Can a tractor clear this?

[chsdiyer]

Sea2summit - I had hoped to justify this task as a means to purchase my own tractor but since we don't live on the land yet, and it appears it will be a while still, I wasn't able to do that. I don't even have a driveway where I live and I'm not sure my truck could tow a trailer that often. I was also hesitant to put that much wear on my own tractor as well, but as I was cutting this weekend, I think you're right, if i took it slow it wouldn't be too hard to do with a tractor. A lot of the gum trees I was able to pull over my self and pop the roots with the shovel. The wax myrtle was even easier to dig up. It just took a while to do it that way. There are also some bigger trees in there and some where there are clusters of 3-4 growing in the same spot that proved resilient.

I'm thinking to just rent the larger equipment which is about $850 for a week and clearing out 1-2 acres (hopefully getting all the roots out). I'm intending this area to be our future home site and a place we'd want to plant new trees, garden, etc. I've heard people around here charge about $4000/acre to clear so that's out of the question for me. I figured with a mini excavator or a back hoe I could uproot the trees and put them in a pile to burn and dig out any stumps.

 

[MESSMAKER]

You can get an operator and machine for $150 per hour or less. The amount of work they can do in 1 day will amaze you. You can do a lot with a loader with a tooth car and a rotary cutter, if you can get around. You can clean up property with just a chain saw,axe and a burn pile but it takes a LOT of man hours.

 

[kthompson]

chsdiyer, if you are in Charleston SC there was a person in Mount Pleasant who dealt in used excavators. I do not have his name all but he was very helpful to me. If he is still doing the same business he might would rent you a use machine. He did stock them on at loading dock where Hwy 41 crosses Wando River. Wish had his name he was a great person and helped me greatly. I found him on ebay under used excavators. At that time he had some machines also in two other locations. If you stop at that location ask about him for his family did own it.

 

[DieselBound]

Not sure what those trees are, what kind of root systems, but I've rented an 18k lb excavator and it's been able to knock over trees of that size (alders). Pushing stuff over is a lot faster than digging. Keep in mind that cutting/felling/digging is only a part of the entire operation- there's still lots of cleaning up work!

 

[adventure bob]

I justified my tractor by the amount of land I had to clear vice hiring it out. There's also the satisfaction that comes from the work. No dollar amount on that but I enjoy it. Over the quoted prices to clear the 9 acres, my tractor nearly pays its own way. When I add in the other stuff I do with it, spraying pastures, snow clearing, mowing, seeding, driveway maint, it definitely pays for itself over the payoff period of the loan when compared to having someone else do it. It also makes a great mower lift and heavy stuff mover.

 

[DieselBound]

When I get my grapple functional (need to install hydraulics) I'll be able to swoop up a lot of brush/stumps and dispose of them in various places on my property. For really big stumps I end up burying them in-place. But, it's the final clean-up that really seems to be the most work.

 

[chsdiyer]

Mr. Thompson, thanks for the tip. I'll definitely have to see if that guy is still around. Where abouts in SC are you?

Diesel bound - they are mostly small gum trees. I only found one where the root when straight down. Then rest, if they were by themselves and less than 4 inches about, I could pull over and the roots usually were shallow and ran parallel to the ground.

I haven't thought too much on the clean up other than I plan to burn the wood. The big trees I hope to mill. I'll probably smooth the ground the best I can but let the foundation guy take care of the most of it when we get to that point. It'll probably be a while before we're to that point so now i'm just hoping for a place we can go to let the dog run and the kids play (without tripping on stumps).

 

[jenkinsph]

I suspect the cheapest way to get the clearing done for the house site and drive is to hire it out. Spend a little time to find someone qualified with good references and has the equipment to do the job efficiently. I recommend you have this contractor remove the stumps and fill holes. Have them grade it smooth with the clearing ready for a construction site.

From your description that can be about an acre for the driveway and house site combined. After you build and move in you should have a lot better idea of what you want to do with the rest of it. I would reevaluate what needs to be done at that point. You will also have a better handle on finances and be there fulltime to deal with it.

 

[kthompson]

I am located between Conway and Aynor if you know the area. If not just think 20 miles west of Myrtle Beach.

 

[square1]

If you get up enough speed and set the takeoff ramp incline correctly, yes

 

[kthompson]

chsdiyer, if you are working with sweet gum trees (have a ball on it in the fall with little points are over it) you need to pull the vast majority of those roots out. Cutting the trees off will only spount maybe many to replace the one. You talking about milling those trees two points, if you are going to dig the stumps much easier than digging stumps as you can use the weight of the tree to help pull the stump out and the other thing is gum is not a fine quality wood such as most oak or pine is for making items. If you have a good bit find small logger and talk to them your plans. Here hard to find anyone who wants to work with two or three truck load size jobs. You may want to also talk with someone who has a portable bandsaw for the milling.
BTW, we did about the same thing you are taking on and the suggestion to build and then take on the job is what worked for us. Then the real acres of clearing were not right at our house. Be careful, do what you are get suggestions, get prices for the work and buying or renting the equipment and get it done.

 

[chsdiyer]

Yeah, I'm familiar with Conway. We used to go those back roads to visit family in Raleigh.

We are definitely sadly overrun with gum trees. Fortunately they aren't too big yet. There may be 5-10 real big ones, but only 2-3 I'll need to take down. The rest are 15-20ft 2-5" diameter. I had seen some projects online that people did with sweet gum lumber and it looked nice. Nice enough for free wood at least. There's a mill just up the road from me that is small and I'm pretty sure would take on small runs. I'd also seen a lot of people in the wood working forum give pretty decent reviews on the harbor freight mill. I was probably going to try the chainsaw mill route first and then maybe consider buying a band-saw mill down the road (waaay down the road). Still need a house and a work shop first though.

 

[jenkinsph]

Sweet Gum can be a nice wood to work with for furniture. I built a coffee table in the early 1980's for a friend of mine who had removed a large tree in his front yard. Worked well with a Danish oil stain to bring out a beautiful grain. This tree was quarter sawn and down right huge.

The small trees need to be chipped when green or burned in piles when dry enough. If burning is allowed in your locale that would be the easier choice. Just need a large enough open area to burn it. In close quarters chipping does not take up as much room and can be a reasonable way to get a clearing for the driveway started.

 

[Egon]

Chainsaw mill; look at the Beam Machine. Very low cost($50.), easy to use and will give excellent results. Could easily be made at home. Works very well for making rectangular cants. A search on this site should get many results.

[video]https://www.google.ca/search?q=beam+machine&client=safari&hl=en-ca&prmd=visn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi8p5SGz_HRAhXM7IMKHa1eDhsQ_AUICCgC&biw=1024&bih=681#imgrc=W6-PiCDISNW9OM:[/video]

[video]https://www.google.ca/search?q=beam+machine&client=safari&hl=en-ca&prmd=visn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEw jHwuP-z_HRAhWF4IMKHRHlAQwQ_AUICCgC&biw=1024&bih=681#imgr c=HxNre4jjpDFZuM:[/video]

 

[chsdiyer]

I do plan to burn them (which is allowed where I am). Any idea how long it takes to dry out small trees like that? The driveway if it goes where I think it will is already roughly cut in. At least enough to get my truck back there. Still needs to be widened a little bit eventually but it's good enough for now.

The wife found my camera so I'll try to get some pictures up this evening. She's got a gift for finding things. It's even contagious. Usually I just have to ask her if she's seen _____ and then it magically appears right in front of my face.

I'd never seen the beam machine before, that's a pretty cool looking tool. I was looking at the granberg mill which also has good reviews.
Amazon.com : Granberg Chain Saw Mill, Model# G777 : Power Milling Machines : Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[chsdiyer]

Here are some more pictures of what we're dealing with. The middle one is what is roughly our "driveway"

 

[ChugiakTinkerer]

If you're contemplating the purchase of a mill, chainsaw or bandsaw, you should spend a little time on the Forestry Forum. Lots of opinion and advice there, all for free! :laughing:

For the short term, when you fell those bigger trees put some AnchorSeal on the log ends and it will slow the drying process, reducing checking significantly.

 

[jenkinsph]

Here are some more pictures of what we're dealing with. The middle one is what is roughly our "driveway"

View attachment 497349
View attachment 497351
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That should be easy to deal with, I would push those trees over turning up the stumps and pile them up. Should be able to dry them enough to burn in 6 months. Sweetgums are easy to chip too compared to the stuff I deal with which is hard to feed. I expected the growth to be denser than it is. A mulcher on a skid steer could do this in short order too and would have it all over with.

 

[chsdiyer]

Thanks for the tip on the Anchor seal. I had read that before but completely for got about it, and would not have done it.

I called a guy today who rents skid steers by the day but he said there was no way it could handle that type of clearing. He didn't see the land, I just described it to him, so perhaps he though I would tear up his equipment. I was contemplating trying to tie a chain or rope around a bunch at a time and then try to pull them out with my bronco, but I'm not sure that's worth the effort. We're going to go with shovels and axes this weekend and then rent the heavy equipment in a few weeks. We have the time, but money is a little tight at the moment so we're trying to do what we can with what we have first.

 

[DavesTractor]

There are many ways to do this of course. I'd not use the Bronco, or not a lot anyway. I pulled a tree stump (fought it for an entire weekend) years ago with my pickup and a chain and a shovel and axe. My transmission was never the same.

A mini-excavator with a thumb will make short and fun work off pulling and stacking all of this. A big skid-steer with a masticator would do all the grinding in place, but you would leave the roots. A masticator/shredder on an excavator arm would be too much fun, but again it leaves the root ball. I'm not sure if that is important to you or not.

I'll give you credit for being willing to work with a shovel and axe. That is hard work.