Newbie skid steer/forestry head question...

[towsermurphy]

I have a 60 acre farm that I manage mostly for wildlife. Some of it has gotten away from me and there are numerous sections of saplings up to 4"-6" diameter hardwoods and pines. Up til now I've been using a chainsaw and Jimna PTO chipper. At this rate, I'll still be working on it when I'm 3000 years old, if my back doesn't give out. Am seriously thinking about a skid steer and a forestry head. I could use a skid steer around the farm anyway and plan on staying here the rest of my life (I'm 43). Will always have trees/saplings to work on and I have the time to "piddle" with it. Am gonna see about getting all the pines cut for boards or pulp, so that might do away with most of the larger stuff. What size skid steer/which brand & size of forestry head should I look at? Is there a better option? I don't think hiring a dozer to push it all up and burn it is an option as there are so many small, scattered stands. Thanks!

 

[ropensaddle]

I have a 60 acre farm that I manage mostly for wildlife. Some of it has gotten away from me and there are numerous sections of saplings up to 4"-6" diameter hardwoods and pines. Up til now I've been using a chainsaw and Jimna PTO chipper. At this rate, I'll still be working on it when I'm 3000 years old, if my back doesn't give out. Am seriously thinking about a skid steer and a forestry head. I could use a skid steer around the farm anyway and plan on staying here the rest of my life (I'm 43). Will always have trees/saplings to work on and I have the time to "piddle" with it. Am gonna see about getting all the pines cut for boards or pulp, so that might do away with most of the larger stuff. What size skid steer/which brand & size of forestry head should I look at? Is there a better option? I don't think hiring a dozer to push it all up and burn it is an option as there are so many small, scattered stands. Thanks!

First do you have a large tractor? If so, three words Brown tree cutter. From what I understand them forestry mowers tax the machine pretty good so your going to need a large hp skid if you go that direction. A brown tree cutter bush hog will annihilate that size trees. If your tractor is fair sized say 50 hp diesel it would likely be your cheapest option and very good production.

 

[ShermanC]

Choosing a skid steer or bobcat

I saw new bobcats and skidsteers last November at the TCIA Expo in Pittsburgh. It looks like one of them could save us a lot of hard work but it would require a second trip back to base to get it, costing time and fuel. Time is definitely money. On YouTube there are some good videos to watch to help you find the machine amd accessories that'll fit your needs. I was amazed at how a guy loaded a Bobcat onto a flatbed 1-ton by backing up and using the front end loader to leverage the unit up and onto that truck. I had to watch that video three times so I could remeber that trick. It was AWESOME! A lesson I learned yesterday about my eight year old lift I bought used on eBay...buy new and know what you are getting. In the long haul it's worth it.

 

[ropensaddle]

You would need to make a cage to keep from being hit by debris.

 

[ropensaddle]

I saw new bobcats and skidsteers last November at the TCIA Expo in Pittsburgh. It looks like one of them could save us a lot of hard work but it would require a second trip back to base to get it, costing time and fuel. Time is definitely money. On YouTube there are some good videos to watch to help you find the machine amd accessories that'll fit your needs. I was amazed at how a guy loaded a Bobcat onto a flatbed 1-ton by backing up and using the front end loader to leverage the unit up and onto that truck. I had to watch that video three times so I could remeber that trick. It was AWESOME! A lesson I learned yesterday about my eight year old lift I bought used on eBay...buy new and know what you are getting. In the long haul it's worth it.

That trick was stupid he will be putting pins and bushings in premature.

 

[joesawer]

A skidsteer with a mulching head on 60 acres it does not really matter what kind you get. You could keep it masticated easily.
That is a lot of money to piddle on 60 acres with.
A skid steer with a masticating head is just about right for piddling. You can work for a while and let it cool down for a while. Work for a while and go have a hose made for a while.

 

[towsermurphy]

I'm all ears for other/better suggestions.

 

[066logger]

i have first hand expirence with the skidsteer/brush hog combo and all i can say is after a week i was finished with it. i was using a new holland LS190 i think 92hp and an open cab. when driving through tall weeds and sapplings it would bog it down enough that i had to back off and let it build up speed again. the main issue though was all the pollen/debree that gets thrown onto your lap. it was one of the most miserable things ive done with equipment. their was so much dust that it actually clogged up the hydro cooler thats in front of the radiator and caused my hydros to run so hot that i would hafto shut the machine down and clean them DAILY. i have never in my 500 hours or so of experience on that machine had to clean them even once before that. so if you like to torture yourself to the point that your wearing a paintball mask and a dust mask just so you can breathe then go right ahead with it lol

 

[ShermanC]

i have first hand expirence with the skidsteer/brush hog combo and all i can say is after a week i was finished with it. i was using a new holland LS190 i think 92hp and an open cab. when driving through tall weeds and sapplings it would bog it down enough that i had to back off and let it build up speed again. the main issue though was all the pollen/debree that gets thrown onto your lap. it was one of the most miserable things ive done with equipment. their was so much dust that it actually clogged up the hydro cooler thats in front of the radiator and caused my hydros to run so hot that i would hafto shut the machine down and clean them DAILY. i have never in my 500 hours or so of experience on that machine had to clean them even once before that. so if you like to torture yourself to the point that your wearing a paintball mask and a dust mask just so you can breathe then go right ahead with it lol

This report is honest and to the point. Sometimes we bite off more than we can chew. Then we get so close to the forest that we can't see the trees. In my youth my folks decided to buy a five-acre country estate with horses. I was 15 and quickly became a farm hand until I left for college three years later. Dad was boss but didn't do the work. I learned so much, enjoyed most of the work and cherish the memories. I doubt if I'd do what they did 'cause I don't have kids to pawn the work onto! LOL:msp_wink:

 

[Boike]

have you priced having someone do the work for you? I am not sure what kind of money you want to dump into the project, or what you plan to do with the areas after clearing them, but you may spend less to have someone do the work then you would on the head alone. I had a couple of areas done on the farm where I could not easily push it all up in a pile and burn and the cost was about $700-900/ac. Not cheep, but it is all back in pasture now.

 

[ShermanC]

have you priced having someone do the work for you? I am not sure what kind of money you want to dump into the project, or what you plan to do with the areas after clearing them, but you may spend less to have someone do the work then you would on the head alone. I had a couple of areas done on the farm where I could not easily push it all up in a pile and burn and the cost was about $700-900/ac. Not cheep, but it is all back in pasture now.

Boike has a good point here. If you buy equipment for one purpose only, you are likely to spend more money than you would to have the job done by a contractor. The thinking here is that your purchase price plus the loss on the sale of used equipment, in this rough economy, will be greater than you estimate it. Been there, done that! To rework 60 acres sounds more like work than piddling. This is how I would look at the project...just my two cents worth.

 

[QwikDraw]

If you are running a mulch head you want the biggest machine you can get. ASV runs them the best(had one) and the Takeuchi TL250 holds up the best (so far).
I'm not sure what experience the rest of these guys have but I mow everyday. A CTL will have many other uses and out work a tractor in most cases except field mowing. I have a Fecon mulch head and it has held up very good for 2500+ hours. I also have Davco, Ammbusher and Bradco rotary mowers, each have there place. I also run a Dymax tree shear and Bradco root rake grapple for popping stumps and moving logs. The more attachments you have the more you can get done. If you are looking used find a machine that was used for dirt work and add a head, I wouldn't look at a machine that has already mowed for it's life as it is hard on the machine. I blow out the radiator with a back pack leaf blower everytime I fill up, you have to. You will need a full cab if mowing and of course air conditioning.

 

[ropensaddle]

If you are running a mulch head you want the biggest machine you can get. ASV runs them the best(had one) and the Takeuchi TL250 holds up the best (so far).
I'm not sure what experience the rest of these guys have but I mow everyday. A CTL will have many other uses and out work a tractor in most cases except field mowing. I have a Fecon mulch head and it has held up very good for 2500+ hours. I also have Davco, Ammbusher and Bradco rotary mowers, each have there place. I also run a Dymax tree shear and Bradco root rake grapple for popping stumps and moving logs. The more attachments you have the more you can get done. If you are looking used find a machine that was used for dirt work and add a head, I wouldn't look at a machine that has already mowed for it's life as it is hard on the machine. I blow out the radiator with a back pack leaf blower everytime I fill up, you have to. You will need a full cab if mowing and of course air conditioning.

Lmfao air conditioning wtf is that I mowed miles of powerline with a brown tree cutter and a 60hp tractor it had a belly pan and cage but air conditioning depended on speed traveled:monkey:

 

[066logger]

yea with AC and a cab it wouldent be near as bad. but i still think it is just so destructive to the machine as you mentioned. all that weight on the arms and bouncing around. and i wouldent think the pump would have to impressive of a lifespan either beings its running constantly. im assuming your machines are all rubber track machines. that would help im sure as i was running a wheeled machine with foam filled tires. made my guts feel like jelly after each day lol. we mainly use our machines to drive T posts and drill stem pipe with a penumatic hammer and a custom bit. works exceptionally well but still kinda hard on things. we generally get about 1500 hours on a machine before trading it in.

 

[ropensaddle]

yea with AC and a cab it wouldent be near as bad. but i still think it is just so destructive to the machine as you mentioned. all that weight on the arms and bouncing around. and i wouldent think the pump would have to impressive of a lifespan either beings its running constantly. im assuming your machines are all rubber track machines. that would help im sure as i was running a wheeled machine with foam filled tires. made my guts feel like jelly after each day lol. we mainly use our machines to drive T posts and drill stem pipe with a penumatic hammer and a custom bit. works exceptionally well but still kinda hard on things. we generally get about 1500 hours on a machine before trading it in.

No we used a 5610 ford tractor and a brown tree cutter bush hog pto driven it mutilates 6 inch bush and will do even bigger.

 

[QwikDraw]

I've done over 150 miles of ROW in the last two years. I own a New Holland T5070 too. The track machines go places the tractor won't and the mulch heads out perform a rotary. The Davco and Ammbusher DL66 wil take down a 7 inch tree in a few seconds...but then you have a 35 foot tall tree on the ground to process with a rotary. If you are looking for a nice finished product a mulch head is the best and quickest.
This is only my opinion...some guys do get it done with just a tractor but maintaining property is not ROW work and for a better finished job and more versatility I think it's the way to go.

 

[joesawer]

Ok this was a question about skid steer and forestry head, not farm tractor and rotary mower.
The comment about 60 acres not being piddling demonstrates the difference between forestry and tree service.
60 acres is just scratching the surface in the forest but is a lot of yards.
If you only treated 2 acres per day you would be completely done in 30 days.
With a chainsaw and chipper to do anything that would slow the masticator down very much it should be able to cover a lot of ground in a hurry.
An inclosed cab with AC is a must when masticating, once again it is a different animal from bush hogging.
A leaf blower is very handy for blowing out radiators and coolers and filters. And they must be blown out frequently. I have had to blow them out twice a day very often in dry dusty conditions. The plant fiber and dust will totally stop up everything.
And yes a rotary mower on a skid steer pretty much sucks. And a masticating head puts a big load it and builds a lot of heat in a hurry.
But on sixty acres you can piddle around with it and get it done. But it is a lot of money to invest in sixty acres of piddling. A decent head and skidsteer that can run it is not cheep.

Oh yeah foam filled tires suck they provide the least traction and worse ride short of solid tires.

 

[ropensaddle]

Ok this was a question about skid steer and forestry head, not farm tractor and rotary mower.
The comment about 60 acres not being piddling demonstrates the difference between forestry and tree service.
60 acres is just scratching the surface in the forest but is a lot of yards.
If you only treated 2 acres per day you would be completely done in 30 days.
With a chainsaw and chipper to do anything that would slow the masticator down very much it should be able to cover a lot of ground in a hurry.

My point was if he already had a large tractor a brown tree cutter bush hog is and animal in 6 to 8 inch stuff.

An inclosed cab with AC is a must when masticating, once again it is a different animal from bush hogging.
A leaf blower is very handy for blowing out radiators and coolers and filters. And they must be blown out frequently. I have had to blow them out twice a day very often in dry dusty conditions. The plant fiber and dust will totally stop up everything.

While I agree it would of been great to have a cab, we did not, the billion dollar corporation did not seem to care what we breathed in!

And yes a rotary mower on a skid steer pretty much sucks. And a masticating head puts a big load it and builds a lot of heat in a hurry.
But on sixty acres you can piddle around with it and get it done. But it is a lot of money to invest in sixty acres of piddling. A decent head and skidsteer that can run it is not cheep.

Oh yeah foam filled tires suck they provide the least traction and worse ride short of solid tires.

I really must say the property next door employed a fecon coupled to a skidder and I was not impressed. I would rather of used a tree cutter, please keep in mind, I am not talking about an average bush hog, the one I am speaking of cuts billions of miles of row each day in America. A kershaw or hydro axe would be another option.

 

[ropensaddle]

Another option would be remedy in a back pack basal applied. I understand the question but everyone of you have said it was to expensive to piddle on 60 acres with and I agree. I have done my 40 with nothing more than a ford 800 and a crappy hog. I would love to have a brown tree cutter, it is perfect for the small land owner and will compete especially dollar wise to forestry heads.

 

[ropensaddle]

I've done over 150 miles of ROW in the last two years. I own a New Holland T5070 too. The track machines go places the tractor won't and the mulch heads out perform a rotary. The Davco and Ammbusher DL66 wil take down a 7 inch tree in a few seconds...but then you have a 35 foot tall tree on the ground to process with a rotary. If you are looking for a nice finished product a mulch head is the best and quickest.
This is only my opinion...some guys do get it done with just a tractor but maintaining property is not ROW work and for a better finished job and more versatility I think it's the way to go.

This is what I used on row and it would be great on my farm.


YouTube - ‪Brown Tree Cutter‬‏