Clearing Trails

[FL_Cracker]

In our area you can rent a RC100 tracked skid steer with a MAGNUM head. It's a brush clearing, trail making machine. It's a lot like a front flail mower but it uses a rotary drum with hardened teeth. You can just drive it through heavy brush, over 3-4" trees and it cuts a 6' path with each pass. The nice part is it doesn't dig up the soil, no mess to burn and when your done you path is covered in mulch. From then on all you have to do is bush hog the trails to keep them clean. You can even grind stumps with this machine. I've watched it drive through and over brush 20' high. You can't even see the machine inside a thicket until it reaches the edge.
*No ground disturbed
*No small trees to cut first
*Mulch debris, all material goes back in your soil
*One man operation, from enclosed A/C or Heated Cab
*No burning required

It really make brush and trails a breeze.

Here's a link to the attachment and it just needs a 100hp SS to make it happen.
Magnum Mulcher

 

[jgh]

20060205

That magnum thing looks mean. I requested info from them, as their specs call for 30-40 gpm flow and my SSL has 30 or so. I can clear with my bush hog but it leaves stubble while this one appears not to.

Have any idea what it costs and what the mfrs record is? They acknowledge being a fairly new company, only in business since 2000, and some of the language on their site seems a little bit hyper /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif.

When I hear more/learn more, I'll chime back in, hope others will as well,

Jim

 

[jgh]

20060205

If you will remember that I am not the expert Eddie seems to be (nothing like doing it for a living):

1- Your Stihl 260 is one of the larger ones, very powerful. I have a 360 and it is a hoss. If you happen to buy/use one of the smaller ones you or someone referred to (compact and easy to carry around, etc), please take caution--the small ones (tree surgeon specials) can be MORE dangerous than the larger ones. Apparently that is because
a- Their smaller size fools users into thinking they can't possibly be all that risky. Wrong. and
b- They have more tendency to kick back due to many not having much of an end to hold onto (I may not be explaining that correctly, experts jump in). On the 360, for example there is a "step" in the rear handle that I put my foot into to hold it while starting. On the little saw everything is pretty much on top.

I have one of those Stihl climbing saws, too, which I can even hang from my belt. It is convenient and dangerous. But so is the 260/360.

2- Around here folks would cringe at the idea of leaving a lot of pushed together brush in the woods. Fire fuel is what my forester tells me, anything that is flammable and helps fire travel along the forest floor. We'd have to get rid of it. It may decompose over time, sure, but it may get decomposed all of a sudden if a fire comes thru.

Just some opinions based on experience and/or what I am told. YMMV.

Jim

THIS JUST IN: the webform for Magnum failed. I just received a failure notice on attempting to get a request for info to them ("too many hops"). If anyone can get thru, pls post info here. Thanks!!

 

[Bill_in_MI]

The skid steer mulcher option sounds interesting to me. I have about 20 acres with a lot of dead fall and scrumpy (old, 4 to 6 inches dia.) pines that I would like to clean up. I would be interested in knowing how one of these machines might work out. I was thinking about getting a root rake, piling, burning, ect. but this sounds like a better way to go.

Anyone with experience? Thanks.

 

[Panache]

Bill,
There are several companies making the mulcher heads. Loftness comes to mind. I seem to remember $20k as a price just for the head. 1-3 ac/hr is their claimed speed depending on size of trees. I think one of the mulchers would work good for your area

 

[Bill_in_MI]

Panache,
Yes, about $20k for the Loftness. I've been scouting the web since I posted and looking at various units, including their videos. I'm pretty convinced the skid steer units will work for growing brush/trees from watching the videos. What I am not sure about is how they would do on old stuff laying on the ground scattered every which-way. Or, on some piles of brush and logs that it would be nice to flatten out. I suppose if I could find one to rent that would be the best way to find out...certainly before ever considering a purchase decision. Thanks much.

 

[ajdillon]

Jeff: I just noticed your tag line:
I always thought the main difference between genius and stupidity was that genius had its limits!
Andrew

 

[Panache]

Andrew, that is one but it has been used by others. When is the last time you did something real stupid and thought that feels oh so good? Stupid can hurt physically or mentally but it always hurts.

 

[Cottonhawk]

I just had a contractor come in with Takeuchi Brush Cutter to clear couple of area. The land was full of years old brushes and blackberry. This brush cutter cuts the brush and small trees out in no time at all. It's the most efficient way for us to get the rough cut hired done and clean up with loader and box blade.

 

[Cottonhawk]

Here is a picture of the dense 20 plus years old brush and blackberry.

 

[Cottonhawk]

The picture of after the brush cutter.

 

[gates]

Bmac,
Rent a skid steer with tracks with an Ambusher on it. It will do what you want to do. It is the same concept as Fl Cracker suggestion. The Ambusher only costs $4k.

Ron

 

[ajdillon]

Jeff: My personal favorite is "The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity!"
Andrew

 

[Panache]

And hydrogen is in shorter supply. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[FL_Cracker]

OK, I rented the RC100 w/ Magnum head for this weekend. It rained all day today so I only got to spend 2 hours on it last night. It's one BIG YELLOW/BLACK TREE EATING MACHINE. It worked like a champ. I thought I had 8 plus hours of work for it but at the rate I going I'll be done in 4-6 hours. It really eats up underbrush and wiggles between trees real well. My house site was covered with pine dead limb trimmings from the timber crew 6 years ago. It did very well. I just climbed into the pile and lowered the cutter down and chips started flying. I ground several stumps down 6" blow the surface. It's worth the $ 500.00 per 8 hours to rent.

Sunday AM I will hit it again and finish my projects. What a fun day it will be.....

Yours Truly,

The TREE EATER

 

[dballs]

FL_Cracker,

If you have any pics, please post them.

Did you encounter any rocks with the RC100 w/ Magnum head? I am thinking about renting one also but I am concerned my rocky terrain may cause some problems. Was most of the land flat or were there contour changes? I need to make some trails on some hilly/rocky terrain and don't know if the RC100 w/Magnum will work.

Thanks,

Darren

 

[FL_Cracker]

I can get some pictures tomorrow. I used it in all kinds of terrain. As for rocks, when you hit them this thing turns the small ones to dust. I cleared my west property line, 2100' x 12' wide in about 2 hours. If I had done it with a chain saw, followed by a tractor with a chipper and then bushhoged it the project would have taken a week and two helpers. This thing is the ticket. Two hours and everything is shredded and ready to decay. The stumps are ground below the ground. I was able to take my RTV down the trail this afternoon without problems. When you get into real rough terrain you just have to lift the Magnum head up and down so it doesn't dig too deep into the ground. this slows it down and stops it from cutting. I make a great stump grinder. I hold it up off the ground so it takes about 2" of stump with each pass. I then keep lowering it until it's 4-6" below the ground. Add a little grass seed and mulch and your done. When your in the thick of it, sometimes it will get bound up and stop turning. The trick here is to drop the head all the way down and tilt it forward to get as much ground contact as possible and then back up fast. After going in reverse about 5-8' lift the head and wait for the RPM's to come back up. Also always run the RC100 at full throttle.

I highly recommend this unit for heavy under brush. If there are too many big trees it's a little hard to make it work right. When you have lots of underbrush you just drive over the stuff and the small trees just fall in front of you. Then drive over the and then back up and watch the chips fly. They really cut best in reverse but you have to drive over them first in forward.

Pictures Monday, of the trail and maybe the unit in action.

Later,

Charles

 

[dballs]

Thanks for the quick reply and valuable tips! Look forward to seeing those pics.

I have some old logging trails on the side of a mountain that I would like to clear. Some of the areas are very extreme in slope and rocky conditions, but have briars, small tree growth etc... Used a chainsaw in the past but it was taking forever. Was just getting ready to hire a small dozer to come in and clear them. Saw your post and others and thought the Magnum might be a better option. However, some of the areas have so many rocks/boulders that I am somewhat unsure whether the Magnum will be up to the task. All the videos I have seen of these type of attachments show the machines working on relatively level and non-rocky ground. I would hate to rent one and tear it to pieces.

Having used the machine, would you take it trail-blazing up the side of a rocky mountain or do you think this is beyond the capabilities of the machine and attachment?

Thanks for your help!

 

[FL_Cracker]

Steep terrain is not a problem as long as the ground is dry. I went up and down some really rough areas but my only problems came from the tracks slipping on the wet clay. Rocks are not it's strong suit but it doesn't break it. You can hold the head up a little so the rocks pass under and the head only cuts the brush. This would not give you as good a finish but it's better the doing it by hand. The attached pictures don't show how steep it is but in some places the RC100 would not climb the hill. It those cases I would go side ways until I found a better spot to climb.

Thanks,

Charles

 

[FL_Cracker]

Another picture. This picture and the one before are of our west property line. The loggers removed all the large trees in the 20' band along this line about 6 years ago. It had grown up so thick it was hard to walk through in places. The line is about 1500' long and I cleared it like you see in about 1.5 hours. I did follow the machine with a pole chain saw and cut the over hanging branches. That took about another 30 minutes.