Need Suggestions on Tractor for Removing Cedar Trees

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Hello. I'm buying 30 acres of land that has a LOT of small, medium and large cedar trees on it. I'm talking about hundreds of trees. My plan is to eventually remove most of them so that I can pasture about 20 - 25 acres of this land.

So I'm wondering what size tractor and FEL I need for this job, and whether a BH would be necessary (or at least handy). If the place was 5 acres, I'd just go rent a dozer for a few days. But it's 30 acres and I can only work it on weekends, so the cost of renting a dozer would probably pay for all/most of a tractor with FEL.

I grew up on a farm and have thousands of hours on tractor. But we only raised wheat, cotton and milo, and we never had a tractor with a FEL or BH. And to give you an idea of how long ago that was, we used 2 old "U" Minnies for plowing, and a Farmall 450 (with the 2-point "quick hitch") for row crop. When we finally got a John Deere 4020, I thought I had gone to heaven.

I would appreciate any help or suggestions you have.

 

[johnnyvol]

:thumbsup:Welcome to TBN!

Knowing the size of the trees would help, also the density per acre. Pics would be even better.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

There are all sizes - small ones (4' - 6') up to large ones (15' or so). I'll take some pics next time I'm there. I suspect the small ones have a base of 2" - 4" in diameter and the large ones are 6" - 10".

I don't know the density per acre, but there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of them.

My plan is to eat this elephant one bite at a time. I'll work on clearing a small area - such as an acre or two - at a time. I understand this is a long term project, and Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

[k0ua]

cedar trees up to about 20 foot tall can easily be pushed over with a 35-40 horse tractor. I have pushed over a bunch of them. Make sure there have no dead limbs in them. Best time to do it is a day or 2 after a rain. The top of the ground is fairly dry, but it is still wet around the roots. Don't let the rootball come up under your tractor though.. when it starts over back off and dig up the root ball with the FEL. Some people will say to never push over a tree with a tractor.. I have pushed over hundreds. But there are dangers.. NO dead trees ever. Watch out for any dead limbs on any tree, watch out for the root ball. Don't try to push out trees that are too big. In other words, use common sense. My 35 horse Kioti, is a good tree pusher, as it is heavy. when they are pushed out, lift the root ball a few times with the FEL to knock off dirt, and back-fill the hole. You can pull over a little larger trees with trunks 6 -8 inches with a long chain and using the drawbar to position yourself 60 foot away and place the chain 6 foot high on the trunk and gently pull. I prefer a Hydrostat tractor for pulling and pushing, as it allows precise, even control of pressure on the tree. Never "ram" into anything, sneak up on it an put some pressure on it and hold it and give it time for the soil to let go. Also if it does not want to give from one direction, try other directions. Put pressure on the trunk up about 4 or 5 feet high, and you can curl a bit to put upward pressure also on the trunk and added benefit of it puts downward pressure on your front wheels for traction. Again commons sense. Don't tear up the bucket, if the tree is too big, you aint gonna rip it out. If these trees are maybe as much as 5 foot tall, you can just grind them up with a bush hog. Pictures and description of tree sizes would be a big help.

James K0UA

 

[k0ua]

There are all sizes - small ones (4' - 6') up to large ones (15' or so). I'll take some pics next time I'm there.

I don't know the density per acre, but there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of them.

My plan is to eat this elephant one bite at a time. I'll work on clearing a small area - such as an acre or two - at a time. I understand this is a long term project, and Rome wasn't built in a day.

I see you have posted the sizes.. I think they could all be pushed out with a tractor similar in size to mine, using the FEL, and the methods I have outlined in my previous post. As you mentioned it will take a while.

James K0UA

 

[radioman]

Question -- what are you planning to do with the cedar wood? Have you looked into having it milled or given away for firewood? IF you truly have alot of it - isnt there anyone interested in the wood? You might be better off buying a stump grinder on a large tractor so you can quickly get it ready for pasture as long you dont need to plow it. If you really want to follow other poster advice and push over trees, anything over 20 ft scares me, but then its just me. I'd invest in cage custom built on your tractor- might be a smart investment IF the time comes.
I admire people who clear lands themselves and making it working within their lifetime, but at the same time still find a way to go a bit green.

 

[k0ua]

The way cedar trees grow here, a 15 foot tree is just a 2 or 3 inch pole. Not any real wood.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Thank you VERY much for that. It makes a lot of sense and is great advice. I've been looking at 40 hp tractors, but was hoping I wasn't going too small.

There are native grasses on this property that I will be bush hogging, so I'd like to have enough PTO HP to run at least a 6' bush hog. My understanding is that the general rule is 5 PTO HP per 1' of mower width. Something with about 35 - 40 PTO HP would be ideal, I think.

My main concern is getting a tractor that is heavy enough to have the traction necessary to get rid of these cedar trees.

Here's a google earth shot of PART of the place. I know this pic doesn't help with the size of the trees, but it will give you an idea of the scope of the task ahead of me. A few of the trees are hardwoods, which I will leave. But the vast majority are cedars.

 

[johnnyvol]

That doesn't look too bad to me. Like you said though the trunk size can't be determined. The sizes you state should be easily cleared with the size tractor you're looking at.

I just got a Kubota L4060 HSTC. With loader and filled tires it weighs about 6300#. I've been very impressed with what I've been able to get done with it. I'd think it could do the job you're looking at.

 

[k0ua]

Go buy a Kioti Dk40se or one of the heavy LS or Mahindra tractors of if you have the money a Kubota Grand L. About a 40 horse tractor or in that range. Make sure it is a heavy tractor. You need the weight for traction.. Be sure to put ballast on the back, or a heavy duty box blade or something for weight on the 3pt. If they are all 15 foot or under, you should be able to push them all out. A grapple would be handy to both push them out and gather up the "dead bodies"