Fairly new to tractors, will need to clear land and have questions.

Ihcbigjohn · Apr 5, 2019

Hello, during my tractor research I kept running across is site, so I thought I would just join and ask my questions here. My wife and I are purchasing 37 acres that has had timber previously harvested off of it. It is regrown with mixed pine, hardwood, and brush, the majority of which is smaller than 4". I have looked at the various land clearing and mulching companies near us and their day rate and production estimates put the bill over $50k to clear it. I have always preferred to just buy a tool or piece of equipment and do it myself and have something to keep after the job is done, and for that kind of money I feel that I can certainly get a decent used machine. Originally I had thought to get a 20-25 ton excavator from auction, put a rake bucket on it and go to town. I would be able to clear the trees, do some minor grading and dirt road work, as well as dig the pond with it. However I also figured that we will need a tractor, and I happened across a newholland ts110 woods boss with a 72"brown tree cutter, and the videos of this setup that I have seen are pretty impressive. My concern is whether or not this tractor would be able to come back and rake out the roots from these 4" and smaller trees. I have read that a dozer is usually better than an tractor at this, but it seems that people are also potentially figuring smaller tractors in this comparison. When I look at drawbar pull ratings of various dozers and the ts110 in the 1-2mph range the tractor seems to be better than most of the smaller dozers. Do you think that the ts110 could get the roots with a rake or 3-5shank subsoiler since the soil is a loam type? How possible/tough is it to come back and add a bucket later since this one doesn't have one? The pictures of the property are what used to be a driveway, and an example of what the rest of the property looks like. I am also including the drawbar info I looked at. Thanks for the input!

CMV · Apr 5, 2019

Around here they'd use a track loader, but what I see is generally 10AC & smaller. You're clearing it all or just a few acres homesite & driveway?

Anyway, track loader/crawler loader similar to a JD 655 or Cat 953 would probably make short work of what you're describing.

Ihcbigjohn · Apr 5, 2019

Sorry, having trouble getting the pictures to post, I can select but it won't upload. Eventually we would have the whole thing cleared. Probably only 8-10 acres at first, and then the rest over the next few years. Any idea how long it would take small stuff like that to rot down if you just cut it close and left it?

CMV · Apr 5, 2019

Ihcbigjohn said:
Sorry, having trouble getting the pictures to post, I can select but it won't upload. Eventually we would have the whole thing cleared. Probably only 8-10 acres at first, and then the rest over the next few years. Any idea how long it would take small stuff like that to rot down if you just cut it close and left it?

A very long time. Walk thru the woods and look at some old moss covered fallen trees..... And then you still have stumps & roots underneath that will be in your way for whatever you do there in the future. You want it cleared by knocking them over & getting the root balls. The track loader can then smooth that out even faster than it cleared it. A good operator with a good sized track loader will clear acres of what you describe in a day. 2 different properties down the road from me were done this past year. Trees were 95% pines, probably none larger than 22" at the base, but several acre lots down to bare smooth dirt in a day or two. The piles burned for a long time afterward......

I'm kind of surprised your estimates are so high. Heavy equipment time must cost a lot more there. I *think* general clearing from a smaller outfit around here is right around $100/hr + transport, generally a 6 hr minimum.
What is typical here is to clear a large area with the track loader, push it all into a huge pile in center of that newly-cleared area & burn it.

I think you have to have a minimum of 5 posts or something to do attachments. Try just putting up a few short posts after this & then see if you can do your picture

Ihcbigjohn · Apr 5, 2019

There is a company just down the road, i.e. Could drive it to my property and not trailer the equipment, that has a Barco 930b. They want $2500/day and said they would average 1.5 acres/day subsoil mulching.

Ihcbigjohn · Apr 5, 2019

Another wanted $1200/day, but had a skid steer mounted mulcher, so I figured it would take them a lot longer.

Ihcbigjohn · Apr 5, 2019

CMV, I would have figured that the 1-4" stuff would decompose much faster than bigger stumps.

RoyKing · Apr 5, 2019

A large front end loader with a root rake, the hardest stump is live pine it goes strait down everything else falls over easily after that run the rake around it, burning with takes days with equipment their to rework the pile. $5/7K to get 7 acres and driveway done.

Rustyiron · Apr 5, 2019

Welcome to TBN John, I think you're on the right track with your thinking although you could accomplish this with a much smaller excavator. (an excavator would be my first choice, particularly if you can burn the wood). A 10 ton machine should easily remove what you've described. I mention this as you will be able to widen your search for the best deal on a machine that you can "get out of" or "flip" after you've gotten your use out of it. Then go tractor shopping :thumbsup:

searcyfarms · Apr 5, 2019

i just had 5 acres cleared on a piece of property i purchased to comply with crp regulations and it cost me about 1100/acre - it was more than 4 in tho in some areas i had some up to 8inch trees it was 11 yr growth mostly soft/silver maple - if its only 4 inch i would lease a mulcher for a month and a skidsteer you could do amazing things with that and give it back - then rent a dozer with a ripper for a month, that will run you around 5K/month for the dozer, 3500 for the skidster/mulcher then you will be ready for a tractor and not have torn up/overused the tractor - you will save plenty of $$ doing it yourself and in a months time you could do that acreage easily with a fecon/skidsteer might not even need that long but im thinkign this is a part time evening/weekend gig so you could bust that out no problem. and you get really great rates on monthly vs weekly rentals

I rented a 250 volvo excavator for a week for 2200 and it was only 5500 for the month so that is what i mean on saving money and using someone elses stuff - i didnt have the time to mess with the 5 acres and the guy was able to knock it out in 2.5days, we needed to get crops in

Ihcbigjohn · Apr 6, 2019

RoyKing, In a few months I will likely have access to a large wheel loader for free from work. By saying free I am excluding transportation cost, and getting a raking apparatus for it... and fuel! A 70's era Cat988 is a thirsty old gal, and a bit leaky to boot lol. I don't think that anything I'm going up against would slow it down, not that it goes all that fast, but in all seriousness I think she's probably a bit heavy for current ground conditions on site.

Ihcbigjohn · Apr 6, 2019

In regards to the previous picture, it does thin out a bit as you go further away from the edge.

Ihcbigjohn · Apr 6, 2019

Rustyiron, as long as we are in a county area, not city, we can burn anything as long as there isn't a ban due to dry conditions. In regards to excavator size, you can get a 15-20 year old Cat 323 for the same price you can get a smaller one. Usually in the $20-24k range.

searcyfarms · Apr 6, 2019

sounds like you have it all but worked out with that wheel loader you will have ruts to repair too ;-)

crazyal · Apr 7, 2019

As has been posted, I would rent the equipment needed. Having no clue what shape that Cat 988 is in so I can't offer advise other than it could be great or it could cost you a fortune fixing things. 70's era is quite old so finding parts could also be an issue. Not sure if you work a full time job but in one month you should be able to get a lot done assuming you can work more than just weekends and aren't fighting equipment breakdowns. Around here you can find dealers who sell off road diesel that have portable tanks. They will drop it off and fill it as needed. If you have a pickup you could buy a 12v pump that will screw into a 55 gallon drum and go that route (anything smaller will get old real quick).

Rustyiron · Apr 7, 2019

Ihcbigjohn said:
Rustyiron, as long as we are in a county area, not city, we can burn anything as long as there isn't a ban due to dry conditions. In regards to excavator size, you can get a 15-20 year old Cat 323 for the same price you can get a smaller one. Usually in the $20-24k range.

I was thinking more about what size machine is easier to unload in your local market for your eventual exit to a tractor.
Sometimes machines in that age are limited to guy's like you or farmers/ranchers where a smaller & newer might put you in the smaller contractor market as well. It's all very local. Good luck and show us what you end up doing.

searcyfarms · Apr 7, 2019

regarding fueling, here is what my dad and i did, due to the ulsd/bio storage issues we have one 55 gal drum ( plastic ) and two 16 gallon ( plastic ) barrels that i picked up at a car wash for FREE. They work great for hauling fuel or like above you could get a tank dropped off to fuel with.

I got an electric fuel transfer pump and we plug it into the battery on the truck as needed to fuel with in the field for our tractors. My dad is REALLY getting up there and while he can go and fill up the tanks he cannot climb around nor run a hand pump so it helps him still be able to contribute.

hopefully that 988 is in good usable shape and you can work the fire out of it, can you road it home or will you have to get it transported?