lighter duty tree shear recommendations?

[ken erickson]

I will be picking up a new L 2501 this week, fitted with loader and third function.

Can anyone recommend a tree shear for the loader quick attach , light in weight, light in cost?

The vast bulk of trees I want to shear will be Scots (scotch ) pine with a max trunk diameter at the base of 6 inches. Many of the pines will be dead or in process of dying. (pine wilt disease)

Most of the tree shears I have googled are for much heavier duty applications and sized equipment.

 

[BigG]

It is a looooong way from cheap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3w-MN-7Nxs

 

[Schmitty]

Any chance that you could use a stump puller to grab the trunk and then chainsaw off below where you've grabbed it?

I made something similar to this and use it to uproot buckthorn (0.5-8"), black cherry (3-5"), boxelder (4-8"), and small oaks 2-4")...but my tractor is a wee bit more powerful.

I'm thinking that you would achieve the same ends at a reduced cost...if your tractor can grab and hold the pines safely. The bonus is that you may be able to drive the tree to a burn pile or a mulcher, if that is the end goal.

 

[Garrik]

Looks like Titan sells a 12" shear for around $3k - is that too pricey?

 

[ken erickson]

Thanks for the thoughts and recommendations!

The Mini Clip is a very nice looking piece of equipemt. It is out of my price range and has capabilitles that I will not need such as pruning.

I had thought about a tree puller as the Scots pine are in sandy soil. I was able to push up to a four inch at base over and uproot with my little B7100. Larger than that and traction became a issue.
If I knew that uprooting up to 6 inches was doable with a tree puller I would consider that. My end goal is to drive them to a area , pile and eventually burn.

The Titan is more shear than I think I would like to hang from the quick attach at 950 lbs.

I would like to offer a bit more information about my circumstances that is driving my decision making process.
I adapt my tractors with hand controls as I am a full time user of a wheelchair. Once on the tractor I need to be as productive as possible.
Ideally I hope to either shear or uproot a large area of trees, let them lay, change out to a grapple and then collect and pile the trees into a future burn pile.
With shearing I can shear at ground level and leave the area drivable with a tractor. If pulling I need to pull the complete tree , root system and all. On the plus side Scots pines do not have an extensive root system and they are growing in very sandy soil.

Schmitty, I see your in the Madison area. Is your land located there also? Pretty part of the state. My 56 acres is in Waushara county and in the process of restoring a ex Christmas tree plantation to native prairie oak/savanna.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

You normally don't want to use a tree shear on a tractor, No operator protection.

Anything from a branch to a whole tree can come back on you in a second and ruin your whole day or life, yea there is a bar that's meant to deflect them right or left but it doesn't always work!

I've used a bobcat to drop pines and seen them do every twist imaginable.

Look into a stump bucket it will do what you want to do.

 

[Schmitty]

Ken, I have a house in Madison and ~12 acres just south of town, also in Dane county. About 11.5 of the 12 had/has an understory of buckthorn that I have worked to remove. The stump puller is the best I've come up with and is a real time saver...but buckthorn's not a real tree like a pine with a taproot.

NIW has a good idea to try a stump bucket to do a directional dig and push of your trees. I wonder if you can find a place to rent one to try that tactic out?

You might get an idea of the success your tractor (new or old) might have by taking the normal bucket to a tree to see if it has much "give".

 

[mikester]

The easiest thing to do is raise the loader, push the tree over to lift up the roots, grab the roots then push right out. A small 25HP tractor probably wont be enough tractor for the tree shear or for pushing a 6 inch diameter tree. You should be able to handle pushing a 4 inch tree.

Pines have shallow roots. If you have sandy soil, try pushing them out in early Spring when the ground is wet and soft. No stumps to deal with this way.

Spend the money on a root grapple, you will like that better than the shear and use it more too.

Pushing is easier than digging because you can use leverage to your advantage. Your machine isnt heavy enough for raw grunt digging.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

OK, I've been told I 'think outside the box', so what would it cost to have a guy and a dozer come in a knock down all the trees ? 56 acres is a bit bigger than farm across the street, but... maybe it's cost effective ? You've got a 3 part process...knock them down,uproot, and haul ,oopsy 4... burn...
That's a LOT for time for one guy-one machine. If you can get a dozer in, you could follow and grab/haul to a burn pile. Being a tree farm, they'd all be in nice rows, so kinda easy. It may go faster than you think,once a rhythmn is found
I know, you'll say.. you have lots of time, only want to do a bit..here and there... BUT the smart money would be to do it all,in one pass, PDQ, so you can 'repurpose' the land sooner than later. Also if a dozer does the grunt work, YOU can work as you want, not feeling under the gun to get another acre uprooted, woory about downtime when 'something' breaks let alone the personal injury that may occour. Well, probably, as I bet there's a LOT of trees to deal with.

jes thinkin of options...none of us are getting younger, the older we get !
Jay

 

[ken erickson]

All great advice and suggestions! Thank you for taking the time to post.

I have considered most of these options at this point, and until I get the tractor on the land and start testing the waters I will not know for sure what option is going to be the best.

I do have the time to work on sections as this is my "retirement" and fun time.
One of the reasons that tree shearing was interesting to me is that it will disturb less soil than up-rooting. Disturbed soil has a way of encouraging many invasive plants to germinate that have been dormant in the seed bank. The roots and what is left of the trunk, assuming I could shear off at ground level, will also help from a erosion standpoint. That will help with the native seeding being able to get established.

Headed over to the dealer to close the deal , tractor is set up, on the L2501. I should have it at my house in a few days to start the hand controls.

 

[D2Cat]

Around here one can hire a skid steer with a tree saw for $75 an hour. They cut trees up to 2' in dia. in a matter of seconds, and cut it a couple of inches into the dirt. What they cut in an hour is absolutely amazing!

Might be another option. You could still push to pile and burn to keep you busy, and still have the area cleaned.

Instead of considering a tree shear, get 3rd function and grapple!!

 

[ken erickson]

Back from the dealer, inspected and took care of the business end. I should have it at my house in the next few days now.

I did spec out the tractor with Landpride dealer installed third function.
I have been looking at a lot of different grapples and will make a decision soon.

I suspect it will never look as nice as it does right now,

 

[D2Cat]

Ken, nice looking rig. But... right there at the dealer is the nicest it's suppose to look.

The reason you bought it is to use it. Some get upset with every imperfection. Just relax and enjoy it. When you get a grapple be sure to add some sort of grill protection before you "need " it.

 

[wgator]

Ken, great looking tractor. Might I suggest get the dealer to tuck those hydraulic lines up higher beneath the right floor board in your first picture. Also if it has the turnbuckle stabilizers on the three point hitch, talk him into throwing in Telescopic Stabilizer Kit Kubota p/n L8430 LINK TO KIT AT MESSICK'S CLICK HERE.