Hey all, I'm doing some research for my mom and step-dad. They have an area of their land that is overgrown with brush and small trees. They are in the process of starting to clear out the smaller stuff so that the yard looks nicer. Come this spring, he is planning to either rent a piece of equipment or try to borrow one from work (though I'm fairly certain that renting will be the case) to clear out the rest of the grub, tear out any stumps (6" or less in size) and leveling out any piles. The area is all total no more than half an arce, but probably much less, and most of the stumps/trees we are going to take out are less than 5 or 6 inches around. I realize that the rental stores can ususally help with this part, but if he does rent, would a skid steer (CTL preferably) be able to do the work, and if so, what size machine (and maybe attachments) should I advise him to inquire about, or should we rent a full sized backhoe instead? Thanks in advanced, if you have any more questions I'll be glad to find out.
Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums!!:drinkup Either a skid steer or compact excavator with a grapple rake will do the job. You'll be amazed at how much of this stuff and how quickly it will tear it up. The skid steer will be quicker, the compact excavator will have a little more power for tough stuff. It depends on your conditions which would be best.
As stated by Steve, the CTL will do it faster, but the excavator will allow you to dig out larger stumps that the CTL might not be able to push out. But by the sounds of it, the CTL should be able to do it all and will also allow you to grade much faster than an excavator could. Land clearing is always a fun job. I've done apple orchard removal jobs where I can remove about 3 acres of densely planted trees a day, plus stack them in 20 foot tall piles, so you shouldn't have any problem getting your job done in less than a day.
What you need is a Zaxis 450 Hitachi with a 2 yard clean up bucket :bouncegri Just kidding :yup I don't know if you are allowed to burn in your area but the best thing to use is a excavator with a clean up bucket and scrape up and pile the brush into burn piles. A excavator with a thumb will do a cleaner job keeping the dirt and the green material separated so it is easier to burn. A 11,000lb mini like a 161 Kubota would clean up the acre in no time sweat and should beable to push smaller trees over and rip the stumps out.
If it were me i would just use a mini, burn my brush, do whatever grading needs to be done and call it a day.
Thanks for the info:drinkup Now on to my next question, if we do end up renting a CTL or skid steer, can I do it all with a bucket (teeth or not)? Or should I have them look into getting another attachment as well... if so, what are your recommendations? THanks again
If you get a machine with a 4 in 1 bucket that will be your best option that way you can pick stuff up like old trees etc.
Before renting equipment I would price the job out with some local contractors. If the area is accessible to larger equipment, it might be more economical to hire someone. On some of my jobs I hire owner operators. They will bring in a bigger machine and get the site cleared and material loaded out. This way you can concentrate on the finishing work. Landscaping can be labour intensive and time consuming, so you might want to consider doing the project in phases.