Best tool for the job?

hunterdan

hunterdan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Location
Morganton,NC
I'm going to re-establish a road on our newly purchased property which will lead to a future homesite. It is an old logging road that has some 6" trees and a bunch of sapling size from 1-2" in diameter. The road is hard packed and I'd hate to disturb the old road bed. I'm planning on using a chainsaw for the larger trees but what would be the best method for the smaller stuff?
I could ruin my back and use the chainsaw for all of them but I figure it would leave an angled stob. Is there any tool that might cut close to the ground horizontally?
Of course the guy who will be doing some grading says just scrape them all off the surface. Then he wants to re-configure the road and ad loads and loads of crush and run equaling a nice pay day for him...

Over the years I've seen old roads with no crush and run and just two tire tracks. THis road is basically flat and has no ruts from run off or bad angles...

What say ya'll? Clear the brush and just drive on it or pay the operator for grading and rock? Also again...any ideas on cutting out the numerous saplings low to the ground and horizontal cut?

Thanks, Dan
 
yep a bush hog will make short work of saplings...

But in my experience this big issue will be the stuff you have to cut. The "stumps" of small tees are hell on tires and if they are HW they will regenerate and be a never ending battle. You have to get the roots/stumps up and out and that likely involves a dozer or at a min a mini loader blade
 
About a 450-550 John Deere dozer with a 6 way blade or maybe a d4 CAT. I tracked skid steer would probably work two but be a little slower. Sometimes it will surprise you what it cost to rent something like the above plus you get to play with a cool piece of equipment
 
How long is the road bed that you want to clear the trees from?

I cut approximately 1.5 miles of trails through the woods at my last house by just using a chainsaw. I picked the route of the trails though and would go around any tree larger than a couple of inches in diameter. I did have to keep coming back and cutting some of the little stumps lower again and spraying round up on them and cutting them again because they continue to try and grow. After a few years or so though I finally had it under control. Plus as Ron said, I flattened one tire on my Samurai, and JT flattened two on his Samurai before I got all of the little stumps cut down flush and the trail beaten down/worked in good.

For your situation where it is more of a road than a trail, the cheap bastard within me would be tempted to cut all the trees and saplings down with my chainsaw and either rent a stump grinder or pay someone who owns one to come grind them all.
 
I think this type of attachment on a powerful trimmer would do the job

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tracked skid steer loader with a 4-in-1 bucket. Easy to run and you won't even need a chainsaw. I just cut a new road to the back of my property and knocked over some 10" pines with my friends 650 bobcat. Even has a/c!
 
Ha! Some of the advice has given me a good laugh. Regarding that I must admit 1/2 dozen Mexicans are a hardworking force.

I went back to the property to get some measurements and the length that needs de-treeing and saplings removed is approx. 600'. There are only 30-40 larger 4-6" trees and the rest are 1-2" saplings. Everything is some kind of hardwood so I think crossbow after cutting them would keep down regrowth. My back is tired from 25 years of roofing and hard labor but I imagine in sections a chainsaw would work. The idea of a skilsaw blade on my heavy duty weedeater is a nice thought as far as standing vs bending... The brush grubber is also a nice idea but there are quite a few saplings.
Thanks for all the suggestions I knew this would be the place to ask. Tomorrow I'm taking my 10yr old son out there for his first turkey hunt. I'll look it iver one more time while there and try to offer any more info. I can.
I guess the main thing is there are many ways to prep for a driveway... The main unresolved question is " Do I really need to restructure the road or can I just clear it and drive over it until I get a two tire track road". It already has drain pipes running under the road and no washout spots. Seems pretty hardpacked and wide...
 
I'd cut the tree's (bigger ones) harvest the wood for fire wood, throw the brush over the down hill side. Leave the stumps high. Bring in a mini track hoe, or a skid steer, either with a thumb, and pull them up. Haul them to an open spot, let them dry then have a fire. smooth out the holes, and be done. Depending on the grade, you may need some gravel. The more traffic it has, the more the likelihood you may need some.
 
Only way to know on the road bed is to drive on it. If it's dirt and flat, it'll probably be fine when dry. But you'll have to put down stone to drive on it when it's wet. Likewise, if there are any hills, you'll need water bars and/or stone.

A lot depends on how often you'll be accessing and in what vehicle.
 
Sounds like you have some land, I know of just the tool you need. I know because it's how I cleared my driveway, yard, house site, shop site, and about 2 miles of trail around the house. It's a Komatsu D21 dozer with a 6 way blade. Sub 10k pounds so you can pull it behind a 1 ton truck, plenty of power to push over smaller trees, and excellent for grading and dirt moving.

It sounds crazy at first, but consider this: I bought mine probably 8 years ago, have used it alot for myself (probably saved $30-40k in grading costs), made some money with it, and the only repair it's needed is a new starter. It's also worth about $2-3000 more than I paid for it 8 years ago :D

My recommendation is to buy a piece of equipment, do the job you need, do the other 20 things you think of once you have it, then sell it (or not :) ).

Cutting the stumps is kind of like cutting the grass, it's down for a little while but it will grow back. And stumps are tough. Once the tree is gone, you don't have anything to get leverage on to push it out, so you either have to dig each one out or grind them.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Sounds like you have some land, I know of just the tool you need. I know because it's how I cleared my driveway, yard, house site, shop site, and about 2 miles of trail around the house. It's a Komatsu D21 dozer with a 6 way blade. Sub 10k pounds so you can pull it behind a 1 ton truck, plenty of power to push over smaller trees, and excellent for grading and dirt moving.

It sounds crazy at first, but consider this: I bought mine probably 8 years ago, have used it alot for myself (probably saved $30-40k in grading costs), made some money with it, and the only repair it's needed is a new starter. It's also worth about $2-3000 more than I paid for it 8 years ago :D

My recommendation is to buy a piece of equipment, do the job you need, do the other 20 things you think of once you have it, then sell it (or not :) ).

Cutting the stumps is kind of like cutting the grass, it's down for a little while but it will grow back. And stumps are tough. Once the tree is gone, you don't have anything to get leverage on to push it out, so you either have to dig each one out or grind them.
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I agree,Im lookin at some property that joins mine and it needs a major cleaning.My buddy has a D41 loader for $8K that Ill probably buy to clean it up if the deal goes thru.
 
best right here hand down & will do it all up to a 10" tree (imo)


 
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Those are freaking cool, but just the grinder attachment costs more than my entire dozer.
 
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