Brush Hog Trail Making Results
- Thread starter Boone
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5string
New member
Boone,
You have a nice place. It does look like the brush hog has done a great job of clearing those paths. In your last picture, there is a stand of 5 or 6 trees off to the far left. Those are the size (median) that I need to deal with. Imagine 5 acres with trees that size (8" to 2" Dia.) spaced about 24" to 36" apart.
Thanks for sharing those pics.
You have a nice place. It does look like the brush hog has done a great job of clearing those paths. In your last picture, there is a stand of 5 or 6 trees off to the far left. Those are the size (median) that I need to deal with. Imagine 5 acres with trees that size (8" to 2" Dia.) spaced about 24" to 36" apart.
Thanks for sharing those pics.
Knight9
Veteran Member
Hey Boone,
Great looking paths! I did a similiar thing on my ten acres. It gives us some nice walking paths and in the winter more places to go snowmobiling. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I only cut mine last fall though, so I'm hoping to get the nice grass growing up that you have. Well done!
Kevin
Great looking paths! I did a similiar thing on my ten acres. It gives us some nice walking paths and in the winter more places to go snowmobiling. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I only cut mine last fall though, so I'm hoping to get the nice grass growing up that you have. Well done!
Kevin
riptides
Super Star Member
Nice, nice job.
Tell me about how thick were the trees on average? I am looking to do the same but I have a lot of trees close together.
Average size about 15' high, 2"wide.
I may rent equipment rather than ding my own.
HAHA.
-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Tell me about how thick were the trees on average? I am looking to do the same but I have a lot of trees close together.
Average size about 15' high, 2"wide.
I may rent equipment rather than ding my own.
HAHA.
-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
I just went out and measured some of the brush and trees next to where I hogged. The sizes seem to be around one inch to one and a half inches and of course many smaller. If the trees were larger I used a chainsaw and cut the trunks even with the ground. I didn't notice any undue heavy usage on my brush hog from doing this work.
Check out my post under "brush forks" at the make it yourself forum above, to see a great way to move all the brush to the pile. These TBNers' are great for super ideas.
Check out my post under "brush forks" at the make it yourself forum above, to see a great way to move all the brush to the pile. These TBNers' are great for super ideas.
John_Mc
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2001
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- 4,721
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- Monkton, Vermont
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- NH TC33D Modified with belly pan, limb risers & FOPS. Honda Pioneer 520 & antique Coot UTV
I'm curious what, if anything, you did to deal with the sapling stubble on your trails after brush hogging. I've been working on trails in my woods over the past year or so. The stumps left from small saplings can be real killers when walking the trails (not to mention tearing up the bottoms of cross-coountry skis, if you don't have enough snow cover.) In addition, it can do serious damage to horses' hooves if they step on a sharp one wrong.
Dealing with each stump individually has gotten just too time consuming, since there can be hundreds of them in just a few dozen feet on some sections of trail. Box blading works in some instances, but not always. The ones I can catch with the scarifiers sometimes get pulled up if I hit them just right, but the blade on the box rides up over the stumps more often than not. I haven't tried a roto-tiller yet, since I don't own one (might borrow my neighbors for a trial). My current method of choice is to cut them, then wait a year or more and come back with the boxblade. This has a bit better results than trying the boxblade soon after cutting.
Any helpful hints?
John Mc
Dealing with each stump individually has gotten just too time consuming, since there can be hundreds of them in just a few dozen feet on some sections of trail. Box blading works in some instances, but not always. The ones I can catch with the scarifiers sometimes get pulled up if I hit them just right, but the blade on the box rides up over the stumps more often than not. I haven't tried a roto-tiller yet, since I don't own one (might borrow my neighbors for a trial). My current method of choice is to cut them, then wait a year or more and come back with the boxblade. This has a bit better results than trying the boxblade soon after cutting.
Any helpful hints?
John Mc
Egon
Epic Contributor
Have you had any of those sapling stubs go thru a tire after they dry up and get hard?
I've made a short trail to join other trails and used the loader and back blade.
Egon
I've made a short trail to join other trails and used the loader and back blade.
Egon
Last edited:
Hi John,
The brush that I cleared was Popple (aspen), birch, unfornuately some red oak saplings, but mostly willow brush. I used the brush hog with the sides resting on the ground to get as low as possible. I have mowed the areas that I posted pictures of about 5 times now. I walk on those trails year round with my dogs almost everyday, and I do not notice much stubble. I cut all the larger trees so the stump is flat, as clsoe to the ground as possible.
After the stumps rot, raking them with either FEL tooth bar teeth or a landscape rake as been working for me. Another way that I have used in the past to clear out areas is to put up some temp fencing and put a couple of horses in and let them clean it out. If you do this it is best if they have access to their main pasture/home, in case they decide they need to run somewhere. If I do this, I supplement them with hay so they don't starve.
The brush that I cleared was Popple (aspen), birch, unfornuately some red oak saplings, but mostly willow brush. I used the brush hog with the sides resting on the ground to get as low as possible. I have mowed the areas that I posted pictures of about 5 times now. I walk on those trails year round with my dogs almost everyday, and I do not notice much stubble. I cut all the larger trees so the stump is flat, as clsoe to the ground as possible.
After the stumps rot, raking them with either FEL tooth bar teeth or a landscape rake as been working for me. Another way that I have used in the past to clear out areas is to put up some temp fencing and put a couple of horses in and let them clean it out. If you do this it is best if they have access to their main pasture/home, in case they decide they need to run somewhere. If I do this, I supplement them with hay so they don't starve.
John_Mc
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2001
- Messages
- 4,721
- Location
- Monkton, Vermont
- Tractor
- NH TC33D Modified with belly pan, limb risers & FOPS. Honda Pioneer 520 & antique Coot UTV
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Have you had any of those sapling stubs go thru a tire after they dry up and get hard?)</font>
Nope (at least not yet...) I think the R4 tires are a help on that score.
John Mc
Nope (at least not yet...) I think the R4 tires are a help on that score.
John Mc
