Opinions? Everybody has one

[grabrootngrowl]

I am wanting to do some land clearing, and the people on here seem to have a vast amount of experience with different types of equipment.
I want to do it this way - a large Skid steer with a shear, then pop the stumps with a stump bucket for same.

Dealing with central texas black clay, and mesquites. I know I can hire it, but I am not going to do so - I can buy the equipment for what it would cost to hire someone, and I am self-employed and have many days off and a son that wants to learn to run equipment - he already runs everything else I have.

AM not going to use a Dozer - did it, don't want it - takes to long and too much money to re-establish grass, and I want to run cattle as I am clearing.

Can't use a mulcher - mesquites grow back. Can use a trackhoe - have even done that, but it takes more than what I have to move it. Also, the skid steer with other attachments gives me the flexibility to do many other things as well - it would not be a dedicated machine, but a tool.

How many acres can one clip on a day, and howm many acres do you think one could pop stumps on in a day.

Looking at Gehl 7810, Mustang, or Bobcat 300 - wheeled machines with steel tracks and foam-filled tires.

Please don't take me wrong - I am looking for advise, but I have also thought this over alot as well.

Do you think what I am looking at doing is feasible? Can a large skidsteer pop these stumps? Which would you suggest, I am not looking at mulching, but may buy a head later to use on small east texas food plots and such on some deer leases some friends have. Also may buy one and use it on small acreage in hill country, but no large stuff - as you can see, looking at being very mobile, that's why I was looking at a skid steer. Maybe the best idea would be a large trackhoe, but that's hard to move.

Thanks

 

[cbturf]

Check with your county extension. Since mesquite is an invasive species you can probably get help. One of the best ways I have seen to get rid of mesquite is to spray it with Roundup and then you can mulch it. It is pretty brittle stuff and any of your machine choices will work once it is dead. The problem with grubbing the trees is the millions of holes you will have after you grub them. As you know I am a mulcher so that is my preferred method, but it really is better to leave a finished product.

You can also do a stump treatment, after you shear the tree just shoot the stump with a heavy concentration of roundup. same thing will happen, the mesquite will die and you do not have to dig millions of holes on your land that you have to fill back in.

 

[westbrooklawn]

I know you said you didn't want to use an excavator, but I am assuming you were talking about a full sized machine. I would look at a mini-ex... you can take out large trees as well as grub brush and small growth... roots and all. You need one with a thumb so that you can easily move and pile your brush.

 

[tlbuser]

not knowing a whole bunch about mesquite, could you use a root rake/grapple unit to remove them whole and stack for disposal? Is a rental unit an option?

 

[magicheater]

many uses for the tree. What I found interesting is the tap root can be bigger than the trunk. I would have to have some experience with it before rendering an opinion.

 

[danktx]

Mesquite is one of the hardest trees to get rid of. If you cut one down and leave any part of it above ground it will put out new shoots all around the exposed bark. The thing will look like a Chia pet in a very short time.

When I cut one down I remove the stump with a backhoe. I've put Roundup on mature stumps for 3 straight years and when I stopped had shoots the following year. Roundup seems to work for young trees and bushes but I've been less than successful using it on mature trees. That's why I got the backhoe.

My experience when removing a Mesquite with a 6 to 8 inch trunk is that I have to dig down 2 to 3 feet to tear the stump out. Lots of large tough roots.

I'm not sure how well the stump bucket will work but sharpen the cutting edge and go for it.

Good luck

 

[jschimmel]

a skidsteer and stump bucket should work, but it doesn't solve the problem. You'll still have new trees come up year after year especially if your running cattle on the place.

We cleared some land with tractors and root plows and we still have to shred there every year.this is south texas outside of corpus. I didn't even know you had mesquie in central texas?

What ever you do don't let your son go out and spray poison. My mother sprayed mesquite out of a gator for about a decade and she now has ALS.

 

[jbooth]

Know nothing about mesquite except for use on a grill or smoker. Here in Kansas the Osage orange and Locust are a problem. Why are you wanting to remove the stumps, if your are going to graze cattle? Seems that would just disturb the grass more. I expect the mesquite is similiar to our pest trees and will resprout from remnants of roots and seeds. I use a saw mount on my skid steer. It cuts the trees at ground level or below if desired. Spray with Tordon and then go back and respray sprouts that come from seed or roots the following year.

When I dig dig out the stumps as opposed to cutting and spraying, I get more sprouts from root remnants. Sometimes hard to determine if sprouts are coming from roots or seed.

We pile and burn our downed trees and that will kill the round for a year or 2.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

I assume you are clearing a great deal of land based on your not "hiring it out" stance? When we cleared our property there was no way in heck we could have bought the equipment to do the work cheaper than we paid to just have it done. That isn't including all of our personal time to do the work but that was a problem for us due to the distance our property is from where we currently live.

 

[EddieWalker]

How big are these trees? Have you ever taken out a tree with a skid steer? I don't have a lot of hours on skid steers, but I have enough to know that they would be just about the last thing that I'd use to take out trees with.

The best, do anything tool out there is a full sized loader backhoe with a 4in1 front bucket, or the ablity to put a grapple on the front end. 4x4 is ideal if you can afford it, but I'm getting by with 2 wheel drive.

I can take out any sized tree with mine, then haul it to the burn pile with the grapple, or drag it, or drag parts of it. For the bigger stuff, I still have to use the chain saw to get it down to size, but with 80 hp, I can move some pretty good sized trees without cutting them up.

Getting them out is one thing, then getting them to the burn pile is the other thing. Being able to do both with one machine is why I think the full sized backoe is the best choice.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[Renze]

If you strip graze, you can allways use a brush cutter after grazing, if the mesquite is a tree of which you really cant win...
We have some pests here in Holland too, but they will stay away when you mow them while young: Stumps can be annoying, but little stumps of small seedlings are no problem for the equipment nor the horse hoofs.

Roundup doesnt do much anymore these days. all the good stuff is forbidden these days. We have a bottle of 2-4-5-T from 1969, and we only use it when needed: berrybrushes and the such, things to which nothing else helps.

 

[jschimmel]

i really want to hear about the results of the skidsteer.


I'll post some pics up of my place the results of shredding year after year. (its not pretty) the mesquite grows along the ground like a vine in some areas. If you leave them alone all the vines shoot up.
If the trees are less than 4" diameter trunks. You'll be getting 2+ roots out per minute. I've used a root plow before, but i can't get out the huge trees with that. The advantage of the root plow over the skidsteer i think would be with a root plow you can dig up the tree and drop it in one motion without going into reverse. you can keep going relatively straight and take them out in a line. For best results go at it a few days after it rains when the ground is moist, not wet. you'll make more progress and you'll minimize the damage to your land and it will be easier on your equipment.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Well since you did say Opinions....I have done ALOT with skidsteers. More than most people would ever believe. I am a firm believer that you can move any mountain with one, albeit one spoonful at a time. Dollar for dollar your money would be better utilized with a dozer(ie JD 650) and or trackhoe. The skidsteer shearing, then piling the debris and then digging out the stumps/roots is possible but would be a huge strain on the equipment and waste of $. A good operator can accomplish what you want done cheaper than you can put fuel into your "experiment". Just my opinion!