Buying Advice Best model to remove brush / cactus

[rarvesen]

I am very new to tractors, I have never owed one before. I live in Central Texas (Texas Hill Country) and I want to get a tractor primarily to clear prickly pear and pencil cactus, and small brush which consist of regrowth of persimmon, whitebrush, agarita up to 4' - 5' tall. I have been looking into the L2800 and L3200, do you think that would be a good model for this type of work? Or could I get by with something smaller? Thanks for any information.

 

[leonz]

It would be faster to rent a tracked excavator.
and then you can tractor shop and have many
fewer issues.:thumbsup:

The largest of mini excavators has
a lot of power to do the job with
much less aggravation for you.

 

[jcummins]

Have you considered spraying it? Check out Surmount. For sure don't mow it.

 

[crash325]

I am very new to tractors, I have never owed one before. I live in Central Texas (Texas Hill Country) and I want to get a tractor primarily to clear prickly pear and pencil cactus, and small brush which consist of regrowth of persimmon, whitebrush, agarita up to 4' - 5' tall. I have been looking into the L2800 and L3200, do you think that would be a good model for this type of work? Or could I get by with something smaller? Thanks for any information.

Bigger is almost always better. ( Up to a point.) If you do not plan on getting a back hoe, rent the tracked trencher.

If you don't get stump & the roots out of the ground most everything will come back. Any small piece of cactus left on the ground may ( and probably will.) start a new cactus.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Whatever you get, if you want a tired vehicle youll want foamed tires to prevent frustrating down time from flats.
larry

 

[Transit]

Being new to tractors, Front End Loaders are intended to scoop earth like a shovel. If you tilt the bucket so it is like a bulldozer blade you will damage the hydraulic cylinders or bend the lift arms. Beware, tractors are not bulldozers.

 

[The Dougster]

I live near Liberty Hill and my ranch is in Lampasas County and I spend the bulk of my time dealing with prickly pear, cedar and mesquite. I have an L2800 and it works great for me... yeah, there are times when I wish for a bigger tractor (who doesn't?) but honestly, the 2800 gets the job done.
The only way you are going to gain any ground on the pear is by spraying.. it is recommended that you damage the plant first, then spray... count on waiting 2 to 3 years before seeing any results from spraying. That's no exaggeration. You will never win the war but control is what you are hoping for....
I now have a tooth bar (Gator) that really enables me to uproot the cedar trees.. the big ones I have to cut using a chain saw, but most I can push over and uproot using the FEL... Good luck.

 

[rarvesen]

Whatever you get, if you want a tired vehicle youll want foamed tires to prevent frustrating down time from flats.

Thanks Larry, do you mean from prickly pear cactus, or just driving around rough ranch land?

 

[rarvesen]

I live near Liberty Hill and my ranch is in Lampasas County and I spend the bulk of my time dealing with prickly pear, cedar and mesquite.

Thanks for the info. How have you been removing prickly pear with the L2800? Are you just using the standard bucket, or a rock bucket? I was planning on getting a lighter weight rock bucket to 'grub' the cactus out of the ground.

The only way you are going to gain any ground on the pear is by spraying

Can you tell me what you use to spray? I have read about Remedy and Surmount. I would like to spray the least possible, but I understand it can be necessary in some cases. Surmount concerns me more since I read it can kill trees if not used carefully.

I now have a tooth bar (Gator) that really enables me to uproot the cedar trees.

Do you have more info on this, it sounds very useful.

 

[The Dougster]

Ralph, I have used the bucket on my FEL to scrape the cactus, trying to get the root, but this has been an impossible task.. it always comes back.
I don't remember the spray I'm using but will try to look that up this weekend and get back to you. I do know a license is required to buy it... I hope to get my license sometime in the next month or so. Talk to your County Agent for the best advice...