Dozer vs Excavator-need opinion

[bbirder]

Hey Guys! Need some experienced opinions from you. I am planning to do so clearing along fence lines this spring. The majority of what I will be clearing is small trees 1" to 4" in diameter. It has grown up from 10 ft to 50 ft wide in spots along the fence lines. I want to rent the machinery to clear this and not sure if I need a dozer or excavator to knock down and pile up this trash. Not to worried about the fence, because it needs replacing in many spots. I'm thinking that a dozer would be faster, but not sure what size. At this time these trees are not rooted to deep. Any opinions?

 

[arrow]

Excavator with thumb without question. Way more surgical.

 

[ETD66SS]

I own a CAT D6C and a CAT 225 excavator.

From the description of the job, I'd choose the Dozer and just mow those trees down. Get a burn pile going and push bits of the carnage on a fire that is already nice & hot. Do not make one big pile mixed with dirt and expect to be abe to burn. It's best to get a smaller fire going first and add to it a bit at a time. If the fire is hot enough, the gree wood will burn like paper. Try not to choke the fire too much with clumps of dirt.

Dozer will be faster and eat up less fuel for that job IMO.

 

[MarkV]

I agree with ETD66SS. From what you describe a small to medium size dozer would work through that easily. Your not worried about the fence line and as long as you can live with some things pushed to the side, a dozer would be the way to go. As "arrow" said, an excuvator is more surgical but it does not sound like that is needed in your case.

MarkV

 

[dave1949]

You could check out hiring a forestry mulcher. You would end up with chips and shreds, no fire required.

Also, it makes some difference how long the old fence row is you want to clear on the dozer or excavator choice.

I would guess the learning curve on operating an excavator well vs the dozer is a bit longer.
Dave.

 

[20 20]

I noticed know one mention/asked how much experience you have operating either machine? An excavator has an easier learning curve then a dozer. Yes an excavator has more controls etc but it is still easier to work with. If you've never run a dozer you could get yourself into a real sticky situation QUICK! A lot of folks seem to think all there is to dozing is sitting in the seat and slaming along. It doesn't work that way, dozers are a wonderfull piece of equipment but if you're not sure of what you're doing they can be a HUGE headache. Plus an excavator can make a much nicer burn pile without all the dirt.

How long is your fence? What is the ground like?

 

[bbirder]

Thanks for all the replies! To further explain, I have about a mile and a half of fence line to clear. I feel the dozer would make a quicker job of it, and I could always come in after with an excavator to clean up any areas that would cause problems. I have operated both, but it has been a number of years ago. I feel it shouldn't take too long to get back in the swing of things.
My biggest problem is that I am not allowed to burn them. It is illegal where my property is, BUT if I truck them 1/2 mile away it is perfectly legal to burn away.
Gov't regulations-- That's what makes this country so great. I can either let the piles rot down, truck them away or bury them.

 

[scoutcub]

I think your best option is a dozer as well. I own a 10 ton dozer, and a 15 ton excavator, and I personally feel the dozer is easier to operate with a smaller learning curve. To quantify that, my dozer has the joystick controls, which all new dozers have and if you were to rent one, would have. Very easy to operate. (OK, use)
The problem I see is 1.5 miles of tree piles.....ugh. If you can get a big enough dozer, you can windrow the spoils, but to move it all into 1 pile would be too much material. So maybe smaller piles.....dig a few holes with the dozer, and bury? But if you need that ground where they're buried, that ground will probably settle.....and what's your water table like......so many questions....

 

[20 20]

Are you going to be trucking them? If so then an excavator would be the easiest way to load. Something like a cat 307ex w balde would be your best bet I'm thinking????

 

[arrow]

It may be how you are looking at it. Will the dozer be faster? Yes , knocking everything down. As you are pushing with the dozer, basically you are leaving destruction in your wake. This then needs to be tended to and if you are not a skilled dozer operator, which is almost like playing chess in my mind as far as thinking in advance, it will be alot of back and forth. In the end, the dozer now having to "clean up" so to speak, may take just as long or longer than the excavator which is keeping things neat as you go along. Heck, if you can get hold of a dump trailer, you are plucking, loading, cleaning and carting in one shot. Plus, 20-20 raises some good points in that things very rarely go as easily as they appear. In the end, it may be six and a half dozen as far as the actual job so pick the machine that suits your personality, that may be the best indicator of all. For me, it would be the excavator even if it did take a bit longer because I hate going back to work the area again where I used to be. Now if I were just going to leave the trees to rot right there, then its the dozer because I wouldn't be going back. Nuts huh? Works for me however.

 

[tlbuser]

If it's 1-4" stuff, why not spend the rental money on a root rake/grapple for your Kubota? You'll still be able to stack, load or bury the saplings.

 

[slan]

Maybe mulching followed by a spray would be the answer?
Its going to cost you some money since you cant burn and the length of the job.

 

[jenkinsph]

Haven't heard anyone mention this yet but I would take the time to get as much of the wire pulled out and rolled up as possible, and in South Louisiana that is a chore in otself. I like the idea of running a large mulcher through there if one is available near you.

My second choice since digging in your area is so easy I would use a large excavator to bury the junk in a trench. I did this last year clearing a few acres and you would be suprized how much you can compact the small trees in the trench with an excavator. I was able to fill the trench seven times before covering with two feet of dirt. Leave a small mound of dirt to address the settling issue.

 

[rdbrumfield]

Consider renting a chipper. in the long run it might be a bit more labor intensive, but would save the haul expense and save the mess of rootballs all over.

 

[20 20]

Haven't heard anyone mention this yet but I would take the time to get as much of the wire pulled out and rolled up as possible, .

That wire has away with winding itself up into all kinds of odd places on machinery:confused2::drool:

 

[astrohip]

I don't have anything to add, other than I was debating this same question myself. So I've enjoyed listening to you 'pros' debating the cons. I've been wanting to learn how to use an excavator, and thought about renting one along with some lessons from a local I know.

 

[Ken45101]

It may be how you are looking at it. Will the dozer be faster? Yes , knocking everything down. As you are pushing with the dozer, basically you are leaving destruction in your wake. This then needs to be tended to and if you are not a skilled dozer operator, which is almost like playing chess in my mind as far as thinking in advance, it will be alot of back and forth. In the end, the dozer now having to "clean up" so to speak, may take just as long or longer than the excavator which is keeping things neat as you go along

An excavator will leave a lot of holes from the root system. There will be a lot of "destruction" with an excavator too. Those need to be backfilled and packed down, probably with a blade.

Another issue is the slope of the land, if any. A dozer is more stable on hillsides than an excavator.

Ken

 

[MarkV]

You guys that are talking excavator are right in what you say. An excavator is great clearing tool that can surgically remove trees, stack them and leave most of the top soil intact. If you have looked at the original post you will know we are talking 1-4" trees. Do you really think an excavator is called for with that size material? Not me. A small dozer could drive right through that size material, push it to the side and it would be rotted away in a year. Hours faster in my opinion.

MarkV

 

[Ken45101]

Up to 2 (maybe 3") trees, I'd take out with a bush hog.

A skid steer with either a grapple or a tooth bucket would also work, and would be cheaper. A grapple would be good for clamping down and moving/stacking/loading them.

It also depends on the tree types themselves. Some 4" trees with big, deep tap roots will be a lot more effort than 4" trees with shallow roots and no tap roots.

Ken