Am I Nuts?

[El Wood]

Well, I started clearing land back to my future pond site... It's a lot thicker then I thought! The road is going to need to be about 600 feet. I may also clear out some area on both sides of the road to make it look nice. The tool I have is a JD 3320 with grapple and MX5 heavy duty cutter. I know that heavy equipment would be the best way to do this but I want to use my tractor. Can this be done? Am I going to damage by brush hog or tractor? I know it will be slow going but I'm having fun do it. Here are some pics... Thanks for the advice!!

 

[TripleR]

No doubt you can do it, but it doesn't look as though your cutter is dealing well with some of the thicker saplings which can easily damage your tractor, I guess it is your call on whether it's worth the risk.

My son and I have cleared some pretty rough land with our L5740 and M8540, but this year rented a Bobcat tracked skid steer to take the worse punishment and save our tractors. We still tackled some tough stuff, but sometimes you just have to decide not can I, but should I?

 

[swines]

You can certainly do the dirt work for the road with the 3320 with a rear blade or box blade. I don't think you'll want to try and mow the thick brush shown in your photos. You need something like a skid steer with Loftness TimberAx. You need to use the piece of equipment designed for the job you're doing. I'd either rent a skid steer or pay someone with a tree / brush shredder to clear the heavy brush and trees and then do the remainder of the roadway myself with the tractor.

Seems like you'll need a PTO driven chipper/shredder to deal with the wood as well. Depending upon how much time you want to spend, you could do it with a couple of chainsaws for the brush and trees and then chip the brush. But a tree and brush shredder could probably do the entire road cut for you in about 1-2 days. The all you'd have to do is clear up the debris and start working on the road.

Looks like lots of fun to me!

 

[RaydaKub]

Are you nuts? Yeah! Nuts about your tractor! Looks like a lot of great seat time to me!

 

[El Wood]

Thanks for the comments guys. Like you said TripleR; I probably can do it but should I. I would hate to put a few years of wear and tear on my equipment for just this project. Or damage my toy. The little I did, I would push brush down with the grapple and then try backing the brush hog onto the material. A few times my bush hog completely disappeared and I couldn't get over the top of it. That's when I started getting a little concerned.

My new neighbor has an excavating business. Maybe I'll ask him how much he would charge to blast through there with some heavy equipment and then I 'll clear up the aftermath with my tractor.

 

[DKCDKC]

I've found you can always find ways to do more with a tractor than you think. Looking at your brush, I might suggest you consider a Ratchet Rake on your FEL. I have a smaller tractor but have been very successful bulling through brush and small trees... Pulling them up usually and then pushing into a pile for burning. It is amazing how well it tears out brush and small trees.

 

[TripleR]

Thanks for the comments guys. Like you said TripleR; I probably can do it but should I. I would hate to put a few years of wear and tear on my equipment for just this project. Or damage my toy. The little I did, I would push brush down with the grapple and then try backing the brush hog onto the material. A few times my bush hog completely disappeared and I couldn't get over the top of it. That's when I started getting a little concerned.

My new neighbor has an excavating business. Maybe I'll ask him how much he would charge to blast through there with some heavy equipment and then I 'll clear up the aftermath with my tractor.

Sounds like a plan to me, I love doing that sort of thing, but as mentioned, after doing quite a bit of it decided to save the wear and tear on our tractors. Fortunately my son can operate more equipment than I, so we got by with paying $1,100 to use a tracked skid loader for about ten days. We have also rented an excavator in the past, cheaper than buying one and maintaining one. Our sheds and barns are already full of equipment, campers etc.

 

[jinman]

Greatlakes, I looked at your photos and don't see a thing that seems over-the-top for a tractor and cutter like yours. Certainly, the tractor is not gonna stay shiny and new with work like that, but grease it good daily when doing heavy work (especially the FEL) and take small bites. Backing a rotary cutter into brush is the way to go. That small brush I see is exactly what your cutter was designed to cut. I WOULD NOT drive forward into that stuff, but just repeatedly back in and pull out. Watch for vines getting tangled on your PTO shaft too. Work your way around the bigger stuff over 2" diameter and come back later to dig them out or cut them off flush with the ground. You've paid a lot for that tractor and should use it. It'll stay shiny if you keep it in your garage, but you didn't buy it to be a trophy, did you? Just maintain it well and use your head when operating. Of course, I'm talking about brush clearing here. Your tractor is not the tool I'd use for pond building. Hire heavy equipment to do that job and use your tractor to clean up after them and do the landscaping.

 

[Jerry/MT]

I'm not a big fan of clearing trees and brush with a tractor. Wheeled machines are designed to work in grassy and cleared areas. I know there will be a lot of folks who say "I've done it..." etc but I think the job is easier and better done with a tracked machine like some of the small Cats. They are armored and designed to do this kind of work in forested and brushy conditions. You can get a lot more clearing done with a small Cat than with a tractor, especially if you have clearing forks on it. Certainly you can "do" this job with your tractor. The question is "should you" and only you can answer that. Be aware of tearing lines and wiring off and puncturing filters, tire's, the radiator, etc with broken branches, etc when you use a tractor in the brush. If that doesn't concern you, than go to it!

Opinions are like belly buttons-everybody has one. This is mine on this subject

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I have a L3130 Kubota and statted clearing a road and property for our current home a few years ago. I quickly dicided that fun as it was it would require a lot of time with a machine this size. I hired a local person with a track loadrd that did in two days what it would have taken me months to do with my tractor. It can be done if you have the time just be careful and expect a couple of flat tires.

I will try to attach the thread I posted this process in...hope it works..
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/106641-land-clearing-house-building.html

 

[cyamaha2007]

I would see what rental of a skidsteer with brush hog would cost. That way you dont have to worry about wear and tear. I rent on a 3 day weekend so i get 3 days for the price of one. My cost for last weekend was 250 for a 60hp skid loader. If you break your tractor it would likely cost way more than that. Also a skid loader is lightly armored on the bottom and you can probably get one with tracks. That being said i did a ton of brush work with by 3130 but wish i wouldnt have due to how fast i finished it with the skidloader.

 

[El Wood]

Thanks for all of the comments and advice! Well, I drove out to my property today and backed my tractor out of my neighbor's pole barn. He has been nice enough to let me keep it there while the house is being built. I then drove down to the neighbor's place who owns the excavating business to talk to him about heavy equipment. When I arrived there, I found he wasn't home. So I sat there on the tractor for a minute and thought I couldn't just pull it back into the garage and go home! So, I decided to go back to the site, push some dirt around, and see how it goes. I started going VERY slow. What I found is that due to the nearby wetland, the soil was pretty soft (or my grapple is a brute). I was actually able to drop the grapple tips into the soil, move forward and take a big chomp out of the brush. A lot of small trees just popped right out of the ground. The rest of the stuff, I just pushed over. I then fliped around and backed the cutter over the downed stuff until it was shredded. This is what it looked liked like pushed down...



I tried to keep a good eye on what was going underneith the tractor. I jumped off every 10 minutes or so to inspect the equipment. I'm glad I did because a few times, small branches jammed themselves up underneith. After awhile, I really started enjoying myself and started thinking what "jinman" said.... I didn't spend all this money on a tractor to keep it shiny hidden in the garage. All I can say is I had some GREAT seat time today and I think it's coming along nicely. I'm about 500 feet in with about 500 feet to go. There's no turning back now! :thumbsup: Here is how it turned out. Any suggestions on the job? Also, should I be greasing each time after this? Checking fluids? Thanks!

 

[bubbacuse77]

Like others have said: What are your concerns, time or wear on the tractor? I like your thought of getting your neighbor in there with the heavier equipment and using the tractor to clean up and do the finesse work but it looks like you put the throttle down already. I have the same set up and like you said watch to make sure larger sticks and branches don't get kicked up into the underside of the tractor catching on hydraulic lines. Have Fun!

 

[Gordon Gould]

Good for you :thumbsup: I was really surprised by the responces you were getting. I agreed with jinman. There is nothing there in your photos that I can see that a tractor and bushhog can't handle. All you need is a method, confidence, and common sense. You get those by experience. :thumbsup:

 

[B8FISH]

Looks like good "work" for your combo! Keep an eye on the levelness of the MX-5, while having the rear higher makes it easier to back into the brush, it also lets more debris fly out. If you work for a while and then make the deck more level and run over the entire area a time or two it will really shred everything and leave a smoother path (this is where a hydraulic top link really shines!!). You should be able to chop anything in the 1" range easily, but definitely go around the 2" ers as Jinman suggested.

also, just noticed the tree line in one of your shots--did there used to be a road or laneway back to the pond--those trees are in a nice straight line!

 

[DT86]

All you need is a method, confidence, and common sense. You get those by experience. :thumbsup:

Yeah, what he said.

If you can't get this done with your grapple then why own one??

Have fun, stay safe and post lots of pictures.

 

[dave1949]

I would go through with a chain saw first cutting the larger stuff off at ground level. Lay that stuff down and grapple what you can, bush hog over it to take off the thin whips.

If you make a first pass about 12' wide and get that clear, you can drop trees and brush from both sides into that space and use the grapple on them.

Yes, you can use your cutter on that stuff, but a first pass with the chain saw will take a lot of the punishment off it and reduce the chance of "spearing" something on your tractor. It really doesn't take that long to go through with a chainsaw first, you will be using the tractor to do the hard part of the project--picking up and moving piles of brush.

 

[tractorshopper]

Looking good.

 

[RoyJackson]

Personally, I don't see a problem with cutting most of what's shown in the pictures (first post). Do go slow and keep your bucket as low as possible to find any obstructions you may not want to run over.
The stuff you show in the pictures is no thicker then I cut with a 16.5 PTO HP Deere 670 and a Landpride medium duty cutter (about 4-5 acres of neglected right-of-way). Most of the brush was as high as the cowl, some as high as the ROPS. I just went as slow as I could (1st gear Low Range...about 0.7 MPH) and kept the radiator screens cleared.
After you clear the underbrush, you can take down those trees with the proper equipment.

As far as damage or excessive wear and tear..I just don't see that as a problem

 

[EE_Bota]

I don't see anything that scares me TOO bad, but do the math right in case something goes wrong: Don't count your fun because anything you rent to do the work would also be fun. But do pretend you are renting your tractor for this work so if you damage something, or bust a tire, etc, you won't get down about it or feel foolish. If you formally lay aside the rental fee saved, if in the end no damage was done, you might reward yourself for your decision with a new implement.