PTO 3 point hitch Forestry mulcher

[Michelle K linnane]

My 8' landpride is rated for 4" wood. It's a heavy duty chopper. Sure makes a racket when it chops them up too.

I apologize for referring to you as a he. Not too many 'she's' on here. Should have looked closer at your name, again I meant no harm or disrespect.

none taken

 

[jyoutz]

I work with forestry contractors who do mastication in the woods with these hydraulic heads on skid steers, excavators, and loaders. These are heavy duty hydraulic units, yet seldom does a week go by without seeing them broke down and being repaired. I can’t imagine that a pto unit would be more durable. Hire the work done and save a lot of frustration and expense. The reason those units cost so much to rent is because of the repair costs associated with their use.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have 25 acres that has been allow to grow from pasture a brush lot for about 30 years. Not adult enough to timber and want shade trees a brush hog really struggles and I do not want a dozer to come in and make more of mess. What I see the forestry mulcher
would do the job. I am not going to use it on anything bigger then 3 1/2 inches we will cut with chain saw. I have gotten a quote for a 8 hour day and they want over $2000 for say with skid steer and forestry head and that was the cheapest. I upgrading my tractor to a
JD 4066m heavy duty. So I am looking at the 3 point hitch ones and when I am done with implement I will sell. What I like about these the land is ready for planting once these things are done. I know that Baumalight makes on

Both scenarios would work. I think it comes down to your ability to handle risk. I do this exact work all the time and I do not charge $2000/day. More like $1500. His price sounds high.
Pay $2000/day-you sit and watch. Basically zero risk.
Purchase mower- you take all the risk. That includes buying/selling mower and damage to your tractor & tires, driveline and your body.

Theres a 3rd option you should pursue and that is renting a skiddy with a mulcher.

Theres a reason when we chip brush that we use a skiddy with a mulcher head and not a tractor with a 3 point cutter. It’s faster and safer.

Rent from a rental agency on the cheap side of town. I have done this with great success for decades.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I work with forestry contractors who do mastication in the woods with these hydraulic heads on skid steers, excavators, and loaders. These are heavy duty hydraulic units, yet seldom does a week go by without seeing them broke down and being repaired. I can’t imagine that a pto unit would be more durable.

Not to mention what it's going to do to the life of a little tractors pto drive line!

SR

 

[jyoutz]

Not to mention what it's going to do to the life of a little tractors pto drive line!

SR

The best option is to have the initial work done with the appropriate equipment, then do maintenance work with a tractor.

 

[JethroB]

I just accepted a quote for brush clearing and taking out trees up to 5”. A mini-ex with a mower head to clean around the two acre pond & dam, $1650 for one 8 hour day. Then two days @ $1600/day for a tracked SS mulcher for general cleanup along access roads, fence lines, and edges of wood lines. I identified the top priority areas then will direct the operators if any remaining time permits. Afterwards I’ll try to do a better job of maintaining these areas with the bush hog or herbicides.

 

[jyoutz]

I just accepted a quote for brush clearing and taking out trees up to 5”. A mini-ex with a mower head to clean around the two acre pond & dam, $1650 for one 8 hour day. Then two days @ $1600/day for a tracked SS mulcher for general cleanup along access roads, fence lines, and edges of wood lines. I identified the top priority areas then will direct the operators if any remaining time permits. Afterwards I’ll try to do a better job of maintaining these areas with the bush hog or herbicides.

A bit of free advice from a forester: get the bid on a per acre basis, not per day or per hour. That way your final cost is set and you won’t be concerned about their production rates. In my agency, all forestry service work is bid on a per acre basis, never otherwise.

 

[JethroB]

A bit of free advice from a forester: get the bid on a per acre basis, not per day or per hour. That way your final cost is set and you won’t be concerned about their production rates. In my agency, all forestry service work is bid on a per acre basis, never otherwise.

Good to know. Thanks. The fellow that toured the scattered about areas with me & then quoted said they offered per acre rates on larger tracts such as my planted pines and older pine stands. Said they would bring in their big Hydro Axe (?) for them. That would probably be to rich for my blood ($) The state forestry service is to burn those areas for me soon. Way overdue, about 80 acres.

 

[hayboy48]

Brown Tree Cutter, Look for used. Had one years ago on a 135MF, if you are careful they will down cut 8 in, I almost cut a power pole down before I could stop.

 

[2manyrocks]

I'm having to deal with this same problem, but only with a pasture that's been allowed to grow up only maybe 5 years. Some of the trees are too big to cut with a brush cutter without risking a lot of damage to my equipment.

A friend who has a heavy duty skid steer with heavy brush cutter has it tied up on a job for probably a few months. His small dozer is also tied upon the same job.

Meanwhile, I've been selectively cutting what I can and digging out the larger trees with a Terramite.

The cutter will shred smaller trees that haven't gotten too big, but it leaves behind a nasty 4 or 6" stub that could go through a tire. That means cutting it off with a brush blade in a gas handheld trimmer or digging them out. Then there's the hole that has to be filled.

The larger trees have to be moved to a pile or burned or whatever.

The forestry mulching may be expensive, but think about the cost and risk of damage to your equipment, as well as the time involved in clearing.

If there's a place to push the debris, I suspect a dozer is the least expensive option, and might be the only realistic option if trees have been allowed to grow for 30 years.