All the wrong stuff..(trail cutting ?'s)

[getndirty]

Looking to clear about 10 miles of OHV trail for a local off road club on a private land lease. Trails will be through thick underbrush. I've got no experience, a small budget and enough free time to clear about 1 mile by hand.

We'll map the trails around big obstacles, but there's plenty of saplings 1 to 2 1/2" thick that will get knocked down and pushed to the side and a couple of spots look to be wet areas (may map around those as well).

I've looked at and drooled over the skid steer/forestry mulcher combos that "look" like they would make quick work out of this project, but can't find anyone in Houston that rents that setup (maybe I just don't know where to look).

I'm looking for manageable options - something I could easily haul out there, make some good progress in a weekend, haul back and still have a little change left in my pocket when it's all over with. It'd be nice if I could knock the small trees over and push them off to the side of the trail and keep on moving. I'm guessing 1/2 to 1 mile an hour sounds somewhat reasonable for progress - or maybe that's overly aggressive for someone who has zero experience?

 

[dancan]

Get one of these , cut as you walk and have someone several yards back clearing the mess .

Welcome aboard .
Check with your local phone/power utility co or dept of highways , they may have a contact for line/ditch clearing contractor .

 

[rmihalek]

I run a 12hp Kohler bush-hog walk behind that'll knock down 1-2 inch saplings with ease. It cuts about a 30 inch wide swath at maybe 1 mph. If you want to put in a 10 hour day, you could walk out 5 miles (bring extra fuel!) and then return and cut yourself a 60 inch wide trail. I can get you the make and model if interested.

 

[redprospector]

There is no one in my area that rents them, but I know they are rented. Check with RSC, if they don't have one try your Bobcat or ASV dealer. The Bobcat dealer in El Paso rents machines, and attachments so you may have some luck with your dealer. I saw an ad somewhere (can't remember where), that a company was renting an ASV PT100 with a mulching head for $350 a day.
My old ASV will do on average about 1 1/4 acres a day on pretty rough terrain. If you're doing a trail 1 pass wide (about 5') you should be able to get about 2 miles in a day theoretically.
There are a lot of these machines in South Texas, so you should be able to come up with something.

Andy

 

[getndirty]

I saw an ad somewhere (can't remember where), that a company was renting an ASV PT100 with a mulching head for $350 a day.

Andy - that's exactly what I'm looking for and $350 for a day (hopefully same for a weekend) would probably get me where I need to be and it's within what I'm looking to spend. I checked RSC's website, didn't see anything there - I'll make a few calls tomorrow and see if I can get a line on a rental place that has one.

Dancan - good suggestion, I've owned several of those - they're just more work than they're worth. I moved to a nice sharp brush axe and made faster time. The brush I'm talking about is barely walkable.

Rmihalek - You wouldn't happen to be talking about a Peco Brush Blazer, would you? That would be an almost dead-on fit - closest one I could find was in Lafayette, LA...that and I'd be a tiny bit nervous walking behind something that could grab unseen barbed wire off the ground and snatch my foot off in about 1/2 a second. If they had one with a platform on the back, I'd feel a little better.

I appreciate all the replies - it's helpful to get info from people who know what they're talking about!

 

[catbuster]

I run a 12hp Kohler bush-hog walk behind that'll knock down 1-2 inch saplings with ease. It cuts about a 30 inch wide swath at maybe 1 mph. If you want to put in a 10 hour day, you could walk out 5 miles (bring extra fuel!) and then return and cut yourself a 60 inch wide trail. I can get you the make and model if interested.

Are you talking about a thing that swings string/cable around? I have one, and it's codename is: THE WEEDEATER FROM HELL!

 

[headleyj]

if you can get the skidsteer/ mulching head rental for a weekend DO IT!

I struggled with the weedeater/ blade and bushhog combo for a year - IT SUX. Never did get the mulching head thing, but lookign back I would have been $ and ALOT OF TIME AHEAD had I jsut went that route to begin with.

It'll save you a ton of time and it'll do a better job too. Even if it's $500, do it and don't look back. Here's a link to a similar ? I asked awhile back...good info in there.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=126631

 

[Humptulips]

Off road vehicles? Sounds to me like you need a small cat. Drop the blade and shove that brush to the side. Do the whole job in a day, plus it's a lot more fun then a weedeater.

 

[D&B Mack]

You need one of these...

http://www.ironwolf.com/slasher/

...the only way to clear trails!

 

[catbuster]

As I've said before, a dozer or loader, and a saw is the best way to go. A lot of the dozers are simple to run now, being joystick

 

[Ted J]

Andy - that's exactly what I'm looking for and $350 for a day (hopefully same for a weekend) would probably get me where I need to be and it's within what I'm looking to spend. I checked RSC's website, didn't see anything there - I'll make a few calls tomorrow and see if I can get a line on a rental place that has one.

Dancan - good suggestion, I've owned several of those - they're just more work than they're worth. I moved to a nice sharp brush axe and made faster time. The brush I'm talking about is barely walkable.

Rmihalek - You wouldn't happen to be talking about a Peco Brush Blazer, would you? That would be an almost dead-on fit - closest one I could find was in Lafayette, LA...that and I'd be a tiny bit nervous walking behind something that could grab unseen barbed wire off the ground and snatch my foot off in about 1/2 a second. If they had one with a platform on the back, I'd feel a little better.

I appreciate all the replies - it's helpful to get info from people who know what they're talking about!

Check out this place for the rental of rhe ASV PT100

http://www.clmequipment.com/Pages/default.aspx

 

[Saw Bones]

Looking to clear about 10 miles of OHV trail for a local off road club on a private land lease. Trails will be through thick underbrush. I've got no experience, a small budget and enough free time to clear about 1 mile by hand.

We'll map the trails around big obstacles, but there's plenty of saplings 1 to 2 1/2" thick that will get knocked down and pushed to the side and a couple of spots look to be wet areas (may map around those as well).

I've looked at and drooled over the skid steer/forestry mulcher combos that "look" like they would make quick work out of this project, but can't find anyone in Houston that rents that setup (maybe I just don't know where to look).

I'm looking for manageable options - something I could easily haul out there, make some good progress in a weekend, haul back and still have a little change left in my pocket when it's all over with. It'd be nice if I could knock the small trees over and push them off to the side of the trail and keep on moving. I'm guessing 1/2 to 1 mile an hour sounds somewhat reasonable for progress - or maybe that's overly aggressive for someone who has zero experience?

I use My FS 90 and a Dolmar PS 510. (The FS 90 is a little slow for some of the bigger stuff and you may want to go bigger if you are going to do a lot of work)

Have Fun.

 

[Oldtimer]

I build and maintain trails for my snowmobile club. Minimum of 10' wide, but 16' is what we like so groomers can be passed safely by sleds.

Let me tell you, if you think you'll clear a mile by hand in a day or two, you're dreaming. In thick saplings and brush, 10 of us do well to clear 1/8th of a mile by hand in a day.

Rent a D3 sized dozer with a forestry brush guard package and a 6 way blade.

 

[markct]

i agree a skidsteer with a bushog or mulcher is the way to go. but that said if volunteer labor is readily available compared to cash a brush cutter and small chainsaw may be the best options. i have a maple syrup operation with 500 taps and over 4 miles of tubing and mainline pipe in the woods, all these lines run along paths that have to be walkable to tap and check the lines. i cleared and maintain all them with my ms192t saw. its light and doesnt kill your back running it all day bent over. still alot of work but alot more managable than trying to use a big saw, or trying to use clippers and then coming back with a saw for the bigger stuff, that makes it slow

 

[komatsuvarna]

There is no one in my area that rents them, but I know they are rented. Check with RSC, if they don't have one try your Bobcat or ASV dealer. The Bobcat dealer in El Paso rents machines, and attachments so you may have some luck with your dealer. I saw an ad somewhere (can't remember where), that a company was renting an ASV PT100 with a mulching head for $350 a day.
My old ASV will do on average about 1 1/4 acres a day on pretty rough terrain. If you're doing a trail 1 pass wide (about 5') you should be able to get about 2 miles in a day theoretically.
There are a lot of these machines in South Texas, so you should be able to come up with something.

Andy

The bobcat dealer in my area rents them, but I thought they were alot more than 350 a day. I havent rented one in a long while, but I was thinking closer to 600.00 a day, but i may be wrong.:monkey:

 

[redprospector]

The bobcat dealer in my area rents them, but I thought they were alot more than 350 a day. I havent rented one in a long while, but I was thinking closer to 600.00 a day, but i may be wrong.:monkey:

I don't know, I've never rented one. I just saw the add, I remember the $350 part because I thought, hey, that ain't bad. May be some hidden charges in the fine print. At $600 a day you would be close to what you could hire one for with an operator.

This discussion is probably similar to the discussion that went on when they started using the steam donkey to pull logs.
One guy say's; "Man that steam donkey is the ticket".
Another guy say's; "A team of draft horses is the way to go".
The next guy say's; "We've alway's used oxen, and they do just fine".

Any way you choose to clear trails that gives you the desired results will work fine. The decision that has to be made is, what is quicker and most economical. You can use a brush cutter and chainsaw, and spend a couple of months at it. Or you can hire a cat, and someone to go infront of it with a chainsaw. Or you can hire a mulcher/grinder/masticater (or whatever you want to call it) for between $100 and $150 an hour and be done with the project in short order with no slash to contend with.

I'm done.

Andy

 

[komatsuvarna]

I don't know, I've never rented one. I just saw the add, I remember the $350 part because I thought, hey, that ain't bad. May be some hidden charges in the fine print. At $600 a day you would be close to what you could hire one for with an operator.

This discussion is probably similar to the discussion that went on when they started using the steam donkey to pull logs.
One guy say's; "Man that steam donkey is the ticket".
Another guy say's; "A team of draft horses is the way to go".
The next guy say's; "We've alway's used oxen, and they do just fine".

Any way you choose to clear trails that gives you the desired results will work fine. The decision that has to be made is, what is quicker and most economical. You can use a brush cutter and chainsaw, and spend a couple of months at it. Or you can hire a cat, and someone to go infront of it with a chainsaw. Or you can hire a mulcher/grinder/masticater (or whatever you want to call it) for between $100 and $150 an hour and be done with the project in short order with no slash to contend with.

I'm done.

Andy

:agree2: Good post friend!