i was just hired to clear 37 acres of land-whats the best way to do it???

[Right Touch]

i just was just hired to clear 37 acres of land for future development. 10 acres of it is trees which i have already taken care of but the other 27 is basically an overgrown field that i need to brush hog and pile. i dont have to remove anything just pile it up. The largest brush hog I can find to rent is about 5'. Im figuring with two of these i can get the job done in about 2 weeks. But what is the best way to pile everything? and any thoughts on how to price this????

[Ducati996]

Use one of these and fiqure $800-900 per day

[Junior M]

what do you mean pile it? Your mowing it with a bush hog? ;)


depending on your definition of overgrown would depend on if a Fecon head or a bush hog would be better..

[J. Peterson Grading]

How did you get a job of this size if you don't know how to get it done?

J.

[YellowDogSVC]

Use one of these and fiqure $800-900 per day

Isn't that a little cheap for that setup? I figure up north prices should be higher than what we get down south.

[P.Services]

i dont understand how some of you guys can function on a daily bases? do you find life to be a challenge?

a fecon for brush?

pile it up? oh yes make little witch hat piles out in the field like the Amish do.

have you never used a brush hog?

[Junior M]

i dont understand how some of you guys can function on a daily bases? do you find life to be a challenge?

a fecon for brush?

pile it up? oh yes make little witch hat piles out in the field like the Amish do.

have you never used a brush hog?
depending on how thick the brush is, a fecon HEAD(as in the attachment for a skid :hammerhead:) is a better choice because you can actually mow it instead of pushing it down or you can get on top of it instead of mashing it..

Atleast thats my opinion..

[Hanau]

1,000 Mexicans with machetes, axes, and pulaskis.

[P.Services]

a overgrown field would imply overgrown field grasses. a thicket or brush would imply woody material.

opinions are like arm pits, every one has a couple of them and they all stink!!!

i have run the fecon HEAD (good head in your case, isnt that the name? ) they dont really mow grass that well, not at all. i have mowed many of fields with a brush hog and never had a problem matting it down. yes they push it down but they also mow so short that they still cut it off at ground level.

want the best of both worlds, use a flail mower.

i speak from experience, you speak from your butt.

[Junior M]

a overgrown field would imply overgrown field grasses. a thicket or brush would imply woody material.

opinions are like arm pits, every one has a couple of them and they all stink!!!

i have run the fecon HEAD (good head in your case, isnt that the name? ) they dont really mow grass that well, not at all. i have mowed many of fields with a brush hog and never had a problem matting it down. yes they push it down but they also mow so short that they still cut it off at ground level.

want the best of both worlds, use a flail mower.

i speak from experience, you speak from your butt.
brush grows different every where picasso.. Over grown fields here have anything from grass to 8in across pines!

And you can kiss my ass, I know they dont cut grass well, why I said it depends on your definition of over grown field on what attachment is the best.. My god, do you not read man? Its like your a freakin 3rd grader waiting to jump on someones ass cause you cant read simple english..

[P.Services]

i would prefer if you used 8" diameter pine. "across" is not the proper term.

but again we arnt talking "brush" we are talking field grass.

2 weeks to cut that with two machines? huh?

[landscapesc]

a overgrown field would imply overgrown field grasses. a thicket or brush would imply woody material.

opinions are like arm pits, every one has a couple of them and they all stink!!!

i have run the fecon HEAD (good head in your case, isnt that the name? ) they dont really mow grass that well, not at all. i have mowed many of fields with a brush hog and never had a problem matting it down. yes they push it down but they also mow so short that they still cut it off at ground level.

want the best of both worlds, use a flail mower.

i speak from experience, you speak from your butt.

I am with JR you should learn how to read....but i agree with you that the FECON head is not for grass cutting....

[Junior M]

i would prefer if you used 8" diameter pine. "across" is not the proper term.

but again we arnt talking "brush" we are talking field grass.

2 weeks to cut that with two machines? huh?

I dont care what you prefer..

He said, overgrown field, never said if it was brush or not. Like I said, I dont know what its like there, but here overgrown fields differ.. How do you know there arent small briar patches or anything like that? Have you looked at the job?

[tmf lawn care]

ok get the brush hog
where in hillsborough is the job? i grow up there. over in millstone

[landscapesc]

How did you get a job of this size if you don't know how to get it done?

J.

Good point...he also said he was "just hired" and he is asking how to do it and how to price it....seems to me that if you are hired to do it you have already given a price!

[P.Services]

look man pick a side and get on it. you cant support junior and me. who are you with? haha

[Junior M]

I am with JR you should learn how to read....but i agree with you that the FECON head is not for grass cutting....
I agree with both of you, but if you'd read my initial post I clearly stated my reasoning..

[P.Services]

your right a small briar patch would bog a brush hog right down. i would agree with you and use a forestry head for that type of work.

[landscapesc]

look man pick a side and get on it. you cant support junior and me. who are you with? haha

I am not picking sides on this one....JR is from South Carolina and you are from Fenton (my old college roomate grew up there)...i will let you guys fight it out! :hammerhead:

[Hanau]

I beleive the correct term for tree diameter is DBH, diameter at breast height.

[Junior M]

your right a small briar patch would bog a brush hog right down. i would agree with you and use a forestry head for that type of work.
see where I am coming from? some fields overgrown fields contain both, it all depends on the OPs definition of "over grown"

[sunray]

brush grows different every where picasso.. Over grown fields here have anything from grass to 8in across pines!

And you can kiss my ass, I know they dont cut grass well, why I said it depends on your definition of over grown field on what attachment is the best.. My god, do you not read man? Its like your a freakin 3rd grader waiting to jump on someones ass cause you cant read simple english..

Now that's a sharing of ideas, good reply.

[Junior M]

Now that's a sharing of ideas, good reply.
I am not sure how to respond.. ;)

[P.Services]

see where I am coming from? some fields overgrown fields contain both, it all depends on the OPs definition of "over grown"

oh sorry i guess you couldnt hear my sarcasm in that. i mow 4'' diameter trees with a brush hog, it will eat a briar patch like i eat meow

[Junior M]

oh sorry i guess you couldnt hear my sarcasm in that. i mow 4'' diameter trees with a brush hog, it will eat a briar patch like i eat meow
things are different everywhere.. I am going off what I know about this area, the OP's area might be completely different than both of ours..

and no, I cant get sarcasm through a computer screen..

[SiteSolutions]

i just was just hired to clear 37 acres of land for future development. 10 acres of it is trees which i have already taken care of but the other 27 is basically an overgrown field that i need to brush hog and pile. i dont have to remove anything just pile it up. The largest brush hog I can find to rent is about 5'. Im figuring with two of these i can get the job done in about 2 weeks. But what is the best way to pile everything? and any thoughts on how to price this????

It would help if you clarify what type of material is in the overgrown field, and what it is exactly that you would stack up.

If it's just in need of bush hogging, two 5' bush hogs can handle 27 acres in a couple of days, plus or minus. I prefer to use a skid steer or compact track loader with a cab and bush master on the front, especially if there's any briars. If you're on a tractor, pulling the cutter, you get to ride through the briars first and they get to stick you before you mow them down. If you have no cab, then you eat dust and the weather and bees can sting you on the face, which takes a lot of fun out of the whole thing.

[Ducati996]

Isn't that a little cheap for that setup? I figure up north prices should be higher than what we get down south.


Its is usually higher and that wouldnt be my price and its doubtful that you can find a machine like this for that amount..... that setup is rare

so in other words my pricing dosent mean much, I threw it out there

I dont think it will take him two full weeks to do that either....

[iluvscag]

i speak from experience, you speak from your butt.[/QUOTE]



HEHE

[South Florida Lawns]

Whats faster a tractor or a CTL? The owner of my nursery just sent a 4x4 JD to his 200 acre property in Costa Rica. He has pictures of it cutting 15ft tall grass and brush. The Deere's got a 150hp diesel on it and a big ol hog on the back and they say it only slows down a tad in the thick stuff. It wasn't that big looking either, you'd be suprised what them tractors can cut.

[SellingIron]

SFL, I don't think a 150HP tractor would be considered small...

[South Florida Lawns]

SFL, I don't think a 150HP tractor would be considered small...

It was a 7030 small frame tractor. Not big at all, It was pulled behind a 1 ton Dodge to the port of Miami.

[EcoGreen Services]

I'm surprised , Depending on what's in the field they just didn't get a Farmer to cut it and bale it. Cows will will eat most anything. If it's field grasses most farmers will do it free for the hay.

10 Acres of Trees ? Do you have to have to Stump it as well ? A good operator on a excavator with a slashbuster can clear 2-3 acres a day

For 27 Acres of overgrown fields I would kill it first with BK-32 Brush Killer then cut it and till it with a 10' tiller.

It all depends on what the conditions of the job are. But it sounds to me like you don't have the equipment to do the job


These work good, Rip through just about anything under 2" dia and leave the ground nice and smooth Thumbs Up

[riverwalklandscaping]

I would look for a 6' hog if you can unless you want to have it take longer because you get paid by the hour. if you overlap a foot on each pass a 5 foot hog does 4 feet and a 6 foot does 5 feet so you are talking 25% faster. I brush hog one of our fields that does not get hayed, about 20 acres and it takes about 16- hours with one tractor.

[RockSet N' Grade]

If this is for development.......mowing is not an option, nor is it a cost effective or efficient option......period. Waste of money - yes, it is under the assumption that this is going to be built on and not just mowed because of weed abatement issues or citations.
Hire a dozer and push the spoils and organics into piles and depending, haul off.

[ProTouch Groundscapes]

look what y'all went and did, scared the OP away...

no wonder not many people venture this far south on lawnsite...

[RockSet N' Grade]

ProTouch........was it not honest enough or just presented wrong on my part?

[02DURAMAX]

a push mower~

[AintNoFun]

how do you get hired to do a job and then have to come up with a price?im doing something wrong i guess..

[EcoGreen Services]

If this is for development.......
Hire a dozer and push the spoils and organics into piles and depending, haul off.

Opps , Missed the development part. Yup, 2-3 days on a D6,,, Done

[ProTouch Groundscapes]

ProTouch........was it not honest enough or just presented wrong on my part?

the comment was not directed at you at all. I was leaning more towards the lil spat between picasso and junior, but the issue is that whenever anyone posts on here asking how something should be done, everyone comes in with their idea(which is completely justified) but defends it as if no other options should even be considered, and then people get a bit offended that others are saying to do it another way.

the fact is that the OP didnt give us enough facts, like what type of material he is dealing with, to really give a good answer. everyone gave different ideas on what to do in a certain situation, which is good b/c the OP can then come and pick the idea that pertains to him, but there are lil arguments between each idea even though no one knows what type of field it is.

personally, since he said he took care of the woods and now has a field of brush, my opinion would be to use a standard brush mower mounted on a ctl or tire machine with ott, that might be the most efficient option, or use brush killer if possible, but if its finer stuff like tall grasses, then a flail mower would give the cleanest cut.

[EcoGreen Services]

but the issue is that whenever anyone posts on here asking how something should be done, everyone comes in with their idea(which is completely justified) but defends it as if no other options should even be considered, and then people get a bit offended that others are saying to do it another way.



I think that's the beauty of a forum like this. Just because I've done something a certain way for years it doesn't mean it's the best way or that that there isn't a better way to do things. Keeping a open mind on a variety of ideas on how to accomplish something better or faster is always good.

I'm always trying to learn new and better ways to do things, You never stop learning if you want to improve.

[Right Touch]

sorry it took me so long to reply. I guess i was a little vague with the initial post. I was hired because of one of those "not what you know, but who you know" situations and all i have to do is come up with a fair price. It is basically field grass that hasnt been mowed in a few years. There is really no brush. My original thought was around $1000 per acre but then i did some searching and see guys charging up to $5000 per acre (but that includes tree work) So i wanna price it within range but dont want to lose money. and oh yeah i wanna buy a house so i need $ for a down payment:) so im looking to make a good buck off it

[Right Touch]

this is what it looks like

[Right Touch]

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=294142

[haybaler]

sorry it took me so long to reply. I guess i was a little vague with the initial post. I was hired because of one of those "not what you know, but who you know" situations and all i have to do is come up with a fair price. It is basically field grass that hasnt been mowed in a few years. There is really no brush. My original thought was around $1000 per acre but then i did some searching and see guys charging up to $5000 per acre (but that includes tree work) So i wanna price it within range but dont want to lose money. and oh yeah i wanna buy a house so i need $ for a down payment:) so im looking to make a good buck off it

I can mow 27 acres of grass in 2 10hr days with my 50hp kubota and a 6' bush hog at $65 an hr. you are way out of line. $1000 per acre is if you clearing trees/large brush.

[ProTouch Groundscapes]

I think that's the beauty of a forum like this. Just because I've done something a certain way for years it doesn't mean it's the best way or that that there isn't a better way to do things. Keeping a open mind on a variety of ideas on how to accomplish something better or faster is always good.

I'm always trying to learn new and better ways to do things, You never stop learning if you want to improve.

AHHH the key words.... sometimes there are those of us on here that can be accused of failing to do so...


back on topic. So after this is mowed down (whichever method) they want to you to put everything into piles? if so, then i could see you getting 500 an acre easy. and whichever way you want to allocate than between mowing and collection. It will take you alot longer to collect things into piles and leave the place clean than the actual mowing.

if your using a tractor, and the ground is pretty good underfoot, then a pto bush hog for mowing and a landscape rake on the 3 pt should do a pretty good job dont you guys think?

although a flail mower might mulch everything up more finely and then you might not need to collect anything.

[haybaler]

a brush hog will chew everything up to almost nothing. there is no reason to rake anything. if you raked piles and left them there it would look a lot worse than just mowing it. if it's a development they are just going to come in with dozers and scrape all the topsoil off anyways.

[Right Touch]

AHHH the key words.... sometimes there are those of us on here that can be accused of failing to do so...


back on topic. So after this is mowed down (whichever method) they want to you to put everything into piles? if so, then i could see you getting 500 an acre easy. and whichever way you want to allocate than between mowing and collection. It will take you alot longer to collect things into piles and leave the place clean than the actual mowing.

if your using a tractor, and the ground is pretty good underfoot, then a pto bush hog for mowing and a landscape rake on the 3 pt should do a pretty good job dont you guys think?

although a flail mower might mulch everything up more finely and then you might not need to collect anything.



thank you protouch. your estimate seems like the most useful

[RockSet N' Grade]

baling that for hay sounds reasonable and profitable and doable. find a local guy and have him bale it. we are getting $90 a ton down here for round bales. The question I really have that I am unclear on: Are they going to build "soon" or is this just for weed abatement purposes to knock down the vegetation. If they are going to build, doze it after you bale it.......if not, a tractor with a brush hog will suit just fine.

[Fieldman12]

I have done a fair amount of bush hog work over the years and I can tell you it is between $60.00 and $85.00 an hour. That can easily be done with a 6' bushhog. The stuff does not really look that tall and fairly clean meaning no brush. I would figure roughly 1.5 to 2 hours per acre. Going around the trees wil make it take longer than if it was an open field. Now you could have this baled and from the pictures even though it has some weeds in it someone Im sure would bale it for hay. If it was me I would rent a tractor and a bush hog and a mini ex and get the trees out. As for the thousand to five thousand you think it is worth I dont see you getting.