land clearing help

[mattfr12]

i have a job to clear a five acre lot. i dont have alot of experience in land clearing so im gonna see what you guys think of my approach to doing it.

i was gonna first fell the trees or as many as i can and still be able to move around. then drag them to the wood chipper with an excavator with a thumb on, it keep in mind this is a 30,000 pound machine it will move alot.

the owner of the lot wants the chips in a pile at the rear of the lot so thats why im dragging them to the chipper.

then i can feed the chipper with the excavator. the chipper is a bandit 1990. with 20+ inch compacity.

once all the trees are down and chipped we have a few stihl brush cutters for the small brush.

then i rented a case 1150 dozer for the stumps. i figured i would push them all out and close to the road so i can load tri axle with the excavator.

what do you guys think let me know if you got any easier methods or ideas or if im on the right track thanks.

 

[Rudedog]

Where in PA.?

 

[tree MDS]

i have a job to clear a five acre lot. i dont have alot of experience in land clearing so im gonna see what you guys think of my approach to doing it.

i was gonna first fell the trees or as many as i can and still be able to move around. then drag them to the wood chipper with an excavator with a thumb on, it keep in mind this is a 30,000 pound machine it will move alot.

the owner of the lot wants the chips in a pile at the rear of the lot so thats why im dragging them to the chipper.

then i can feed the chipper with the excavator. the chipper is a bandit 1990. with 20+ inch compacity.

once all the trees are down and chipped we have a few stihl brush cutters for the small brush.

then i rented a case 1150 dozer for the stumps. i figured i would push them all out and close to the road so i can load tri axle with the excavator.

what do you guys think let me know if you got any easier methods or ideas or if im on the right track thanks.

Sounds like you have some iron there and a decent approach.. unfortunately, from what I've seen tree services rarely (if ever) make good money venturing into land clearing.

 

[mattfr12]

Where in PA.?

right outside of pittsburgh

 

[Rudedog]

right outside of pittsburgh

Crud. Too far for me. I was looking to give you a day or two of help in exchange for learning something and a can of beer. Good luck.

 

[mattfr12]

i didnt really know how to bid it so i did it like i would tree work i figured out how much i wanted per day and tried to estimate how many days it would take me to complete the work.

so i figured 30 days worste case. with 5 guys figured 10-15 days to clear the trees . 2 days to push the stumps and 2-4 days to haul junk away

exact equipment im moving in is a

case 1150 dozer

kobelco 140 excavator with thumb

bandit 1990 chipper

s250 skid steer with grapple

and grapple truck to haul away the crap


when i did the math it seemed well worth it to do this job i wouldnt move this kinda machinery enless i was putting a grand a day in my pocket

 

[mattfr12]

Sounds like you have some iron there and a decent approach.. unfortunately, from what I've seen tree services rarely (if ever) make good money venturing into land clearing.

i figured id take a stab at it nothing about it seems to intimidating i wouldnt try to clear 100 acres but 5 doesnt seem to bad. plus i got alot of the machinery sitting out back. ill snap some pics in 2 weeks when the project is under way.

 

[STLfirewood]

I would look at it a different way. Your talking about 3-5 days work with a high lift and 3-4 days with a big tub grinder. This is assuming decent terrain. The skid steer will definitely help speed things up. I just big a job around here it was 2 1/2 wooded acres. The tub grinder was going to be 6k to grind everything. This was tree trunks and all.

Scott

 

[mattfr12]

I would look at it a different way. Your talking about 3-5 days work with a high lift and 3-4 days with a big tub grinder. This is assuming decent terrain. The skid steer will definitely help speed things up. I just big a job around here it was 2 1/2 wooded acres. The tub grinder was going to be 6k to grind everything. This was tree trunks and all.

Scott

thiers not a tree on the lot my 1990 wont eat whole and thiers no rental fee on it since we own it. we use it for regular crane removals. my excavator will lift 2 40-50 foot pines up at once. its over 30,000 pounds. only fee's would be man hours a few days for a dozer and fuel.

 

[newsawtooth]

Having to move the material to a chip site will be time consuming, especially if you are moving a tree or two at a time. Anything over twenty inches DBH will increase your cost exponentially. How many trees and what size are they? Will you have to cruise and mark the trees for removal before you start? Obviously the less you have to move the material before processing it, the better. It would more efficient if you could broadcast the material or fill trucks as you work your way in to reduce skidding distances. Skidding logs over five acres at the end of the project will be difficult with just a bobcat, though it can still be done. Without seeing it, sounds like you gave yourself plenty of time, if they accept it, it should be worth it. Just thoughts. Good Luck.

 

[Panama]

Sounds like you have the right equipment available but seems like a lot of time to take care of the trees. I would go in with the excavator and clear me a loop road, then lay the trees at an angle to the road where the chipper could be backed in close to the felled trees. Less dragging is less dirt chipped and should be quicker if you lay it out right. That would be a lot of trips with the ex avoided. Then run to the end of the property and dump chips when needed. Just a thought.

 

[burntslap]

I would recommend using the excavator to up-root the trees with the stumps attached. By using the weight of the tree as leverage, the stump comes out much easier. Just dig out the roots opposite the direction you want the tree to go and the put your bucket up high enough to gain leverage without breaking the tree off. This will save you a ton of time in cat work,opcorn: digging out the stumps. Then all you have to do is buck the stumps off and proceed as planned.
Have you checked into disposing of the stumps? Out here, that is the biggest hassle.

Good luck and have fun with all that iron!

 

[Blakesmaster]

Sounds like you got a good plan for taking care of the trees. My lot clearing experience is minimal having done maybe 10 or 12 lots of that size when working for someone else. Never on my own. So take it for what it's worth. Seems the excavator and chipper will do fine with size of the trees. Your approach to the stumps I wonder about though. That's a lot of hauling once they're tore out. Odd sizes, hard to fit in truck, heavy ass dirt, etc. Have you thought about maybe renting a big grinder instead of the dozer approach? Just curious. No hauling or tipping fees that way.

 

[pdqdl]

Why in the world would you have a dozer to take care of the stumps, when the excavator is the right machine for the job?

Granted, the stumps still attached to the trees could be a problem, but you should have the excavator rip the trees out and then have somebody cut the stump off with a chainsaw.

The dozer will be great for scraping out little stumps and grading the area after the excavator has done its thing.

 

[mattfr12]

Why in the world would you have a dozer to take care of the stumps, when the excavator is the right machine for the job?

Granted, the stumps still attached to the trees could be a problem, but you should have the excavator rip the trees out and then have somebody cut the stump off with a chainsaw.

The dozer will be great for scraping out little stumps and grading the area after the excavator has done its thing.

ya i see your point the dozer is what i would have to rent so ill see how it goes and if it works out this way that would be great. since i dont have to do any grading or anything like that. a construcion company will be in thier directly after me.

 

[mattfr12]

I would recommend using the excavator to up-root the trees with the stumps attached. By using the weight of the tree as leverage, the stump comes out much easier. Just dig out the roots opposite the direction you want the tree to go and the put your bucket up high enough to gain leverage without breaking the tree off. This will save you a ton of time in cat work,opcorn: digging out the stumps. Then all you have to do is buck the stumps off and proceed as planned.
Have you checked into disposing of the stumps? Out here, that is the biggest hassle.

Good luck and have fun with all that iron!

i pay at a local wood recycling place to get rid of wood and they take stumps. so thats covered

 

[mattfr12]

Sounds like you got a good plan for taking care of the trees. My lot clearing experience is minimal having done maybe 10 or 12 lots of that size when working for someone else. Never on my own. So take it for what it's worth. Seems the excavator and chipper will do fine with size of the trees. Your approach to the stumps I wonder about though. That's a lot of hauling once they're tore out. Odd sizes, hard to fit in truck, heavy ass dirt, etc. Have you thought about maybe renting a big grinder instead of the dozer approach? Just curious. No hauling or tipping fees that way.

i wish i knew where to rent a bigger grinder i did think of that but have no clue where to rent one.

our grapple truck is a mack tri axle i can haul around 20-24 ton even at that i figured 30-45 loads of stumps i aloted 3-4 days of hauling out stumps. because its about 20 min to the dump one way. so i can only make so many runs in a day.

 

[jsd176]

Check your local landfill to see if they have a tubgrinder. I live down around Pittsburgh now, but the landfill back home (north central PA) has one that they either rent out or sub out. Might be worth checking out.

 

[pdqdl]

In order to find a local (portable) grinder, check the yellow pages for excavating, land clearing, or grading services.

Check with the local Bandit, Morbark, and Vermeer dealers. They will know who their grinding customers are, and will be happy to refer you to someone with the right equipment.

 

[mattfr12]

In order to find a local (portable) grinder, check the yellow pages for excavating, land clearing, or grading services.

Check with the local Bandit, Morbark, and Vermeer dealers. They will know who their grinding customers are, and will be happy to refer you to someone with the right equipment.

ill make some calls a tub grinder would be sweet