh 850-900lbs with 12-15% moisture).
Then my round baler became useless and I sold it.

I sort of had to switch as most of my larger buyers want big bales. Round bales are still great for my small buyers. Most have been happy with my new “cube” configuration.

With your flat land you have there, round bales are very sensible. On my hilly fields, the large square baler is perfect.

They also double stack nicely in tight barns or run in sheds.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Can't quite wrap my head around the thousands of dollars people pay for a skidsteer and brush cutter.

Over here, a 100HP tractor with a chain brush cutter will cost about $100 to $120/hour and will run circles around the skidsteer while leaving the same, if not a better finish most of the times.

About the only thing that would beat it in finish would be a mulcher, but even that is ran off the tractor.

In my experience, its more about maneuverability. A SS is great for smaller properties or ones with obstacles like trees that are staying. A tractor is far better on large open areas. Not everyone owns both so typically they will always say what they have is best. Reality, not one machine that can do everything.

You’ve mentioned chain blade cutters before, could you explain or show some more pictures? Grade of/type of chain?