Clearing Land

lesterg3 · Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 1:44 pm Post subject: Clearing Land

Has anyone rented a dozer to clear land I have 5 acres that I want cleared for building sites pasture, gardens, and other common small farm stuff.

Anybody with any experience DYI, how big a dozer do you need, The biggest trees I want out are 4 to 6". The local guy wants way too much money.

TRBLSHTR · Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:37 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

D4 cat is plenty.............unless you're in a hurry!

Fireman_DJ · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:15 am Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

4-6 inches? Trees?

Define what you mean by clear the land.

A D4 would work fine.
Depending on what else you need to do, a 12t excavator with blade could also do the job (Again, slowly). But you'd be able to dig a few tench's, break up the ground for the gardens etc.

A backhoe with a 4 in 1 bucket could also do the job. Again, this would be IDEAL for other gardening/farm jobs. And for softer areas it would work faster then the excavator.

You can also get tow behind grader blades, a good 4x4 should be able to pull one around.

Another question I should ask, how much experience do you have operating this sort of machinery?

I recently got to play with a 20t excavator and while the operator said I was one of the best first timers he'd ever seen, I considered myself quite slow and rough. There is no way I'd keep up with a skilled operator.

It might just be cheaper in the end to pay the operator to do it for you, given the extra time it'll take for an unskilled operator to do the job.

lesterg3 · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:21 am Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

Yes 4 to 6" diameter trees, anything larger will most likely stay for some shade and looks.

Clear the land, Most trees gone, stumps gone Hoping to plant some rye and clover by mid march. I don't know how to explain it but by cleared I mean ready to plant, or build as I wish.

Experience. none, nada, never ran anything like a D4, done a lot of farming and tractor work, plowing, discing, cultivating, mowing, etc. But, I am sure I can figure it out if I am so inclined, no insult intended but there ain't no rocket scientists running dozers. I am just too old and disbled to want to do it myself. I've cleared land the hard way chain saws and digging stumps, and this is just too much for that.

I can rent a 150 horse dozer for about $1500 a week. The folks I contacted who do this as a business want $3500 an acre, that's $17,500. They all said it would take about 8 to 10 days to complete. All materials will be piled for burning.

I can buy a used dozer for that, take all the time I need and resell it.

Not planning on running the dozer myself though. Lots and lots of qualified guys unemployed down here I am sure I can find someone.

So, even if I rented at $1500 a week that's $3000 and and planned on 80 hours paying whoever $50 an hour to work the total is only $7000, that's a saving of $10,500.

But, I am still thinking about it and was looking for feedback on experiences, insight, problems or anything else folks who have cleared land have had.

Thanks for your comments.

RePete · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 7:18 am Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

You may find that unless you are licensed dozer operator, they will only rent to you with an operator.

gelandangan · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:35 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

I imagine 4 tp 6 inches trees could be quite tall, one of these falling on you could ruin someone day.

Anyhow, here is an old experience from third world country where land clearing are un controlled.
They use TWO huge dozers, with a long hefty chain between the two, and they simply pull through the forest, pulling everything down indiscriminately.
You would then see plenty of baby animals crawling about their knocked down home.. (okay, the natives then took them home for food).
But the sheer destruction resulted of the operation is heart wrenching..
I hope I will never see such thing again... ever...

dhc4ever · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:52 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

"Anyhow, here is an old experience from third world country where land clearing are un controlled.
They use TWO huge dozers, with a long hefty chain between the two, and they simply pull through the forest, pulling everything down indiscriminately."

Ah Geland,
I see you've been to Queensland, thats how they do it up here.......

Fireman_DJ · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:09 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

I was going to mention the chain method.

I was somehow thing 4-6" tall trees and scratching my head. If they are 4-6" thick then you NEED a tree pusher on the bulldozer or you will end up squashed. An excavator with a blade on it world work fine.

It has the height to push over trees safely, can use a chain to lift and drag them into piles and the blade can level the ground.

As mentioned, some rental companies want to see a ticket to operate, but you might. Get away with it for some of the smaller machines.

Fireman_DJ · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:10 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

I was going to mention the chain method.

I was somehow thing 4-6" tall trees and scratching my head. If they are 4-6" thick then you NEED a tree pusher on the bulldozer or you will end up squashed. An excavator with a blade on it world work fine.

It has the height to push over trees safely, can use a chain to lift and drag them into piles and the blade can level the ground.

As mentioned, some rental companies want to see a ticket to operate, but you might. Get away with it for some of the smaller machines.

gelandangan · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:32 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

Mate, the use the chain to drag down trees up to 1 meters in diameter!!
Usually they "clear" primary forest with little or minimal timber undergrowth.
The logger would roll in and take the large trees ($$$$) and usually they just burn the smaller trees and branches.
Not only they cut down Oxygen supply, they also contribute to CO2 increase.

Gah.. You would wish that you never seen it.
Once seen cannot be unseen.

pete4d · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:39 am Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

lesterg3,,,, d-4 dozier would be big enough for the job, should be in the $65.00-85.00 dollar an hour range w/operator
. As for permits I Don't know of know of any you my need here in The Free World of THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA
lester,,,Shoudn't take over a couple days to clear and stack the small timber. Let the pile dry for 7-10 days before trying to burn( have the burn pile where you plan having your garden ,some Mitty rich soil after the burn,)

lesterg3 · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 12:21 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

Gelandangan

Sorry my inquiry has caused you some grief,, but I can assure you that any little critters that get shook out will have a good home. Besides the additional 22 acres that I have planted 100's of nut trees, crab apples and 100's of different types of berry and other wildlife friendly bushes on, there are about a million acres of woodlands around my place with a few homesteads and a few pastures mixed in. The plan is not to take everything down but to do it selectively. Yes a lot of small trees will be saying bye, but the will be plenty left.

And, thanks to all the others that offered advice. I checked with the rental folks and I do not need any type of license to run the dozer.

Thanks again.

Elvis · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 12:23 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

look at a rotary slasher to put behind a wheel tractor. we cleared heaps of gorse and manuka with this. get your chainsaw out for 4-6" timber and you will have firewood for years...or call the local firewood guy he will probably take it and clean up afterwards.

Fireman_DJ · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 12:30 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

Just remember when pushing over trees.

Pushing high up on the truck will pivot on the roots and cause them to land away from you.
Pushing on the bottom will pivot up the trunk and cause them to land ON you.

This is where a tree push comes in handy. It's a long frame on top of the dozer blade designed to be lifted up high and push the trees over in a safe manner.

If in doubt, it may be safer to fall the trees with a chainsaw and then push the stumps out with the dozer, assuming you can handle a chainsaw safely.
(I am assuming you can given your listed experience, but I still want to warn other readers just incase they think a chainsaw is any safer then a bull dozer.)

gelandangan · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:37 pm Post subject: Re: Clearing Land

Lester,

My post only reflect what I saw back when I live in Indonesia,
where huge patch of primary rain forests are cleared to plant palm trees.
My aim were to answer your question in the land clearing method.

You do not owe me apology nor explanation .
I am sure that you are sensible enough to do the right thing.
Since you are in the US of A I believe land clearing in your area would have been regulated
and no endangered species present or will be further endangered by this.