Hello All. I've been getting some really great advice on here and I thought I would throw out another question to anyone who cares to chime in. I was looking at getting a Marshall Tree Saw but there are no dealers near me, getting a demo seems to be a big hurdle, and there will be no local support after the sale. It has made me consider different options. Does anyone have an opinion on how these big tree shears work compared to a Marshall? I am cutting out 1"-15" trees in overgrown pastures and fence rows. I liked the Marshall since I was looking at something to take large (greater than 36") tree stumps down to ground level but as I said, there are issues there. Worst case, I have a Husqvarna 395 XP that will get it done if the Marshall guys can't be bothered to do a demo. The grapple options with the shears look really handy. Anyone? I should add, the 1-3" are getting mowed... but I saw that the Marshall had a blade along the front for shearing them off. The Marshall is $12,900
Dymax makes really good shear. I don't know how tall your trees are, but a 15" tree could be very hard to handle depending on type, height and terrain.
Thanks for your reply Digdeep. I had a couple people tell me that, so it's good to hear another. I can't seem to find much out regarding a tree terminator. A lot of big cedars.... wide trunks but short trees.
Had a local excavator here that put a shear on a NH LX885 to clear overgrown railroad right of ways. Because the trees all had to fall away from the tracks the easiset thing was to work from the top down. In doing so when the "grapple" closed around the tree and it sheared he, loader and all went over nose first down the bank. After talking with him I wouldn't have a shear that holds the tree to the machine. I have a grapple bucket for moving stuff that is cut off...
Damn, EPIC bad day.... Was he hurt?
Some time ago I did some clearing with a rayco brand skid steer with a shear on it and it worked flawlessly. Now mind you, this rayco was a skid steer on steroids! Not your average skid steer, I could cut and grab whatever tree it fit,(16" perhaps) and then carry it to wherever it needed to go. Obviously some common sense must prevail as to the size of tree vs. the terrain. It also had a forestry mower for it it too, what a combination.
I've had a dymax shear for 10 years and wouldn't want to go back to a shear that doesn't grab trees. Only way i would go with a non-grapple shear is if most of the cedars are in the 15-20" range. Cedar trees are so bushy, if you can get to the tree you can cut and carry it.
I noticed that you're out in Kansas, a lot of Marshall saws are out that way.... Have you had any experience with one?