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150 Acres Of Brush, Too Much For A Skid Steer?

DiamondLTruckin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
107
Location
Wyoming
Occupation
Truck Driver / Mexican Dragline Operator / Mechani
Looking to clear about 150 acres of stuff pretty similar to sagebrush, a little lighter. Want to use a mulcher type deal. I was looking into the track or wheel mounted units but they're all too far away to rent. I was kinda thinking I'd be there forever running a brush mulcher on front of a skid steer, Probably a 297 or 299 Cat. Anybody got any input to help me figure this out. This is the first land clearing job I've ever looked at and had a hard time finding an acres per hour spec on anything.
 

Dwan Hall

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Messages
1,029
Location
Juneau, Alaska
Occupation
Self Employed
Here is what I did to clear 2 acres in 2 day with a skid steer.
Waited till the ground was frozen, put on a bucket with an 8" cutting edge, and ran around shearing off alder and other brush at ground level. Some small alder with trunks up to 5" in dia. I was told it couldn't be done but proved otherwise. There were other contractors watching and waiting with there excavators and dozer's to take over when I failed. I cleared just under $20,000 for a total of 2 weeks work including burning the brush.
This left the roots in place. Next stage was to cover the area with Type R and cover with 2' of pit run to produce a parking/storage yard. This job could not have been done had the ground not been frozen for the price I did it for.
 

DrJim

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Joined
Feb 19, 2011
Messages
172
Location
Oak Ridge TN
Occupation
General Dentist, including Implant Restorations
Having had many hours experience mowing with a front-mower on a skid-steer (and I like 'em a lot), me thinks that your distance concern may be overstated. For 150 acres, a bigger machine will surely be cheaper. Unless, of course, you have nothing else to do and don't care if the project takes you a very, very long time.

Or. . . if it's "sage brush, a little lighter", what about a heavy duty batwing cutter, such as a Woods BW 1800 or BW2400X behind an ag tractor? The higher-end Woods batwings have a deeper deck than many others, accomodating more cut material. With these you can drive slowly but get done fast. I have a lighter, BW180, and was surprised to find that I can trim with it around terrain and obstacles that I can't with smaller mowers--the overlap (extension beyond your tracks) allows you to trim up to or over obstacles and ditches. If you try this, I strongly recommend that you use a tractor rigged with (3) hydr actuators, so that you can control the height as well as both wings individually. Otherwise, if you T the two wing lift cylinders together, whichever one has the least pressure on it will raise all the way up before the other one begins to lift--like my hay tedder.

If you are going to own the 150 acres and maintain it, the batwing will be a great asset to own. I like my other stuff but looking back, I wish I had bought the batwing first . Mow everything you can with that first, then worry about the problem spots.
 

joispoi

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
1,284
Location
Connecticut
I agree with DrJim. A flex wing bush hog could be the right solution, especially if it´s for reclaiming overgrown fields. A skid steer is going to be too small to make any sort of production. Time and fuel are valuable. I would want an ag. or forestry tractor over 120 hp. Ideally, a front mounted bush hog would be best, but you can add undercarriage shielding and a push bar to bend brush and saplings down as the tractor passes over if you´re going to run a standard rear mounted forestry duty mower. Flat proofed tires would be a good idea as those little 1 foot x 1'' sapling stumps have a way of puncturing tires.
 

Randy88

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
2,149
Location
iowa
Your not going to find any per acre hour specs on anything its more like hours per acre and it'll vary from species to size to plants per acre and everywhere in between, go batwing or bigger, find a feller buncher with a brush hog head and mow the junk down, more hp and more suited to brush and garbage type material. As for costs and bidding it do it by the hour and that way its fair for everyone, forget bidding it, your gonna lose or not get the job you don't have enough experience to bid anything and at todays fuel and hourly costs you can't afford to get behind on any job.
 

Monte1255

Senior Member
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
317
Location
Minnesota USA
Occupation
Farming/forestry/TSI
Your not going to find any per acre hour specs on anything its more like hours per acre and it'll vary from species to size to plants per acre and everywhere in between, go batwing or bigger, find a feller buncher with a brush hog head and mow the junk down, more hp and more suited to brush and garbage type material. As for costs and bidding it do it by the hour and that way its fair for everyone, forget bidding it, your gonna lose or not get the job you don't have enough experience to bid anything and at todays fuel and hourly costs you can't afford to get behind on any job.

I'm with you on the Bidding Randy, clearing has got so many hidden surprises, you can loose big time if ya try. I'm a strong believer in giving the customer a good days work in exchange for honest pay. But if something pops up that you couldn't see ahead of time it's not your fault, but one must be compensated for the extra headaches.
 

mitch504

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
5,776
Location
Andrews SC
Boy Howdy, I wish we could work that way around here. The only time I get to work hourly is for a few established customers. I just add more to job prices than I think it will cost hourly, and hope it averages out over a month, or year, etc.

When I have tried to explain to people that it'll probly be cheaper by the hour, unless the unexpected happens, and then we'll discuss it before I go over the estimate; I have had many people get mad because I won't agree to work for the lesser of hourly or my estimate.
 

KSSS

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
4,321
Location
Idaho
Occupation
excavation
I have a mulcher and a highflow rotory brush cutter similiar to a Davco made in South Dakota. Give me a call and I'll run over and give you a hand with it. Sagebrush mulches easily, its the rock you have to watch out for with both a rotary and a mucher with chipper teeth. I am running asphalt milling teeth, rocks are not an issue normally.
 

Yellowdog

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2004
Messages
208
I think a lot will depend on the terrain. Some customers want low impact. 150 Acres is a big job for a skid steer or any machine if the customer wants it to look good. Anyone can blow and go and cover up the roots later so a lot will depend on how they want it to look. The economy of scale of using a bigger machine might make sense but it depends on expectations of the customer and the time limit on the job. I have customers that won't let the big or tracked machines on their property because they bust too many oak limbs and/or leave too much of a foot print. A capable skid can do it.. it's just going to be slow.
 
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