Advice..

[nchunter1989]

So throwing this out here- In our area it has become almost impossible to rent a forestry mulcher for DIY work. All the bobcat dealers have a policy in place that either you have be a business, or at least have rental equipment insurance.

We did have 1 gentleman come out last year & did a great job but he is no longer doing that work. I’ve been pricing others & everyone is running $200-300/hr or the cheaper guys want a day or two to make it worth it which I understand.

Landowner is funding all this & im looking at renting a tracked skid steer with either a grapple or a tractor & bushhog. We’ve ran a skid steer & bushhog before & it did “ok”, this is a 7yr old clearcut, so sweetgum & oak saplings that are 2-3”, but might be a cluster 10-12” together.

My thoughts were push it with the grapple, since this is fairly sandy soil & the roots are fairly shallow, but my equipment experience has been with either a mulching head, a plain bucket & the bushhog. Anyone cleared with a grapple on either a tractor or skid steer?




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[WeedyJ]

My buddy is good at clearing with the grapple, but I prefer a toothed bucket. You can push the trees first to slightly uproot them to make it easier, then dig and lift. Depending on the grapple, it may not do well with smaller trees. Mine is designed to handle the big stuff easily, but small stuff falls out of it. I am a novice and uprooting sweet gums is an easy thing to learn.

 

[Turkish]

Is this for roads or plots? I can’t see using a mulched for plots.

 

[nchunter1989]

In this case, it is perimeter trails/firebreaks . I’m not a huge fan of mulching for a plot due to the debris left over.. but what we had done last year actually turned out well.

I’ve used a bucket clearing waay back, & it was “ehh”.. I could see the grapple working better & definitely easier for cleaning up the piles left behind.


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[WeedyJ]

In this case, it is perimeter trails/firebreaks . I’m not a huge fan of mulching for a plot due to the debris left over.. but what we had done last year actually turned out well.

I’ve used a bucket clearing waay back, & it was “ehh”.. I could see the grapple working better & definitely easier for cleaning up the piles left behind.


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I guess it really depends on the grapple. Mine is similar to the first one picture, so fully closed, the small stuff falls out unless you have a big pile because it cant close any further and compress the brush. You can uproot with it well, but if you have finer stuff like blackberries, it just combs through it. Maybe something like the second style grapple would be easier with smaller stuff. When the sales guy demoed the skid steer for me , he cleared a small plot with the bucket in no time. If all you care about getting rid of is trees the size you describe a stump bucket with a grapple would be the cat's pajamas! I love my stump bucket, but once I uproot something, it is hard to maneuver the tree to where I want it. Wish I had gotten the grapple on it.

 

[Tree Spud]

So throwing this out here- In our area it has become almost impossible to rent a forestry mulcher for DIY work. All the bobcat dealers have a policy in place that either you have be a business, or at least have rental equipment insurance.

We did have 1 gentleman come out last year & did a great job but he is no longer doing that work. I’ve been pricing others & everyone is running $200-300/hr or the cheaper guys want a day or two to make it worth it which I understand.

Landowner is funding all this & im looking at renting a tracked skid steer with either a grapple or a tractor & bushhog. We’ve ran a skid steer & bushhog before & it did “ok”, this is a 7yr old clearcut, so sweetgum & oak saplings that are 2-3”, but might be a cluster 10-12” together.

My thoughts were push it with the grapple, since this is fairly sandy soil & the roots are fairly shallow, but my equipment experience has been with either a mulching head, a plain bucket & the bushhog. Anyone cleared with a grapple on either a tractor or skid steer?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Have no idea what your question is or what you want to accomplish ...push what? .... Clear what? ... Why a mulcher then a grapple ... please clarify ...

 

[nchunter1989]

So throwing this out here- In our area it has become almost impossible to rent a forestry mulcher for DIY work. All the bobcat dealers have a policy in place that either you have be a business, or at least have rental equipment insurance.

We did have 1 gentleman come out last year & did a great job but he is no longer doing that work. I’ve been pricing others & everyone is running $200-300/hr or the cheaper guys want a day or two to make it worth it which I understand.

Landowner is funding all this & im looking at renting a tracked skid steer with either a grapple or a tractor & bushhog. We’ve ran a skid steer & bushhog before & it did “ok”, this is a 7yr old clearcut, so sweetgum & oak saplings that are 2-3”, but might be a cluster 10-12” together.

My thoughts were push it with the grapple, since this is fairly sandy soil & the roots are fairly shallow, but my equipment experience has been with either a mulching head, a plain bucket & the bushhog. Anyone cleared with a grapple on either a tractor or skid steer?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Have no idea what your question is or what you want to accomplish ...push what? .... Clear what? ... Why a mulcher then a grapple ... please clarify ...

I thought the last paragraph made it clear, at least by the other responses- simply, how well will a grapple/root grapple work in a 6/7 yr old cutover/clear cut. As I mentioned, hardwood,pine & vegetation,12-16ft. This is opening up trails that were established WITH a mulcher but haven’t been maintained or now are being overgrown .

Again, we cannot currently rent a dozer or a forestry mulcher to do it ourselves. So either we hire it out or rent what is available.


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[Tree Spud]

I thought the last paragraph made it clear, at least by the other responses- simply, how well will a grapple/root grapple work in a 6/7 yr old cutover/clear cut. As I mentioned, hardwood,pine & vegetation,12-16ft. This is opening up trails that were established WITH a mulcher but haven’t been maintained or now are being overgrown .

Again, we cannot currently rent a dozer or a forestry mulcher to do it ourselves. So either we hire it out or rent what is available.


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I remove small trees & shrubs with my grapple which in on a 60 hp tractor. With trees you have cut them of about 2' above the ground so you can get the lower grapple under the roots. For something as large as your describe, I would use a backhoe. Rip out the roots on either side of the tree, then use the bucket higher up on the tree to gain leverage and tip it over.

Have you considered an excavator?

 

[jsasker007]

I think a small excavator would work pretty good as lond as you get one with a blade(then you have a mini dozer). The blade for scraping only as much as is needed to clear and then the bucket allows you to grab and place your debris(much easier if the bucket has a thumb for grabbing). It's not very hard to learn operating and becomes real addicting, real fast. Don't know if that is an option for you but had to throw it out there.