New video · Friday, Jul 18 Tap to view! photos.app.goo.gl I've got maybe 4 miles of old logging road like this to clear. Both sides can be pretty steep, some not so bad. The regrowth is chocking out the road. Looking at CTL and or a mini ex, something like Kubota's KX080 or SVL 97-3, or bigger from a different brand if needed. Anyone with experience, what would you pick? Renting is tough, no one near me rents machines with mulchers.
I would look into a skid steer flail mower. You could go into a mini ex or a muncher set up but would be more money.https://www.skidsteersolutions.com/eterra-attachments
Excavator with a thumb, 5-6 ton size would probably be sufficient based on the size of trees, but 8 ton might be a little faster. Size the machine to the overall width you want to clear, you want to be able to reach from one side of your clearing to the other by just swinging while tracking down the middle of the road. Too large and you're working everything at an angle, too small and you waste too much time maneuvering. I personally don't use a mulcher for work like that, I just pull the whole trees, bushes, brush out by the roots and pile them over the edge, usually on the lower side. If your thumb and bucket match up right you can also use it to 'trim' branches higher up. Reach up either straight on or at about a 45* angle, pinch the branch between the bucket cutting edge and the thumb, and then curl the bucket and it will shear the branch right off. Works excellent on most trees except the really tough stringy hardwoods like white oak and hickory. Don't do it right at the tree or you could damage it, shear it off just a little ways out. It's not as clean as using a pole saw and not something I'd do to trees in my yard or high value timber, but it's fast and effective. Works great for logging roads, field edges, etc. Last winter I cleaned up about 5 miles of logging roads on one of our farms with my Kubota U48-5. Cleaned the edges back and trimmed branches as high as the excavator could reach. Took about 25 machine hours, 3-4 days. Some trails weren't bad and just needed the trees trimmed, some were almost completely choked out with mountain laurel thickets and saplings.
ASV makes the most powerful ctl i know of. It has a forestry kit from the factory. No history, looking at one to drive a tree saw.
I looked at one the other day, the bottom rollers have lexan covers to check the oil level. Sounds like a bad idea in that environment.