So I'm looking at some wooded acreage to buy & put a house on. What is the best way to clear heavily wooded, covered with brush land without breaking the bank? I know you can hire a bulldozer to come in and push the brush out while leaving the trees, but is there an easier/cheaper way? Can I rent a small skidsteer cedar-eater thing, or get a couple friends out with chainsaws to take out the yopauns? Anybody done it on the cheap? TIA.

Fire

quote:

---

Fire

---

are you looking to clear it all or just a homesite?

I own 25 acres and have selectively cleared using a chain saw and fire.

The problem with fire is it tends to take out the good trees along with the trash trees.

quote:

---

are you looking to clear it all or just a homesite?

I own 25 acres and have selectively cleared using a chain saw and fire.

---

Let's say a homesite on heavily overgrown acreage.

Goats?

Seriously though, a chain saw and time.

Or rent a skid steer or back hoe. Not sure what they run though. Might not fall into the "cheap" category.

How much land? I have some chainsaws and a machete

You'd be amazed at what a chainsaw can do. You'll probably spend more time stacking then cutting.

quote:

---

Seriously though, a chain saw and time.

Or rent a skid steer or back hoe. Not sure what they run though. Might not fall into the "cheap" category.

---

What's the difference between a bulldozer and a backhoe for clearing out land? Or is a skidsteer with a cedar eater attachment better?

If its just a homesite, and you are wanting to stay cheap, I think I'd stick with the chainsaw and a little time.

Tracks vs tires

And bulldozer mainly pushes

Backhoe has bucket and scoop

Bulldozer might be better for what you
are talking about. Backhoe would be more versatile

Student bonfire For the win. A+ for clearing woods.

quote:

---

Let's say a homesite on heavily overgrown acreage.

---

Chainsaws and some buddies should easily clear a site

Cedar eaters is a great option to open up large tracts covered in cedar.

bulldozer would be the option for final clearing and leveling home site pre foundation.

Thanks for the replies guys. OB is the greatest.

quote:

---

The problem with fire is it tends to take out the good trees along with the trash trees.

---

I disagree. I've burned dozens of fields for farmers/ranchers. All it takes is good prep work, and the trees will be fine

Buy you a good Stihl Chainsaw that will last you a couple of decades, save a weekend or two over several months for cutting and burning and you should be good. Keep it lubed and sharp and you'll be surprised what those things will eat through.

A buddy of mine hired a guy from iola with a bobcat mounted cedar eater. The thing is awesome. I think he paid something like 150/hour.

quote:

---

Buy you a good Stihl Chainsaw that will last you a couple of decades, save a weekend or two over several months for cutting and burning and you should be good. Keep it lubed and sharp and you'll be surprised what those things will eat through.

---

Dude, last month I had to have a new carb put on my stihl that I bought in 1993...you just can't find anything that will last anymore...

Any Stihl chainsaw, pruner, pole saw erc that comes into my shops gets bought up pretty quick. Their resale value is awesome.

How many acres techno?

You can rent a mulcher skid steer with tracks from Bobcat that will clear 1 acre per 8 hours.

I have used them and they are bad mofos. They easily will take down trees up to 16 inches in diameter.

That thing will chew up some wood!

quote:

---

You can rent a mulcher skid steer with tracks from Bobcat that will clear 1 acre per 8 hours.

I have used them and they are bad mofos. They easily will take down trees up to 16 inches in diameter.

That thing will chew up some wood!

---

Where did you rent it?

quote:

---

A buddy of mine hired a guy from iola with a bobcat mounted cedar eater. The thing is awesome. I think he paid something like 150/hour.

---

Can you post a name/number/contact info?

Get a seismic survey shot across your land. All the senderos, woodgaroring & clearing you need

A backhoe with a nice bucket will clear out a lot of land real quick.

Slash and burn. Turns everything into pot ash and whatever you put down will grow great

Interested in this as well.

quote:

---

How many acres techno?

You can rent a mulcher skid steer with tracks from Bobcat that will clear 1 acre per 8 hours.

I have used them and they are bad mofos. They easily will take down trees up to 16 inches in diameter.

That thing will chew up some wood!

---

Interested in this as well.

Get 6 goats per 20 acres. Problem solved.

You located? Send me PM.

I've seen people use nobles to take care of the brush.

I think that they were using larger nobles than the one in this picture:



By "larger", I mean larger blades, not using a number of small blades to cover a larger area.

Depending on the size of the brush, you might be able to pull some railroad irons over it to break it up.

That's just some old railroad irons with several eyelets welded along the top edge and then heavy duty steel cables running from the eyelets to a clevis such that you attach to the drawbar on a tractor.

If the brush is very big, this probably wouldn't work. If I was to do it, I would probably want to do it on a really cod day, especially if it has been below freezing for several days, in hopes that the wood will be brittle and break off easier. Then a few months later, if the brush is dead, do it again or use a set of nobles to break it up better.

For what it's worth, when I was a kid we used three or four railroad irons in a row to smooth out the land before planting so that when we watered it (flood irrigation then), there wouldn't be many high spots that wouldn't get water.

Chainsaw and woodchipper

How about a herbicide that will attack the brush?