Hi, this is my first post. I want to buy a skid steer to do several things, but in particular to remove 5,000 to 7,000 cedar trees with a tree shear. This is on pasture land. The shear I want to use weighs 1,280 pounds. I like the Bobcat brand. Questions I have: 1 what sort of lift capacity should I be looking at, considering it will be lugging about 1,300 pounds around all the time, plus sometimes a little more if I try to move a tree with the shear. 2. Would an S185 or equivalent (1,850 Lb rating) be enough, or should a person have a bit more reserve capacity? 2. An S185 is 66 inches wide at the tires. An S250 is 72 inches wide at the tires. Would an additional 6 inches width (9%) be something to go after, considering we will run on some mild to moderate slopes? 3. From my studying the issues, it appears a skid loader would probably handle the cedar tree removal better than a tractor and loader, would you agree, or what type of machine would you suggest? 4. Would you recommend a machine other than a Bobcat, and if so why? Thanks in advance.
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The S250 isn't just wider, it's bigger all round and more powerful.
You also have rated capacity, then you have tipping load which is generally twice the rated capacity, so you do have a little room to play with there.
Is the field flat? going up and down hills with that much weight, you will have to be careful to keep the heaviest end up hill to prevent it tipping forward on you.
You also have rated capacity, then you have tipping load which is generally twice the rated capacity, so you do have a little room to play with there.
Is the field flat? going up and down hills with that much weight, you will have to be careful to keep the heaviest end up hill to prevent it tipping forward on you.
a few years back I purchased a Bobcat 751 used (1999 model) with tree shear. the shear was a vasser brand and could cut up to a 16 inche cedar and larger if i was willing to work around the base. i am in Oklahoma and there is real cedar problem therefore recieved a grant to clear my own land. i recieved a $5000 dollar grant and purchased the bobcat for 11000 including the shear. i also cleared the neighbor's land for which i recieved another 5000. the total land cleared was 180 A. total. to get the grant the land had to have cedar density of at least 125 trees per A with a coverage of at least 60 percent. it took about 3 years just working weekend and holidays. the land had some very steep slopes. i also stacked the trees as i went a long. the tree ranged from 3 feet to 30 feet high. you will deveolp skills that help and i found that for the really big cedars it was best to cut was cut most of the way through then push them over and then move them to stack. the smaller trees 3 to 20 feet it was easy to cut them and pick them up to stack. i had stacks there were as high as 20 feet. you can learn to "throw" trees hiher on the stack with practice. a skid steed with a tree shear is the only way to go. in hours the total cutting process was about 1000 engine meter hours. i am not real sure about the load capicity of skid steer or the weight of the sheer. i just know i still have both and use it all the time to clear other trees and brush.
Thanks Tazza & Shepherd for the replies. The land is moderately to steeply sloped. I figure the lion's share is on land with slope that a bobcat can operate on. After walking through the trees last weekend, I can see that this is a somewhat long term job, even if I take a week off here and there, it is just a lot of trees. I plan to get the local Natural Resources & Conservation Service (NRCS) guy out there to see about cost share possibilities. We have other things going on where we live, and I think the right sized skid steer is going to help me get a lot of things done that I struggle with now. It may take a while, but when we get a "rig", I'll throw another post on and let you know what we end up with and how it works.a few years back I purchased a Bobcat 751 used (1999 model) with tree shear. the shear was a vasser brand and could cut up to a 16 inche cedar and larger if i was willing to work around the base. i am in Oklahoma and there is real cedar problem therefore recieved a grant to clear my own land. i recieved a $5000 dollar grant and purchased the bobcat for 11000 including the shear. i also cleared the neighbor's land for which i recieved another 5000. the total land cleared was 180 A. total. to get the grant the land had to have cedar density of at least 125 trees per A with a coverage of at least 60 percent. it took about 3 years just working weekend and holidays. the land had some very steep slopes. i also stacked the trees as i went a long. the tree ranged from 3 feet to 30 feet high. you will deveolp skills that help and i found that for the really big cedars it was best to cut was cut most of the way through then push them over and then move them to stack. the smaller trees 3 to 20 feet it was easy to cut them and pick them up to stack. i had stacks there were as high as 20 feet. you can learn to "throw" trees hiher on the stack with practice. a skid steed with a tree shear is the only way to go. in hours the total cutting process was about 1000 engine meter hours. i am not real sure about the load capicity of skid steer or the weight of the sheer. i just know i still have both and use it all the time to clear other trees and brush.
I wanted to give an update. We just bought a used 2011 S650 Bobcat, with 598 hours, in pristine condition. We've used it around our place some but the real test will be the cedar tree removal project next spring. We planned to buy a smaller one, but this one was just too nice to pass up. I'll give another update after we've removed some trees.
SkidTracks
Active member
- Joined
- May 11, 2011
- Messages
- 32
In my opinion the best method for removing Cedars is to RIP them completely out. If you cut-off or saw-off cedars at or below ground, the cedar stump will remain for years - stumps that are as hard as rocks. Additionally, the dirt around the cedar stump both washes away and subsides. The result is cedar stump is left sticking up several inches above the ground. Said cedar stumps are rough to drive over (in tracked vehicles) and can catch and bend or damage some of the toughest attachments.I wanted to give an update. We just bought a used 2011 S650 Bobcat, with 598 hours, in pristine condition. We've used it around our place some but the real test will be the cedar tree removal project next spring. We planned to buy a smaller one, but this one was just too nice to pass up. I'll give another update after we've removed some trees.
SkidTracks
Active member
- Joined
- May 11, 2011
- Messages
- 32
I should have added a "How To". Neighbors and friends are using either medium sized bulldozers or tracked back hoes to RIP out Cedars. Being I have a Bobcat CTL, I am using an extreme stump bucket. I have found you can work the stump bucket like how you use to open a can with Swiss Army knife's Can opener. For small trees: Simply shovel them out with a shallow angled push and lift. Possibly tilting downward, while lifting upward to help snap the roots. Yes, the tilt downward sounds the wrong way. I have found it works like a lever, with back of stump bucket doing the lifting/cutting/breaking, while front tip of bucket digs in. For medium trees: 1) Drive stump bucket down in ground at sharp angle near Cedar to die. a) Tilt down, with some upward arm Lift, while driving forward. b) Tilt up, with arms going down, while letting off on driving forward. c) repeat a & b several times. 2) If need be reset stump bucket to Left or Right side and start at 1. For large trees: Do the above, but plan on making at least four bucket resets. Idea is to cut and break through all Cedars' tree roots on all four sides. Then try pushing tree over with stump bucket position about 3-feet up. Using the above, I have take down several trees big enough, that CTL almost flipped over forward just lifting the stump ball minus the tree trunk on up.In my opinion the best method for removing Cedars is to RIP them completely out. If you cut-off or saw-off cedars at or below ground, the cedar stump will remain for years - stumps that are as hard as rocks. Additionally, the dirt around the cedar stump both washes away and subsides. The result is cedar stump is left sticking up several inches above the ground. Said cedar stumps are rough to drive over (in tracked vehicles) and can catch and bend or damage some of the toughest attachments.
