Man I Love This Work!- ARPlante's Pic Thread

[EddieWalker]

Great Pictures. It's just amazing what you can do with those mulchers and how nice it looks when you are done. I'm seeing them more and more around here working on land that is for sale. One will come in for a day or two and open it up real nice. Then in a few weeks, the greas starts to grow and it looks just like a park. From what I've seen, it must be very satisfying work. Of course, keeping the equipment running nad getting the jobs is always the hard part.

Thanks for posting. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your pics.

Eddie

 

[czechsonofagun]

The work and results must be great - but since I currenntly itch from poison ivy I just dare not to imagine maintenance of the cutting part of the machine. It must be soaked with urishiol and such.

 

[dodge man]

Amazing, I was thinking the same thing, how would you not get poison ivy all the time?

 

[BayouMan]

Hey ARP,
How expensive is it for a days work with that machine? The reason I ask, is we have a hunting lease in Jackson, Louisiana. The land owner finally decided to log the place and we are already seeing a big improvement in our deer herd and cover. The problem is now we have to try and keep shooting lanes open, or we would never be able to see a deer. We are trying to maintain with tractors and box blades, but the stumps are a killer!

Mike

 

[jimmyj]

I keep coming back to your pics. All that work is done with that attachment on the skid-steer? Wow, it's amazing. Does it just spin around and grind everything up?

 

[ARPlante]

Matt- glad to hear things are slowly starting to pick up for you. I hear ya on doing the job right verse what the customer wants- it's a constant issue that I face as well. Also don't worry about the highjack- I welcome highjacks! lol

Eddie- Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy this work because it is so satisfying to bring order to a chaotic environment. Plus it's nice to see what you have done at the end of the day. More pics are on the way- I have tons!

czech and dodge man- Thanks for your kind words. Funny you mention poison ivy as I'm just getting over a bout with it. The only maintenance I have to perform on the head is changing the carbide teeth out when they break. When I do have to do anything, I just wear work gloves and I seem to avoid any extra poison ivy. I will say though, that it sure is nice to mow through ivy and rip it up with my root grapple, rather than removing it by hand.

Bayou- The cost largely depends on the region. Up here in the Northeast, I see bids go out with hourly rates from $150- $187.50/ hr. Two large contractors near me charge $1500/day for the setup I have. While I do not know for sure, I am sure that rates in your region might be slightly less. Keep in mind also, that while the mulcher can take stumps out, it won't do it as efficiently as a stump grinder. Another idea, if you have a large amount of land to clear stumps from, is to hire someone with a D6 size dozer and root rake and have them rip everything out and smooth the ground afterwards. Mulchers really shine in removing standing vegetation, not grinding stumps.

Jimmyj- I'm glad you enjoy my pics! I guess I'll have to put some more up in the coming days. To answer your question, yes, everything you see was done with my T320 and mulcher. It does produce some great results! The drum rotates vertically, and the carbide teeth that are in a spiral pattern on the drum grind/ chip up the material.

 

[Taylortractornut]

I like your work, Im building a rotary mower for my 1840 Skid steer for a job Im doing for the water treatment lagoon and their service dept. Ive been clearing a buffer zone row at the landfill I run with out 518 Cat compactor conversion. Im using it like a jungle crusher walking every thing down and letting the wheels chop it up. Ill windrow next week with the dozer and burn it this fall. The county has a 1500 foot right of way thats good and flat thats 6 miles long that a friend and I are working on getting the contract on. They have alot of problems with contractors keeping it up because they want it cut with a front mount attachment. The tractor mowers come in and they run duals and it mashes the tall grass down in 2 4 foot wide paths that usually stand up a day or 2 later. I found a deal in a pair of Hydra axes with front rotary mowers hes Willing to lease us for 2 mowings till we decide wether or not to proceed.

 

[J_J]

Hi Taylor,

I didn't know you had, and I am assuming that is a Case 1840. I have acquired a Case 1845c, and I am making an adapter so I can use all the Power-Trac hydraulic attachments. I have a small leak that I have to find before I do any serious work.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Hey J_J I have 2 1840's One is a 96 im using and the other is a 2000 thats has some poor maintenace done to it Im rebuilding it. I gave 3000 each for them running. They came from a seed mill shuffling cotton seed in 1 yard buckets. I need to repair the fuel shutoff solenoid in the 2000 well replace it. The company sold the pair at trade in cost because they thought the 2000 was blown up it wouldnt runn right. The company mechanic had lost the solenoid and had a choke cable on it and it has to be tied up. Classy work to say the least lol. They both came with hard lines out to the bucket but no control for the aux. I was replaccing the battery ends one day and saw the aux vavle in the flor factory and sittl had the plugs on the valve body and the lines. I bought 2 fittings and put it on there and built a foot pedal and got my extra valve on. I lost a load of fluid in the 96 atthe first of winter and couldnt find the leak. I slid the cab forward and saw that the return line from the aux was leaking when the motor was on. pretty easy job other than sliding the cab forward. I really like the little loaders with the hand controls since my right leg doesnt work good at foot pedals since my wreck. I traded up a nice mot flail mower that a man tried to use as a tiller i need to replace the knives I may put a motor on it and use it on my weed thinging around the place.
I need a small trencher for my loaders I thought about buying a one of the PT ones they sell for other makes. I ve almost found all the equivalent stuff in a Ballantine chain to make one that will fit a PT. Ive got something you might can use around the shop if youd like it its a chip mill blade. You can use them as bucket teeth or shear blades. I have a couple if you might can use them. I got a good supply of them.

 

[ARPlante]

Thanks Taylor! Good luck on getting the contract for that ROW- it sounds like an awesome opportunity.

Also, I have some more photos for you all. This job was a couple of months ago (March to be exact) and involved the clearing of a about a half mile of ROW to allow access for a skidder crew to come in and trim trees.

Enjoy!