Mechanical Brush Clearing Attachments for Compact Tractors

[perdurabo]

I'm interested in learning about attachments for controlling thick woody brush and small trees using only a ~30HP compact tractor. I have 23 acres of heavily overgrown central Texas land that I want to clear to some degree using my Kubota L3400.

My place is a mixture of open formerly cultivated areas (about 7 acres) that are infested with small mesquite and an older woodlot (about 15 acres) with large post oaks that has very thick small yaupon and cedar elm undergrowth. I had some of this stuff cleared by a hired dozer operator (mostly to clear roads and create access around my property) but theres still a huge amount of thick undergrowth that needs to be thinned. I can't hire a dozer for less than $100/hr these days and renting one is going to cost me at least $1000/week plus delivery and fuel. Obviously, I'm not wealthy enough to own my own dozer. I really want to find a way to do this to some degree using my own small tractor, even if it ends up being less efficient since invariably anyone I hire to do it will either do it wrong or do it too slowly.. and I don't really know that renting a dozer would be something I should do if I can do what I want with my own implements.

I know I can keep the mesquite in the more open areas at bay by shredding and spraying with herbicide, but the yaupon and cedar elm are too thick/tall for a shredder and I do not want to risk hurting my beautiful old post oaks by spraying herbicide so close to them. I need some way of getting all that nasty woody brush out of there using only my Kubota L3400.

What about brush grubber tongs like one sold by BrushGrubber | Home ? How well do these actually work for pulling trees out by the roots?

Something like the Dougherty tractor saw ( Tree Removal - Skid Steer Tree Saw - Tractor Saw- Turbo Saw Tree Cutter ) might be overkill, especially since the **** thing costs over $5000, but it at least gives me the ability to use a compact tractor to quickly take down trees up to 10" with relative ease and would put me right up there with a dozer in terms of efficiency in clearing. Would something like this be worth it?

What about skid-steer type tree shears? Ive got a skid steer quick attach adapter on my loader and I could easily get a set of remote hydraulics installed.

What other options do I have for controlling thick woody brush with only a compact tractor?

 

[darkviper]

With 30 horsepower you are very limited. I would recommend paying someone that has a skid steer with a mulching head. Cost you about 2-300 per hour if it is like it is around here. They are faster then a dozer too if it is small growth. The problme is that a 30 HP tractor can not pull anything that will work on trees much larger then say about 4-6 inches. And that would only be a pine tree, nothing hardwood. Now you could get yourself a back hoe. About 5-$6000 would get you in one of them. And about another 1-$2000 in repairs later as they are not designed for that kind of work. 23 acres is a lot of land to clear. Even with something like a JD 750 or Cat D6 that is going to be a weeklong job for an skilled operator. The good thing about the mulch head is you wont get the destruction of you good trees that you will with the dozer. Plus the mulch and the fact that it gets everrthing under the grpund about 4 inches depending on the machine. Look at it this way

40 Hours dozer for a week @ 125.00 per hour $5,000
40 hours mulch head and skid steer @ 250 per hour $10,000

Backhoe attahcement for tractor $5,500
Tractor and backhoe destroyed because a tree came up the wrong way and fell on it $15-$20,000

Plus the lost time from work. You just cant offset the cost of getting the right machine for the job.
I would very seriously consider hiring someone me personally. If it were say an acre or two mmmm maybe i would try it. But not 23.

 

[darkviper]

By the way if you could get a mulch head to work on the tractor they are about $25,000 - $35,000. The way so much and need about 25-30 GPM hydraulic systems that only a few Skid Steers are capable of handling. So they would be out of the question unles you were going into that business

 

[cbturf]

The turbo saw is awesome. I am a mulcher and I almost bought one for a job that would not allow my mulcher to be used. If you are clearing invasive species like mesquite don't forget that you will also have to chemically treat the stump or grub it out or it will regrow quickly and be thicker than before. If you want to use your tractor I would use the turbo saw to get a smooth cut and then use a 50-50 mix of roundup and deisel to kill the roots. Or better yet hire me and I will have it all mulched up in a few days!

 

[perdurabo]

I will absolutely never hire out for dirt/dozer work again. I have used three different guys and so far none of them did exactly what I wanted to and they always had all kinds of lame excuses why they had to do things differently or they couldn't burn the burnpile like I asked or they took longer to do a job, etc. I have never been satisfied with any dozer operator's work and I'd rather rent a dozer and do it myself, even if it means taking longer since Im inexperienced since apparently I am the only one capable of grasping what I want to do (and no Im not overly picky here... the operators I hired were mostly just lazy).

Theres no way in **** I'm going to pay anyone $5k for only 40 hours of work. ****, I know surgeons who don't even make that kind of money. Thats absolutely nuts. I would prefer to do as much work as I can with my 30HP tractor and what work I can't do, I'll rent a dozer and do the rest myself.

The question is, what exactly CAN I do with my small tractor and what exactly do I need to have to get it done?

 

[mikim]

backhoe ---- it'll dig up that yaupon knot and keep it from coming back -- it's faster than you think -- might help with that mesquite too...and ...there are just so many things it can do besides. If you had a grapple on the front --- that would also help in hauling it to the burn pile.

 

[cbturf]

You just do not understand the value of clearing your land with a mulcher! I have put over 12k miles on my truck in two months because I have gotten so busy. I am adding two new machines to my lineup because I can not keep up with the people who understand the value of what I do and are waiting in line to pay me $12k per week to clear land.....Good luck Amigo.

 

[MarkLeininger]

I will absolutely never hire out for dirt/dozer work again.

I hear you. Your other option is renting something if you live near civilization. I rented a large backhoe when I put in my addition. Cost about $250 a day as I recall, made short work of digging foundation.

 

[john_bud]

I will absolutely never hire out for dirt/dozer work again. I have used three different guys and so far none of them did exactly what I wanted to and they always had all kinds of lame excuses why they had to do things differently or they couldn't burn the burnpile like I asked or they took longer to do a job, etc. I have never been satisfied with any dozer operator's work and I'd rather rent a dozer and do it myself, even if it means taking longer since Im inexperienced since apparently I am the only one capable of grasping what I want to do (and no Im not overly picky here... the operators I hired were mostly just lazy).

Theres no way in **** I'm going to pay anyone $5k for only 40 hours of work. ****, I know surgeons who don't even make that kind of money. Thats absolutely nuts. I would prefer to do as much work as I can with my 30HP tractor and what work I can't do, I'll rent a dozer and do the rest myself.

The question is, what exactly CAN I do with my small tractor and what exactly do I need to have to get it done?

Reading your post makes me feel even more blessed. I recently had some dozer work done and the guy did nearly exactly what I asked him to do. In a couple areas he deviated, but that resulted in less work for me and more productivity from him. Basically, he did what I wanted and not what I told him. It would sure suck to have the bad experience you had.

I have a 34 hp tractor and a medium duty (1100 pound) 5' brush cutter. It could only really deal with 2" hardwood or 3" soft wood. From my personal experience, you can't do jack squat productively with a 30hp tractor for clearing land with 4" and larger trees. Sure, you can do it, but it would be a full time job, would take years and destroy the machine.

I would talk to "cbturf" and determine when he is traveling from TN to NM and see if he can zip down and do the work for you. I don't know him, but from his posts he seems like a decent sort. I think there are some other mulchers that post here that are from TX. Post up in the "construction" forum and see what response you get.

Other than that, maybe you can find a place to rent you a mulcher and a CTL?

Do you really know surgeons that get less than $5000 a week - before paying for the building, equipment, support staff, license, insurance, utilities, etc? Cuz that's the better example when comparing a mulcher that has $100,000 to $250,000 in equipment that will drink 200 to 1000 gal of diesel in 40 hours.

 

[darkviper]

Reading your post makes me feel even more blessed. I recently had some dozer work done and the guy did nearly exactly what I asked him to do. In a couple areas he deviated, but that resulted in less work for me and more productivity from him. Basically, he did what I wanted and not what I told him. It would sure suck to have the bad experience you had.

I have a 34 hp tractor and a medium duty (1100 pound) 5' brush cutter. It could only really deal with 2" hardwood or 3" soft wood. From my personal experience, you can't do jack squat productively with a 30hp tractor for clearing land with 4" and larger trees. Sure, you can do it, but it would be a full time job, would take years and destroy the machine.

I would talk to "cbturf" and determine when he is traveling from TN to NM and see if he can zip down and do the work for you. I don't know him, but from his posts he seems like a decent sort. I think there are some other mulchers that post here that are from TX. Post up in the "construction" forum and see what response you get.

Other than that, maybe you can find a place to rent you a mulcher and a CTL?

Do you really know surgeons that get less than $5000 a week - before paying for the building, equipment, support staff, license, insurance, utilities, etc? Cuz that's the better example when comparing a mulcher that has $100,000 to $250,000 in equipment that will drink 200 to 1000 gal of diesel in 40 hours.

LOL I just love the end of your response. Truer words have never been spoken. I guess most people dont realalize exactly how much it cost to run and maintain these kind of machines huh.

 

[cbturf]

DV thanks for coming to "our" defence. My daughter broke her arm and her surgeon made about $8k for three hours putting her back together. I was very glad to pay his bill since I see the value in his work. Same concept with all of my customers, I have never had a customer stop me in the middle of a job and say they were not satisfied and I should load up and go home. Most of the time they have me stay longer and do more when they see what they get for the money.

 

[perdurabo]

I guess landowners are significantly richer up there in TN. My land only cost me $3k/acre. I can't imagine paying 1/5 of the entire value of my property to just clear some brush off. I am not the sort of person who is wealthy enough to be able drop $12k in cash for a weeks work by a contractor to do anything whatsoever. If I could easily drop $12k for clearing without batting an eye, I could probably afford to buy my own used dozer for only a little more and do it all myself.

Guess I can't afford to be a landowner in TN

 

[darkviper]

now nowthere is no need to get on the defense here. We are just trying to help. Nobody said that you can aford to be a land owner. What we are merely trying to do here is explain your options as you asked for help. The bottom line here is that a 30 HP machine is not going to do what you need. You will end up either destroying it or spending a lot to fix it because it isn't the right machine for the job. Some of us on here have tried this same thing at some point and already have learned from the mistake. We would not like to see you do the same. If you were clearing brush and stuff under 2 " then yeah if you had the time to tinker. I just gave a guy 120 an hour for a dozer and a track hoe and he did a wonderful job for me.Ii guess it is the differences in experiences.. Bottom line if you could afford a guy with the mulcher I think you would be very happy with the results. Look at this site and see what the other guy and I mean
Cedar Clearing

you can also see the videos if you have a broad band connection here of how well they work.

Loftness > Tree Cutters, Mowers > Videos

hope this helps

 

[RWolf]

Perduabo, I'm somewhat in the same situation as you when it comes to finances. This will take longer and a bit more work but seeing as we don't have alot of decent days ahead of us till our so called winter and unless your in a hurry I'd start with a chainsaw and a FEL and friends and appropriate beverages and maybe a BBQ after and go to town on your land. For small cedars and such We've had good luck with a snatch strap and a pickup. Shoot one weekend we turned the young upcoming drivers loose with a snatch strap and truck and told them to have at it. Keep in mind these snatch straps are in excess of 25,000 lbs and our trucks have HD bumpers "welded" to the frame. They had a blast, we all ate good and no one got hurt (everything was done as safe as possible).

It may not work for you but the whole idea is that there is more than one way to skin a cat or in this case clear some land.

 

[john_bud]

I guess landowners are significantly richer up there in TN. My land only cost me $3k/acre. I can't imagine paying 1/5 of the entire value of my property to just clear some brush off. I am not the sort of person who is wealthy enough to be able drop $12k in cash for a weeks work by a contractor to do anything whatsoever. If I could easily drop $12k for clearing without batting an eye, I could probably afford to buy my own used dozer for only a little more and do it all myself.

Guess I can't afford to be a landowner in TN

Yeah, I know what you mean. By the way, the land that I had cleared cost under $275 an acre 10 years ago. So, I couldn't afford to be a land owner where you are, much less in TN!

Still, the money paid for dozer work was less than it would have cost to do it myself. Seriously, especially when you add in the damage done to the machine and the cost to haul it back and forth. But if you don't have the cash rolling out of your .. uh.. wallet, then it doesn't matter!

You can get a lot done with a chainsaw and a haul line. Just cut, haul out, pile up and burn when weather permits. You will get a lot cleared and will get in shape / lose weight too!

jb

 

[yankeerider]

I've been following this thread with some interest, because I'm starting to clear about 2 acres with my 20 hp tractor. I realize that the older i get, the more I start to sound like my father, father-in-law, and grandfather, but here goes anyway-

How do you think your great grandfather cleared his land? he didn't have no bleepin' tractor or chainsaw!

The way I see, and it wasn't stated in the original question, was how much time are you willing to spend and how quickly do you want the land cleared? Speed costs money- that's the value of the mulchers.

In my case, the tractor is used to move material and remove the <3" stuff it can easily do. The bigger stumps will either wait until i get an excavator in or they rot.

Eventually the property will be the way i want it. This is how I enjoy spending the time I'n not earning money to pay the bills and the government. Doing it any other way would require money I'd rather have available for something else.

 

[thunderworks]

I started clearing 5 or 6 acres of hedge, locust, and cedar trees around one of my ponds last Fall. Here's a link to a thread I started last year to document the process. I hired a guy to cut the trees with a hydraulic saw mounted on the front of his skidster. He made the tool himself. Pictures of the tool are posted within the tread. My memory is that the acres were completely cut in around 18 hours at a charge of $65/hour. Of course I have lots of additional time of my own cleaning up the spoils, burning etc., but I couldn't afford to pay someone to do the job to completion. I use an Bodozer grapple on my L5030 Kubota.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/109282-grapple-project-tree-clearing.html

I've been moving the brush residue with my tractor and grapple, cutting and salvaging fence posts and firewood, burning the brush tops etc. Project should be done this winter.

 

[kossetx]

I have the same brush you have also in centtex. I'll tell you what I do and you can go from there.

1. mesquite-never ever shread. Go to brushbusters and follow the guidlines or look up killing mesquite here.

2. ceder/winged elm-basil stem spray of 5% remedy and diesel per gallon. Has worked well for me.

3. youpon- mine come out very easily with the fel. I can take a clumps of 2"ers out easily. They are very shallow rooted. A chain works on most to close the the trees to use a fel.

Take it slow and don't try to do it all at once. Hope it helps.

 

[kthompson]

Boy being able to afford being a land owner...that is a true statement. It cost every where you turn.

One thing I think might be missed in the cost per acre of mulching and I could be way wrong is how dense the growth is, I suspect it is much thicker in Tenn than what you have. As the saying goes until you price it you just don't know. A friend of mine told me his dad did a lot of clearing with peanuts. Back to the time issue. He would plant peanuts all around the roots and let his hogs root them up.

You may find renting the equipment yourself to be an option. If like here be sure to ask the rate for a week and not per day. I think 3 days is a week but be sure on hours allowed. A excavator with thumb of sufficient size to pull the tree is a quick work.

I realize it was said do not mulch certain brush you have but boy on the right trees and shrubs mulchers do pretty work.

As to profit of surgeon, do you mean tree surgeon?


CBtruf, if you don't mind my asking what kind of mulcher do you use? I have seen them on such as Bobcat Skidders. Those have large oil coolers and enclosed cabs to due debris. I still like the large cutters on the logger style skidders. But those may be rotary cutters. kt

 

[cbturf]

I guess landowners are significantly richer up there in TN. My land only cost me $3k/acre. I can't imagine paying 1/5 of the entire value of my property to just clear some brush off. I am not the sort of person who is wealthy enough to be able drop $12k in cash for a weeks work by a contractor to do anything whatsoever. If I could easily drop $12k for clearing without batting an eye, I could probably afford to buy my own used dozer for only a little more and do it all myself.

Guess I can't afford to be a landowner in TN

I work for landowners all over the south from Arizona to Florida and everywhere in between. You did not ask how many acres I can clear in a day, progress greatly affects the per unit price. On my current job in New Mexico I thinned and cleared 26 acres in two 10 hour days and in some cases in the large hardwoods I have only gotten 2 acres is a full day. I very rarely set up in one spot and clear for a week straight unless it is a commercial clearing job. If I am working for an individual I usually get there at first light and work all day then I am on the trailer and at a diferent spot the next day. Many local land owners just have me out for my three hour minimum and I get to two or three jobs a day. Your economic status is of no concern to me, I always work hard to provide as good a value as possible for every customer. Like I said earlier, I have NEVER had a customer stop me early and ask me to leave due to lack of value.