Moving Brush

TomIn

Member
I'm a geezer with a primary house in the city and a second house on 100+ acres of "recreational property" about 100 miles away. I keep a few acres mowed around the house and also try to keep the road frontage and some walking trails mowed.

Autumn olive bushes, eastern red cedar trees, and willows in the wet areas are starting to take over the areas that I want to keep open. I can (very slowly) handle the cutting of bushes and trees with a chainsaw, but would like to haul the debris to some brush piles where they would be out of sight and out of mind. The old tractors I use for mowing don't have remote hydraulics or loaders to help with moving the debris. Buying a newer, bigger tractor with a loader and brush grapple doesn't make sense for me at my age.

I looked on the internet for ideas of how other people move brush. A lot of people mention using pallet forks on their front end loaders, but that won't help me. Then I ran across a picture of a person using an odd looking trailer behind an old farmall tractor. Some further searching suggested that it was a variation of a "Hay Bale Buggy".

Has anyone seen or used something similar? I'm currently dragging large pieces behind a Gravely tractor or a Ford 640. I have a riding lawn mower trailer that I use for small things. Does anyone have any other good ideas that don't require large investments?



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Look for a Ford three point manure loader. I just located one two days ago after looking for years. I am paying $275 for it, and will use it just going to shows as I have another tractor with a loader. You will be able to back into piles, raise it up, transport, then dump.
 
I use a chain with a choker on it. Lay the chain out, pile debris on top of chain, loop chain around the pile, other end on tractor and go. The choker end allows the chain to tighten up on the pile. Even small limbs stay with it. I also have a trailer mover to go on the 3 point hitch so I can use a trailer.
 
The "Hay Bale Buggy" is quite a smart idea. If it were me, I would want to put a ball hitch on the front of the tractor rather than having to turn my head so much. I would replace the hand winch on the buggy with an electric winch with wireless remote. Might also add another fork or two to the "Hay Bale Buggy" as well - some means of catching/moving some of the smaller brush that otherwise would slip through the main forks.

Also, if the tractor has narrow front tires (three rib), I would want to get some junkyard tires on rims to put on front. That will save your more expensive tires from all the stumps and debris on the ground.
 
Back before I got a front end loader, I tried several things. I have a 16' flat bed trailer, and I found it ok for small stuff, but you couldn't put much larger
stuff on it before it wanted to fall off the other side, or it was just a lot of work to get it on there and it really wouldn't hold much. I have a 8' chain
harrow, and I found it much easier to drag stuff up on it, drag it to the burn pile, and pull it off. Much less lifting, and if you put some large stuff on the
bottom, you can often just unhook from the harrow and hook a chain to the bottom stuff and drag the whole pile off with the tractor at one go.
You could make something similar with a length of old chain link fence and a piece of pipe across the front, using a chain or two for the hitch. Pretty cheap fix.
 
I would put down a long chain on the floor of my 7k landscape
trailer.
PUt all branches with the small end of the branches pointing
towards the end of the trailer.
Move branched to my burn pit. Back up to a large tree. Add more
chain and connect extra chain to the choker chain. Pull forward
and leave all the branches in the burn pit. Just before all the
branches fall off the trailer, I would back up, push the brush
backwards and remove the tension from the chain. Then I would
connect the choker chain to the trailer and pull the choker
chain from under the brush pile..
 
Just spray them with 24D and some roundup will kill them after a year or 2 then just need to spot spray each year. sounds like a lot of cost , add up your cost for saw gas tractor gas and time. Then figure the ease of spraying from the tractor seat while driving through the woods. Done during the summer dry swamps should not be a problem for the chemical. I would not spray where there is water in existence.
 

I agree that some modifications would be in order. Just for interest, I found a video of another brand in operation.
The video is dated over a decade ago, and the current model seem to use a single bale spear rather than two pallet forks.

For moving brush, I don't think you would want the load to tilt nearly as far as a hay bale. The original picture I found
showed a similar critter that would only allow the load to be tilted to about a 45 degree angle. I'm just guessing that
part of the purpose was center the weight on top of the buggy axle for better balance.


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video
 
You describe yourself as a geezer, I assume you think you are too old to buy a new or newer
tractor. The very best option for you is to go buy a tractor with a loader and forks. Trust me,
you'll be very glad you did. You'll use it in ways you never thought possible.

A lot of times you can simply uproot the brush with the loader and never have to use a chainsaw.
 
I like the idea of a chain harrow, or chain link fence in principle. Years ago I did a similar thing with a tarp to drag leaf piles in the fall. The issue that bothers me is that when I cut down mature autumn olive bushes, each main trunk may be 15-20 feet long with many branches spreading to the sides. Whatever is hanging over the back or sides of the chain harrow or fence will be in contact with the ground. I worry that when I try to drag the pile, the chain harrow or fence may just pull out from under the middle of the brush pile.
 
I would look into hiring someone with a skid steer and
forestry mower. It will cut and mulch the brush in place.



Or get a bunch of the brush cut and rent a skid steer with
a grapple bucket for a day or two.
 
(quoted from post at 05:40:19 02/01/23) Just spray them with 24D and some roundup will kill them after a year or 2 then just need to spot spray each year. sounds like a lot of cost , add up your cost for saw gas tractor gas and time. Then figure the ease of spraying from the tractor seat while driving through the woods. Done during the summer dry swamps should not be a problem for the chemical. I would not spray where there is water in existence.

Sure you can spray it but now you have all the dead woody brush standing there that still has to be cut down and hauled away.
 
Think I'd cut them down and then hire someone with a chipper to chip them up and blow it all over or in a pile if you can use chips.Brush piles are good for wildlife though
 
You don't need any device. Make a brush pile starting with the largest branch and pile all the branches facing the same way. Then put a rope or strap around several of the bottom branches and haul away. I've tried to attach a video, not sure if it will work.
 
An issue I see.....

I love the simple chain on fork lift bars I put on my loader bucket for brush hauling. Pretty much all I use them for, works so easy!

Often times the brush pile on my forks is pretty big, and drops down on 3 sides pretty low. I need to lift the bucket up pretty high so twigs dont drag and pull off.

Your bale hauler looks like it would work great, other than it just doesnt lift very high, the branches will drag?

Being towed, it wont be as maneuverable to get around either?

You could get a similar 3pt bale carrier for your Ford, and carry the branches on the back. Might not lift any higher really, but might be more maneuverable to pick up
and back up to unload.

Paul
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I do the choker chain method.
I start the pile to be pulled with the biggest, widest, bushiest limb first and pile on the smaller stuff.
Then choke chain just a few of the limbs closest to the ground.

Very few branches slip off.
 

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