What attachments should you use on a tractor to clear land.

[nyone]

For clearing brush typicaly il go though with a set of loppers and get the small stuff, or just mow it. 1in and bigger I would rather use a mini ex and pluck it out and set it aside to burn/chip.

With a front bucket your really just pushing and it's easy to leave stumps behind or just bend small trees over.

I have taken out some very large trees (30in white pine) with a 3,500lb micro ex. Yes it takes time. I also cleared a cabin site along with a 700ft driveway and had to remove some 10-20in maple trees along with stumps. That took roughly 3-4 days.

 

[jjeff]

Sounds like a 3pt chipper might be handy imo you can spread the chips for ground cover to help mitigate erosion especially if you can't burn. It is a lot of hard work for a one man operation and I don't recommend running vines or stumps through it.

 

[Fixastuff]

The hard part isn't clearing land it's what to do with all the pulled up trees. They pile up fast!

 

[jjeff]

There's a whole thread on using straight shaft brush cutters/ pole saws for clearing brush and overgrowth learned a few things following it btw.

 

[jyoutz]

Whatever the fires left behind..

You need to go talk to people at NRCS. They have some cost share funding for post wildfire rehab work.

 

[jyoutz]

The hard part isn't clearing land it's what to do with all the pulled up trees. They pile up fast!

Four choices:
1. Pile and burn
2. Masticate
3. Sell for bio-mass chips (where markets exist)
4. Crush on site and wait for decomposition (usually done with a small dozer)

 

[oosik]

A lot depends upon your definition of - "clearing the land". If you are only considering brush - put a Wicked Tooth bar from Everything Attachment on your bucket and go at it. If you are considering the clearing/mulching of trees - a tractor should not be your choice. You will need some form of hydromulcher and a more job-specific piece of equipment.

I clear brush ( Buck brush ) on my property with my grapple. Grip and rip ..........

 

[Egon]

I have looked at what the salesmen say will 'clear land' with a 30-40 hp tractor, but usually it seems to fall short of cutting heavy vegetation and large brush, to say nothing of trees. What can be used especially in the front of midsized tractor to knock down, mulch or grind to clear land.

Try a backhoe. Lay the debris on one side and as the rows pile up push them together.

You do need protection for The tractor and operator. Otherwise most of your time will be spent fixing speared stuff.

 

[4570Man]

A tractor isn’t a good tool for land clearing. They’re not durable enough for that work. Usually a dozer and excavator is the go to tools for land clearing. But I’m assuming burning probably isn’t allowed there. A mulcher might be the best solution.

 

[jyoutz]

A 3 pt BH was handy for me in my experience, Maybe A grapple upfront, 3 pt chipper, a good 5' rotary cutter, (no experience with flails), good set of work gloves, and lots of hard work on and off the tractor in my experience. Might want to either build or buy a brush guard for the front of your tractor.

A chainsaw is a must for this type of work.