Bush hogging rough land..

If your pocketbook can stand it you can get a Brown tree cutter. It will take considerable tractor to pick it up. Basically it's a very heavy rotary mower with a sliding rear deck that exposes the blade as you back into the tree. I don't know how big a tree they will cut, but its more than 5 inches.

KEH

You will eventually tear up either your tractor or your mower.

Chain saws and chains are cheap compared to repairs on tractors and rotary cutters.

Use your tractor and mow up to the base of the sappling.

Cut the sappling flush at the ground with a chain saw.

Spray with Remedy if it sprouts from the stump.

Termites and/or fire ants will eventually destroy the stump.

Use loppers to cut the small "tractor flats" flush at the ground.

This will help reduce the number of tractor flats from driving in areas that have been cleared.

Yeah I now understand EXACTLY what your saying when you say NEVER DRIVE OVER what you have just cut!!! I have busted two tires and can't figure why...Now I know...

As far as the slip clutch goes I have burnt up one already...I need to get another before I go back out.....

Depends on what you are using, for instance Servis-Rhino and others manufacture rotary cutters for higher HP tractors that are supposed to be able to deal with small diameter trees, no idea on how those perform, but have seen the literature showing those ratings

We have overgrown fields with various similar and larger size trees in them now, just from clearing the edges to keep access, with a 45 hp tractor and regular 6 foot rotary cutter, it's nasty business, not even attempt a tree in those diameters and most saplings I knock over with the loader, raise the mower as high as it goes, to avoid the trunk, and ease into the bent over tree, it still sounds like you're hitting a landmine, when that tree springs up in to the blades, pieces can fly out, plus the shock loads to your equipment, not worth doing, better to clear with a chainsaw I think, just cut em low, flush to the ground, then stockpile, won't take that long for stumps that size to rot, unless they're like locust or something. I clear around the stump with an intrenching tool to get as low as possible and not hit dirt with the saw chain.

It gets ugly whenever I get into that stuff, things spring up, poke at you, trees that bend over, ride up between the wheels, wheels ride up onto bent trees, safety hazards are more than abundant and quick to get you. Some trees bend over, still attached and will hav spear like ends on them, don't ever run back through a fresh cut area, kind of have to stay in one direction or it gets real dangerous.

Here is what Asplundh uses to clear power line easements, it makes short work of trees those size, they still have to ease into them, but they avoid hardwoods over 6"-8" is what the operator told me, so usually the tree cutters get any problem trees first. I watched this thing toss firewood size chunks 100 feet.

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Here is what happened to a guy mowing some rough terrain, by himself, just over the hill from us, not sure whether he did not walk the area, what he hit, but he got bumped off the tractor and went under the mower, I use a Ford 850 and a 6 Foot Rhino currently, after hearing about this one, I just about retired from cutting. I just make extra sure to be very careful. I've used this type of mower since I was about 10, 11 years old, know to respect them, but never felt in any danger, safe to say make sure you walk any unknown areas, look for things that can turn the tractor over, new chuck holes, pits, ruts, hidden washouts. Safe to say, just cut em low with a chainsaw, save your equipment, you can cut a lot of small trees in a day.

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Walt

The equipment in the photos was when asplundh came through here, in '04 to clear the power line easement, for a new circuit, to replace the single one in the photo, some of the crew were out of a local branch, and some very nice people, last year they came by for the restoration work, and I complimented them on the work they did and how polite they were while on our land. They were parked for break time with those, I heard em, before heading out to a job, had to check out those mowers, the operator raised the deck on the one for a photo, the pump on the top of the deck is $10,000 to replace, no one fell from one of these, there would not be much left for an autopsy if they did. These would clear quite a bit in one day, not much left of trees they cut with em.

I've heard stories about kids and appliances, used to be old refrigerators mostly, that makes no sense with a dryer, but you know how kids are, 2 things myt father warned me about was the hay baler, using an example of a local that accidentally baled up 2 of his kids, and those 115,000 lines to the right in this photo, showed me a newspaper clipping of all that was left of a kid who climbed a tower, the melted remains of rubber soles from a pair of sneakers, still have that image in my mind today !

Larry in Michigan