Forestry Mulcher
- Thread starter Trbarlow
- Start date
So, my wife and I just bought 77 acres. A good portion of it is covered with thorn bushes and that's main problem. Probably 20 - 40 is pretty thick and needs to be cleaned with a machine. I'm actually going buy the Forax GP40 because long term we have lots of cleaning to do and at $2750 per day, per machine, it would cost a fortune to clean or possible more since the area is extremely remote.
For several months I did run a Kubota 97-2 with and FAE head. Yes, it is extremely violent mulching, especially with a huge machine like that. The 40" Forax seems a good bit tamer, but not without risk. At least I know the dark side of mulching and will be more aware of the dangers. I was asked to consider a PTO driver mulcher, but honestly, with no protection, that's way to close for me. Plus, I can't be turning my head all the time to do the cleaning looking behind me.
For several months I did run a Kubota 97-2 with and FAE head. Yes, it is extremely violent mulching, especially with a huge machine like that. The 40" Forax seems a good bit tamer, but not without risk. At least I know the dark side of mulching and will be more aware of the dangers. I was asked to consider a PTO driver mulcher, but honestly, with no protection, that's way to close for me. Plus, I can't be turning my head all the time to do the cleaning looking behind me.
jyoutz
Well-known member
Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
My agency never bids woods work by the hour. That’s almost giving them a blank check. We ask them to bid by the acre and they are invited to walk the project area before bidding. We also break up the area into payment units and they cannot start work in a second unit until satisfactory completion of the first unit. That way the contractor gets paid quicker and we don’t have disputes if they walk off the job and default the contract. A fair system for both parties.
The GP40 flail mower is narrow, it sounds like it won't create a path for even a small BX sub-compact tractor, plus it's really, really slow. I have a 54" flail mower on my BX and it's far faster at clearing thorn bushes and brush than using professional hand-held equipment, but it's still quite slow on the first go and likely not suitable for maintaining 77 acres, much less the initial clearing. I'm not knocking any flail mower--they're really handy to have--so much so that I get a lot of requests to clear land--only saying you might seriously look at cutting width and cutting speed relative to your needs.
Like others have said, 77 acres of clearing and then maintenance is going to be a lot to ask of the L2501 and the GP40. I know it's easy to spend someone else's money but I'd probably be looking for a used tracked skid steer and a cutter. A forestry mulcher is sweet but violent and better at just mulching trees and saplings. We maintain hundreds of miles of water line easements and recently upgraded to a JD 325P with a Diamond Mowers Brush Cutter X, a badass combo. Will cut down 8+ inch trees shred everything, and is plenty capable and tough, and will also mow down tall grass neatly. Our guys can break a rag and so far it's held up to their abuse. Diamond has many different options for cutters and motors for high and low flow machines. None of this is cheap, but they are out there on the used market. Check with the larger equipment dealers in your area for used inventory or if they know someone looking to trade in. We were able to trade our bobcat t66 and hydraulic mower in on the 325 and Diamond Mower. If you go with the CTL, you absolutely need a Lexan front window, you're asking for trouble if you run it open cab or with the factory glass.
SK Brush Cutter Pro X Attachment | Diamond Mowers
Take on tough jobs with the Skid-Steer Brush Cutter Pro X. Designed to handle thick grass, brush, and trees up to 10" in diameter with ease. Get a quote!
diamondmowers.com
No, the GP40 is not a flail unit, it is a rotary drum. Yes, the 40" cutting path will be a pain, but after it's paid for the only thing, I need to do is keep gas in it and diesel in the tractor. Also as mentioned, it needs to be forward facing since I can't spend hours turning my neck to look behind me. It will also mulch the bushes versus a flail blade just knocking them down. Clean-up will be a little cleaner than a flail. To clear my path it will just be a lot of back and forth, but not much different than a track loader with a mulcher which still needs a lot of back and forth to clean appropriately. We aren't on any kind of time crunch to clean. If I can travel out there once a month, spend a couple of days, I should be able to make so decent progress. Without my current experience of running a full size mulch head, this would in fact take a lot longer.
Like others have said, 77 acres of clearing and then maintenance is going to be a lot to ask of the L2501 and the GP40. I know it's easy to spend someone else's money but I'd probably be looking for a used tracked skid steer and a cutter. A forestry mulcher is sweet but violent and better at just mulching trees and saplings. We maintain hundreds of miles of water line easements and recently upgraded to a JD 325P with a Diamond Mowers Brush Cutter X, a badass combo. Will cut down 8+ inch trees shred everything, and is plenty capable and tough, and will also mow down tall grass neatly. Our guys can break a rag and so far it's held up to their abuse. Diamond has many different options for cutters and motors for high and low flow machines. None of this is cheap, but they are out there on the used market. Check with the larger equipment dealers in your area for used inventory or if they know someone looking to trade in. We were able to trade our bobcat t66 and hydraulic mower in on the 325 and Diamond Mower. If you go with the CTL, you absolutely need a Lexan front window, you're asking for trouble if you run it open cab or with the factory glass.
SK Brush Cutter Pro X Attachment | Diamond Mowers
Take on tough jobs with the Skid-Steer Brush Cutter Pro X. Designed to handle thick grass, brush, and trees up to 10" in diameter with ease. Get a quote!
Well, if I was spending someone else's money, it would be a much different story. However, since it's my money and I'm not exactly a rich man by any means, so I can't run in trying to spend $100k on used loaded and mulch head. I could have access to a head today for $20-30k that's not even a year old, but I'd still need a loader. Since this property isn't making me money, I just can't justify spending that much money for equipment.
If anyone is in need of a FAE mulch head, my neighbor is trying to get rid of his for $30k with carbide teeth and bite limiters. The kubota 97-2 which was only six months old went up into flames that the property owner bought to clean the property. We got most of the cleaning done we could do anyway fortunately. I'd NEVER recommend a Kubota ever again for forestry mulching. Worst design ever.
Agreed, NEVER by the hour. Depending on the company, the operator may or may not be very efficient with their work. This one company who quoted my neighbor said $2750 per day, per machine. They can get one acre per day for each machine running.
jyoutz
Well-known member
Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
Many of our contracts are for around $1200/acre. Of course the work is quite variable in different areas, so there is a wider range from $900-1800/acre. But the vegetation in your part of the country is different, so a higher range might be appropriate. The only way to determine this is to get multiple bids with each bidder walking the site prior to bidding.
You're indeed correct, it's a drum unit and I incorrectly concluded otherwise from the low-resolution pictures on their website.
From what I can tell it looks like the best equipment for that type of job when in that price range. And you do seem ambitious, so that might be the right equipment for you.
jyoutz
Well-known member
Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
Do yourself a favor and go talk to your state forestry people. They work with real woods contractors who can give you a far better price on doing your initial thinning and weeding of your stand. And they often have cost sharing opportunities to defray costs. Then you can maintain the land with a heavy duty rotary cutter like a Brown tree cutter. And you talk about a front mounted masticator? Go look at the skid steers and other equipment that uses those. They have full protective cages to keep the operator safe. Those drum masticators throw material everywhere and I’ve seen chunks go through a truck door. It would be lethal to a tractor operator without a protective cage. I also have grave doubts that a tractor has the grunt to masticate anything beyond small diameter brush.
congrats on your new adventure
I have only little first hand experience and my "spidy-sense" tells me the GP40 on the front end of a L2501 is not a good combination. I feel the tractor is way to recreational / homeowner quality for that type of work. I have no trouble accepting being 100% wrong on this one as maybe Texas thorn bushes as soft stalked and easy on thin walled tires.
Question: how do you protect the L2501's tires from punctures when driving over freshly forestry mulched thorn bushes? are they foam filled? are thorn stalks soft shafted?
The only thing I really know right now is, the ground is super soft due to the sugar sand animal tunnels. Secondly, if the mulching is done thoroughly, it should make thorn penetration into the tires less susceptible. The little L2501 is a pretty tough little tractor. The capacity before modification on the loader was about 1200lbs. The GP40 is about 400 lbs with the backet.
One thing is for sure though. I will not pay anyone any money to clear this land, nor will I rent expensive equipment. I live too far away and there is way too much land that needs cleaned for my limited budget. I rather to try to figure out my own solution or nothing will happen at all. There may be options for the tires. I haven't explored that just yet until I know it's a problem. I will have the GP40 purchased by a neighbor I work for and simply continue to work for him to pay it off. So, I'm not actually losing any cash out of pocket other than cash not handed directly to me by my neighbor.
Elliott in GA
Well-known member
Equipment
LX 2610SU w/535,LP RCR1860,FDR1660,SGC0554,FSP500, DD BBX60005
I do not know all of the specifics of your land, but you may want to consider using fire in addition to your mulcher. You might be able to cut substantial fire breaks in your 20-40 acres, and then you could burn large sections - waiting for the perfect weather each time.
Well, initially when I was going to use the root rake, that was the plan to push them into piles and burn them. Maybe a that's an alternative plan to use the mulcher to open up areas where I can make fire breaks in the bushes. It will ultimately depend on how the stuff mulches and how many flats I get.