clearing land

[bobcatboy]

a guy called me about clearing some land. heneeds all trees and brush 12'' and smaller cleared and pilled central on the property, he has 10 acres. what do you guys think would be the best plan of attack, and what attachments should be used. give me some input

[SodKing]

Subcontracting to a logging company springs to mind....

[dvmcmrhp52]

I'm thinking bulldozer................

[Scag48]

12" and smaller, that can be handled with a small excavator and skid steer easily. Get yourself a good chainsaw and go through and cut all trees that you have flagged for cutting. Once they're down, it's a matter of going through and collecting them. A skid steer with a grapple bucket will work perfect for this. While someone is hauling trees to the landing, an excavator or another skid steer can be working somewhere else clearing brush. Just a couple thoughts.

[bigz1001]

a guy called me about clearing some land. heneeds all trees and brush 12'' and smaller cleared and pilled central on the property, he has 10 acres. what do you guys think would be the best plan of attack, and what attachments should be used. give me some input

Depends what equipment you are going to use. If you are wanting to use a skid steer and mini-ex I would suggest making multiple small piles, since I assume he is just going to burn it anyhow. I agree that a dozer is most likely the best tool for the job.

[TerraFirma Excavating]

What is the final purpose of clearing the land? Is it going to be planted or just opened up for a view? I assume they want the stumps removed also.

I would go in there with the Brushcat on my skidsteer and cut down / "mulch" the smaller brush. This will open it up better to remove the larger trees. Depending on the final purpose, the mulched up brush can be left in place. From my experience, DO NOT cut the trees first with a chainsaw. Not only does it require hand labor, but would make it harder to remove the stumps. A skidsteer can easily push over 12" trees. Raise the bucket to gain some leverage and push. Depending on the roots, you may need to dig up one side of the tree first. Push the tree over, then pick up and shake the dirt off the root system.

Carry the whole tree (with forks) to a discard pile. Depending on the root ball size, you may have to cut the roots off. If you are burning the pile of trees on-site no problem. If the trees are going to be cut up into firewood, avoid dragging them through the dirt. It's amazing how little dirt it takes to dull a chainsaw chain. If you cut at dusk, you can actually see little sparks from the abrasiveness of the dirt.

[olderthandirt]

D6 and then an excavator to bury whats does not burn. Get in and get out with out wasting time.

[Green Pastures]

Terra Firma, I really enjoy reading your posts.

Very informative and always helpful, no attitude.

Thanks! If you're ever in Virginia the Margarita's are on me.

[TerraFirma Excavating]

D6 and then an excavator to bury whats does not burn. Get in and get out with out wasting time.

I starting clearing 9 acres with a D4 and planned on burying it. It's a suprising amount of overburden and I didn't want to worry about sink holes later on so I changed my approach.

Different areas have restriction on open burns. Where I'm at, you are only allowed a 10'x10' burn when weather conditions are good. If fire danger is high, no burning allowed. Last year forrest fires were terrible here in Alaska. I wasn't allowed to open burn during the summer. Then we have air quality restrictions in the winter months so open burning is banned November 1st - March 31st. I have seen dumpster container utilized for burning. It was feed with an excavator. Looked like it worked well, but also took a fair amount of time.

Right now I have a 40'x40'x8' tall pile of trees that needs to be burned before burning restriction take effect May 1st. Last year I hauled about 24 tons of brush to the landfill for disposal. A chipper may have reduced the size of the loads, but may be pretty labor intensive. It sure was easy to load on the trailer with my forks and just haul to the landfill. The landfill operator pulled it right off my trailer with a choker. A little time consuming, but not very labor intensive.

[TerraFirma Excavating]

Thanks Green Pastures,

I like to share my ideas and what has worked for me. I also enjoy reading EVERYONE's posts here. Many great ideas for all aspects of the industry. It's amazing how different parts of the country have different methods.

I don't know if I'll every end up down in Virginia, but I appreciate the offer. If you ever make it up to Alaska, I would could have you over for some barbequed salmon and Alaskan Amber.

[grassmanvt]

What is the final purpose of clearing the land? Is it going to be planted or just opened up for a view? I assume they want the stumps removed also.

I would go in there with the Brushcat on my skidsteer and cut down / "mulch" the smaller brush. This will open it up better to remove the larger trees. Depending on the final purpose, the mulched up brush can be left in place. From my experience, DO NOT cut the trees first with a chainsaw. Not only does it require hand labor, but would make it harder to remove the stumps. A skidsteer can easily push over 12" trees. Raise the bucket to gain some leverage and push. Depending on the roots, you may need to dig up one side of the tree first. Push the tree over, then pick up and shake the dirt off the root system.

Carry the whole tree (with forks) to a discard pile. Depending on the root ball size, you may have to cut the roots off. If you are burning the pile of trees on-site no problem. If the trees are going to be cut up into firewood, avoid dragging them through the dirt. It's amazing how little dirt it takes to dull a chainsaw chain. If you cut at dusk, you can actually see little sparks from the abrasiveness of the dirt.




Listen to this guy, you can tell he has actually done this before unlike most people that relply to these posts. I have never done it with a skid-steer but have done it with an excavator. Having the leverage of the standing tree really helps get the stump out quicker. Just be carefull, trees are big, heavy and can ruin your day in a hurry if not treated with repect.Take extra care when puhing a really thin tree or a dead or dying tree as the top can break off and come toward you. A windy day can also make for some scary experiences. Always wear a hard hat too. You never know.

[Gravel Rat]

If the land is flat and clear of rocks then a dozer will probably do pretty good just push all the crap into a big pile and burn it. Most of the time in this area a excavator (trackhoe) is used to clear land most contractors have 150-200 sized machines.

Don't bury the over burden it makes a poor clearing job your better off burning,grinding or trucking it away. If the wood is any good advertise free firewood the local wood bugs would remove all the crap they would buck it up and cart it away.

The old stumps you burn pile them up in a corner and let them dry out for a year then burn them.

Clearing 10 acres with a skid steer isn't a wise move your best bet is get some one in with some larger equipment and do the heavier work and you go in and do the clean up and finishing.

[REVPRO]

I Just Finished Clearing Some Land For Myself, My Father And I Used A Skid Steer W/ A Grapple Bucket, For The Smaller Stuff, And A Few Of The Bigger Trees 12" Or Bigger We Cut With A Chain Saw About 5 Feet Above The Ground So We Would Have Some Leverage When Digging Them Out. It All Seemed To Work Pretty Well. Another Option To Get Rid Of The Wood Is A Pulp Wood Company, I Know In This Area You Can Usually Get Around $250.00 Dollars A Load. Helps Offset Some Of The Costs. Just My Experience

[TerraFirma Excavating]

Clearing 10 acres with a skid steer isn't a wise move your best bet is get some one in with some larger equipment and do the heavier work and you go in and do the clean up and finishing.

I agree that if you are totally clearing the land if everything, a larger piece of equipment makes sense. Even with the D4, it was difficult working around larger trees that I (actually my wife) wanted to save. I was spending too much time avoiding damage to the bigger trees that I just ended up getting rid of some nice existing trees. I can more plant trees later. I don't know if Bobcatboy needs to leave the larger trees, so using smaller equipment may be necessary.

[SouthernYankee]

One other question is what type of trees are you removing? Pines are much easier than oaks? I can run through pines, while oaks are a pain.Thats something else to consider .

[bobcatboy]

yeah there is mainly pines and 4 to5 inch trees. alot of brush. I am going to use a brush saw/tree saw a grapple and a brush cat. I think I could do it in about 3 days.

[SouthernYankee]

When I used to clear brush, instead of cutting it, I had a eliminator rake which would rip up the brush at the roots. It worked really well for this. Look into one, it was a really cheap rake and it is great for breaking up ground too. I think there were some posts on this site pertaining to the eliminator rake.

[RedWolf]

For a Big job i use a KutKwick BrushMaster.For a small one i use my kutkwick walkbehind.The guy told me it would take out a 4" tree but ive taken out 5 and a half with it.I have one of there old walk behind cutters and it will take out a 4" tree.I did a job for a guy and he sh** when he saw the halk behind take out a 4" tree.its great when i cant get in with the bigger one.I am the only one that uses the walk behind because its so dangerous to run.For stumps i use my fathers old IH backhoe.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y163/RedWolf23/db_Riopelle_Kut_Kwick_large1.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y163/RedWolf23/brushmaster.gif

[bobcatboy]

I had finished the job it took me 4 days to complete. It was hard work but it wasnt as bad a I thought. I mainly used a ambusher and a tree shear, that tree shear is a nice attachment. You can snip the tree or pinch it and roll out your tilt cylenders and it will pry it out stump and all. when every thing was down I called in a few buddies and we pushed every thing into a pile. The guy I was working for was realy iimpressed that I did all of that with skid loader.