Talk me out of an excavator!

[MattB4]

We just purchased a new property thats 48 acres, approximately 25 acres in hardwoods, 20 in pasture, and half of a 5-6 acre pond. I've got the pasture maintenance covered, and have a grapple to clean up downed trees, etc. I've gotten really interested in a 3-5 ton mini excavator with a flail or mulcher head to clean up the woods and pond bank. I've been watching videos lately and they just seem so useful for keeping the underbrush in the woods cleaned out, which makes for a much nicer property. On the flip side, I don't NEED to clean out the underbrush or most of the pond bank, and their very expensive.

Am I better off just leaving the woods natural? Hiring someone with an excavator to come clean up a little? maybe just the pond bank? Or are these things really as useful as they look and a great investment for a landowner?

Based on your intended use you are not really going to have enough work to make owning (and maintaining) an excavator a worthwhile thing. Yes they are as useful as they look. No they are not a investment for anyone that does not contract out using it. They cost a big chunk of change and for a small landowner after a few projects will spend 99% of the time sitting around and losing value.

 

[Drstrangeglove]

Backhoes don’t suck for dirt scooping, snowplowing, stuck equipment extracting, and roading from one job to another.

I have a cat 420 and a kubota m62. For most things I do, they do. The only plowing I do is fiber optics. What is snow? An excavator with mats will go where a backhoe won't.

 

[Rustyiron]

I like those takeuchi 15,000 machines on steel tracks.

Yanmar is another quality unit also.
I really want one of their big 103-105 hp? CTL.

 

[Rustyiron]

Some guys have vacation homes, fast cars, boats and campers.
I'm partial to my 1.1 sq mile of land and the equipment necessary for improvements and maintenance.
Here's just a few of my "boats and fast cars"

I am retired but I'm on vacation by just going outside and it's just a matter of which "toy" to play with.
If you so inclined, a mini ex and mulcher wouldn't be hard to hire yourself out once a month to look like a business and write the whole thing off (depreciation) of your taxes.
I don't think your going to get much help here with being talked out of it.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I am retired but I'm on vacation by just going outside and it's just a matter of which "toy" to play with.
If you so inclined, a mini ex and mulcher wouldn't be hard to hire yourself out once a month to look like a business and write the whole thing off (depreciation) of your taxes.
I don't think your going to get much help here with being talked out of it.

Yep, looks like that crew can get it done!! If I won the lottery first things I would do after I bought my 1.1 sqmi. of land is buy a dump truck, mini ex and skid steer and get to work.

 

[hayden]

I chalk up 2-4 excavator hours for every tractor hour. I love mulchers, but as you say, they are expensive. But for me it allows me to do things that would otherwise be impossible, so it's worth it. One caution though is that I think around 5 ton is the minimum I would consider for a mulcher. Between the head's weight and the excavator's reach, you will be working a pretty small areas. I have mine on a 8 ton and it works really well.

 

[Bearsixty7]

Not trying to talk you out of buying an excavator, but another option to consider is prescribed burning. This is what I hope to do on our property.

Home | VA RX Fire Council

www.vafirecouncil.com

 

[MattB4]

Yep, looks like that crew can get it done!! If I won the lottery first things I would do after I bought my 1.1 sqmi. of land is buy a dump truck, mini ex and skid steer and get to work.

The amount of equipment I would buy just to play on it would be amazing after winning the lottery. The first would be a big Cat dozer followed by a large excavator, smaller dozer, off road dump truck and more. I would than buy property along my County road and improve it by taking off corners and steep sections. (After I bribe off the County Judge).

That however is not talking the OP out of getting an excavator.

 

[MossRoad]

...I've been watching videos lately and they just seem so useful for keeping the underbrush in the woods cleaned out, which makes for a much nicer property. ...

I'm gonna ask why you want to clean out the underbrush? A healthy forest has underbrush. Wildlife needs underbrush. Yes, in some places underbrush is a fire hazard. So don't build your house in the woods.

Now if you just want a stand of trees, that's different. We have a tree farm. Part of it has no undergrowth, the trees are planted in rows, and you can see through it for a hundred yards (more if it wasn't on a hill). The trees are tall and straight, mixed varieties of hardwoods with alternating rows of pine to force the hardwoods to grow tall and straight. There is very little wildlife making that area home.

On the other hand, we have areas with underbrush that are flush with flora and fauna of many species.

Just something to think about... consult your local state forester and or wildlife agency and ask about them coming out to help you evaluate what you have and how to get it where you want it to be. Many states, like Indiana, do that for free. That's what we did. Worked out great.


Good luck in your process. Sounds like a great piece of property.

 

[Jaybr]

I'm gonna ask why you want to clean out the underbrush? A healthy forest has underbrush. Wildlife needs underbrush. Yes, in some places underbrush is a fire hazard. So don't build your house in the woods.

That is a great question! I don’t necessarily want to clean it all out, but there are areas I’d like to clean up. For instance there is a strip that ranges from 20-40 yds wide next to the drivewway and house with grass on the other side. There is a section of it that the power company cleared 25 years ago to install a pole and none of it looks like it’s been maintained for years. I’d like to turn that whole strip into a stand of trees.

We actually purchased 2 adjacent parcels, the one where the house is has grass around the pond bank, with the exception of the dam slope. The second parcel however you can’t access the pond it’s so overgrown. There is an old road/path around the pond edge for some of it but it’s entirely overgrown.

Then there’s the field edges, looks like brush has been pushed into the woods for years, and lots of thick vegetation growing around the edges in the sunlight.

There is also what’s left of an old home on parcel 2, and what used to be a driveway leading to it that is now impassible to any sort of vehicle.

So clear out underbrush in a few areas, clean up around field edges, clean up pond bank, and clear a few paths. It’s enough that if I do it in my spare time it would take months. Then I’d want to maintain it.

I could do it with a weed eater, chainsaw, and tractor, but I’m 60 and don’t enjoy that type of work so much anymore

 

[MossRoad]

I find my 48" brush cutter on my FEL arms works pretty well. I cut and maintain several miles of trails on our wooded property with it. I also maintain a strip on each side of the drive, along the state highway, and a couple of meadows with it. It'll take down anything under 2".

I think a larger AG style tractor with a good brush hog shouldn't be discounted. It could do even more.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

That cutter sure chomped it up.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have a cat 420 and a kubota m62. For most things I do, they do. The only plowing I do is fiber optics. What is snow?

Snow = $$$
Backhoes can be equipped with pusher boxes or load trucks. They can easily get $200/hour for snow work. An excavator cant.

An excavator with mats will go where a backhoe won't.

I know.
Heck, even without mats an excavator can go where a backhoe can’t, BUT a backhoe can run down the road like a farm tractor to local jobs and plowing lots. An larger excavator requires a detachable lowboy, road tractor, and about $5,000/year in truck registration fees, plus all the repairs to the truck, and a CDL to drive it. Not cheap.

You can literally run a small excavation company with only a cabbed backhoe and a laser. I did all my own excavating for homes and water retention systems for 20 years with one. I’ve owned 2 different backhoes (Case 580 Super M+ and a New Holland LB115). Very simple & economical.
They still have a place in the world and hold up very well.

 

[ericm979]

We just purchased a new property thats 48 acres, approximately 25 acres in hardwoods, 20 in pasture, and half of a 5-6 acre pond. I've got the pasture maintenance covered, and have a grapple to clean up downed trees, etc. I've gotten really interested in a 3-5 ton mini excavator with a flail or mulcher head to clean up the woods and pond bank. I've been watching videos lately and they just seem so useful for keeping the underbrush in the woods cleaned out, which makes for a much nicer property. On the flip side, I don't NEED to clean out the underbrush or most of the pond bank, and their very expensive.

Am I better off just leaving the woods natural? Hiring someone with an excavator to come clean up a little? maybe just the pond bank? Or are these things really as useful as they look and a great investment for a landowner?

"natural" as in before the last 150 years of fire suppression, when native people burned? or "natural" as in the mess we have now?

Is there a prescribed burn association locally that you can work with to do burns?

 

[RayIN]

That is a great question! I don’t necessarily want to clean it all out, but there are areas I’d like to clean up. For instance there is a strip that ranges from 20-40 yds wide next to the drivewway and house with grass on the other side. There is a section of it that the power company cleared 25 years ago to install a pole and none of it looks like it’s been maintained for years. I’d like to turn that whole strip into a stand of trees.

We actually purchased 2 adjacent parcels, the one where the house is has grass around the pond bank, with the exception of the dam slope. The second parcel however you can’t access the pond it’s so overgrown. There is an old road/path around the pond edge for some of it but it’s entirely overgrown.

Then there’s the field edges, looks like brush has been pushed into the woods for years, and lots of thick vegetation growing around the edges in the sunlight.

There is also what’s left of an old home on parcel 2, and what used to be a driveway leading to it that is now impassible to any sort of vehicle.

So clear out underbrush in a few areas, clean up around field edges, clean up pond bank, and clear a few paths. It’s enough that if I do it in my spare time it would take months. Then I’d want to maintain it.

I could do it with a weed eater, chainsaw, and tractor, but I’m 60 and don’t enjoy that type of work so much anymore

What you describe is gonna take a bigger machine than those tiny Chinese ones, I doubt they have the hyd. capacity to operate a mulcher head. A flail mower to grind up piles of old underbrush, nope, plus they don't like rocks that lurk under grass and brush.

Were it me, I'd hire everything you list done. Then maintenance would be my "hobby".
If a tiny track hoe with a mulcher did exist, I have tons of multiforal rose growing around edges of fields I'd destroy, and hundreds of small thorn trees that are murder on pneumatic tires; if I could rent the machine for a week.
Then I could use my tractor and rotary mower/brush hog to keep it in check, plus continual mowing eliminates multifloral rose eventually.

 

[Jaybr]

"natural" as in before the last 150 years of fire suppression, when native people burned? or "natural" as in the mess we have now?

Is there a prescribed burn association locally that you can work with to do burns?

I've lived in VA most of my life and don't remember even seeing controlled burns around here. I guess they do them occasionally, but it's rare enough I doubt there is a prescribed burn association. I will ask a forestry agent.

What you describe is gonna take a bigger machine than those tiny Chinese ones, I doubt they have the hyd. capacity to operate a mulcher head. A flail mower to grind up piles of old underbrush, nope, plus they don't like rocks that lurk under grass and brush.

Were it me, I'd hire everything you list done. Then maintenance would be my "hobby".
If a tiny track hoe with a mulcher did exist, I have tons of multiforal rose growing around edges of fields I'd destroy, and hundreds of small thorn trees that are murder on pneumatic tires; if I could rent the machine for a week.
Then I could use my tractor and rotary mower/brush hog to keep it in check, plus continual mowing eliminates multifloral rose eventually.

Most of the Chinese units I see are 1-2 ton, I'm thinking more in the 3-5 ton and they do handle mulchers as long as they're sized appropriately. Plenty of videos on Youtube of 4 ton Yanmar/Kubota/Takeuchi minis running mulchers and flails

 

[mikester]

only a 3-5 ton?

I don't understand why people spend huge bucks on SUV's and 4' short box 4x4 PU trucks and then the go buy a SCUT or micro-mini-X. No space left in the garage?

 

[Hay Dude]

only a 3-5 ton?

I don't understand why people spend huge bucks on SUV's and 4' short box 4x4 PU trucks and then the go buy a SCUT or micro-mini-X. No space left in the garage?

Priorities man, priorities.

 

[Fixastuff]

only a 3-5 ton?

I don't understand why people spend huge bucks on SUV's and 4' short box 4x4 PU trucks and then the go buy a SCUT or micro-mini-X. No space left in the garage?

My tb216 serves a very important role in my business. I barely used the tb260 last year and probably wont this year either. 2023 though the 260 paid for itself in 2 weeks and was used daily.

There is a reason they make small machines and it’s not because they are less expensive.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

When I was a teenager, I used to help a local farmer and we would burn off the fields. I haven't seen it done in decades.

The forestry dept has folks/agencies that will come out and do a controlled burn for you. They will do a site survey to determine what is needed like fire lanes.