ARPlante's Adventures

ARPlante · Jun 12, 2009

Greetings all!

I have been lurking on this forum for a few years and have thoroughly enjoyed what is going on here. Man this site has grown in a few years!

Anyway, I thought I would stop lurking and finally start posting some pictures of the work my company does. For a quick preview, my company does land clearing and excavation work.

Some of you might recognize me from another site as "ARP," but I thought I would jump over here and post my story and "adventures" as well. Seems to be a slightly larger community on this site so I hope I can contribute in a meaningful way!

I have a lot of photos and stories for just this year alone and I hope to update this thread weekly, if not daily. To begin, I think I will start with my most recent work and fill in the time gaps with projects I have done before hand.

I welcome everyone's comments and thoughts- don't worry, I don't bite

.

Thanks for a great site!

Andrew

ARPlante · Jun 12, 2009

First things first, how about a little land clearing fun! I do alot of clearing work on ROWs as you will see from my photos. This project is a good representation of what I do.

Before and after:

ARPlante · Jun 12, 2009

This hill was fun. At least I know I can "ski" with a T320

Just don't want to hit any moguls! Nothing like having to slide down a hill to get things done.

The sporting event with T320:

ARPlante · Jun 12, 2009

Same ROW, just another section.

Before and after:

ARPlante · Jun 12, 2009

And finally, a little bonus photo of the most recent addition to the fleet:

bear · Jun 12, 2009

nice work how long does it usually take to clear say a mile (or any other length) of ROW? How's the bobcat holding up for you? That's a smart way to do that around here they still call the tree guys even if it's in the same shape as those in your pics.

mowzall · Jun 12, 2009

great pictures, thanks for sharing

stock · Jun 12, 2009

A great thread please keep us posted .

Stock

ARPlante · Jun 12, 2009

Thanks guys.

Bear- How long it takes depends on the width of ROW, ground conditions, and density of the vegetation. For example, I cleared 2 miles of ROW in 80 working hours with one machine and a laborer from the company I subcontract to. The ROW was approximately 50' wide, but it had areas where for several spans it was grass and the next 10 were in hills, rocks, and had dense vegetation.

In fact, here are some pics of that job:

ARPlante · Jun 12, 2009

Same job, but different area. A lot of times a ROW will require the cutting of access roads to and from the ROW for trucks and heavy equipment. So not everything is production cutting on these jobs. Here are a couple examples:

bear · Jun 14, 2009

That definitely looks like a smarter way to do things. Around here the foreman will drop off a crew on one end of the right of way with their saws, gas, water, and lunch and finds a spot on the other end to pick them up at the end of the day (if one can be found). Most of our ROW's are 50 feet for dist lines and 100 feet on transmission. Many times when we'd pull up to an old line rebuild if we were lucky we had a 450 JD dozer to clear a path and if the terrain wasn't terible drag the trucks through the mud and muck and use the dozer as an anchor to keep the trucks from sliding off into a hollow or cliff. Even used the dozer behind the digger truck a few times going downhill for brakes. Looking back I think the high voltage was the safest part of the job. That would be a pretty good niche to get into around here. Do you do any spraying after you've cleared?

ARPlante · Jun 14, 2009

The company I subcontract to on many of these ROWs (Asplundh Tree) usually has the spraying contracts. As it is, due to environment restrictions in alot of the areas I mow, such as watersheds and wildlife protected areas, spraying is prohibited and mowing is the only option to remove the vegetation.

bear · Jun 17, 2009

there are a few Asplundh crews somewhere around here. not many though. I think they are based either out of Lexington or Corbin locally. It's funny you mentioned the watershed areas , here everything ends up in Lake Cumberland and many ROW's (especially trans lines) they spray every four or five years. That's defininitely a sharp rig you have. Any more pics?

Heavyduty · Jun 17, 2009

When do you decide to use the rotary instead of the mulcher? Nice job.:drinkup

ARPlante · Jun 18, 2009

Thanks for the compliments- I like my rig too!

(Just need another and an excavator with a mower too...)

I generally use the rotary for the finishing passes once all the large material is knocked down by the mulcher. Doing so allows me to get everything down to ground level without having to bury my mulcher in the ground and risk damaging $$$$expensive carbide teeth. It also allows me to knock down the small stragglers that are left that take a long time to chase around with a mulcher.

And some more pics! These are from a few months ago. A small ROW that needed to be completely cleared to allow access for a skidder crew to come in and trim the trees.

AustinPSD · Jun 29, 2009

Nice work! It sounds like you're happy with the T320 and Bobcat attachments.

I'm evaluating compact track loaders and mulching/forestry mower attachments for our company. We have a D3G Cat, which is brute force and not the best choice for clearing work. The skid-steer/compact track loader packages seem to be the way to go for versatility, efficiency and maneuverability.

Most of our needs amount to mesquite suppression, clearing cedar and undergrowth in the park. Bobcat is pretty well represented locally, while the nearest Cat dealer is about 80 miles away. The Bobcat guys seem to be more flexible on negotiating package pricing than many...

Thanks for the photo set - demonstrates the capability of a small machine and team...

devils2619 · Jul 4, 2009

i have a dumb question...i have never operated one of these machines before but they fascinate me. As the machine operates, obviously you would have to keep the front attachment out of the dirt? As close as you could to the ground without damaging the teeth? like a flail mower?

devils2619 · Jul 4, 2009

additionally, i just thought of this, you would have to be constantly paying attention, focused really. Because at the end of the day, you do all the maintenence on your own machines. Thats when I stopped beating the equipment up...when i have to do the maintenence on the machines I run!
sorry newbie poster

ARPlante · Jul 4, 2009

Thanks for the kind words Austin. So far I am very pleased with the T320 and the attachments for that machine. I can go from land clearing like what is pictured above, to doing a large dirt and hardscape job the next day. As a strictly land clearing machine, I think Bobcat offers one of the best packages for that line of work with the additional guarding that protects the machine and operator. While Supertrak makes another great land clearing machine, I couldn't justify a price that is about 40% higher than what I paid for my setup.

Devils- Not a dumb question at all. You got it right on the money with your observations. You really don't want to run the head into the ground (you can though), because it increases the wear on the head exponentially. So yes, the job does require a lot of focus, especially in areas that are very rocky or have difficult terrain as it is a constant battle to keep the head from hitting the ground as the main machine bumps back and forth over the ground contours.

jimmyjack · Jul 4, 2009

nice pics....hey what part of mass are u in? what your doing is just the thing i was lookin to do with my skid,i just need to get my foot in the door with one of those companys

ARPlante's Adventures

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