Am I Nuts?

[deezler]

Nah! You are using your tractor just fine.

I am working on the same type of thick brush clearing on my new property with my 30 HP CUT. Lately I have not even been bothering to spool up the brush hog, but do keep it on for counter weight. I have found I can get a much cleaner trail / clearing by using the front loader and RATCHET RAKE (I know you've heard of them). They really rock at grubbing up saplings and invasive bushes.

As an example, consider a ~10 year old Russian olive bush - the main trunks have grown to ~2" in diameter. Yes, my brush hog can cut these. You have to go slowly, and give it time to chunk the blades through. Then once you clear the stump, and chunk through the big limbs, you have some big sticks on the ground, and a real punky, spiky stump left in the ground. My new approach is: Simply push it over with the loader (with ratchet rake mounted). The root ball comes up slightly in the ground. Maybe work it back and forth a little to really loosen it up and break a few roots off. Back up, get loader edge under the root ball, lift, and Pow, the entire bush lifts out of the ground and often stays hooked on the loader edge (due to the ratchet rake teeth). Back up, drive off, and deposit in the waste pile. After you pile up several bushes and saplings, smash everything down with the loader to compact it all. Much cleaner! Someday I will come back with a rented chipper and make short work of my numerous brush piles.

3" hardwood saplings are much trickier, the tap root is generally quite strong. These I often have to bend back and forth until they shear off near ground level.\

But your trail is looking great! Keep on rockin. Don't drive over any un-cut or un-earthed stumps though!

 

[RaydaKub]

I second the vote on the Rachet Rake. Used mine to take out a whole mess of prickley ash and honeysuckle this summer. Clumps over a foot in diameter and they just snapped. I would think your grapple is going to be plenty strong to do just as well though. I'm only driving a BX. I think if you are just driving in and taking a bite, you aren't gonna hurt a lot.

 

[El Wood]

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!

B8Fish - Thanks for the advice! I might try dropping my brush hog wheel all the way down and see if I can better control the debris spray out the back. :thumbsup: There is some evidence of an old road there... I found an old metal bucket and some old Coca Cola bottles laying around (dug up).