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What is best for clearing a side hill on a trail a bush hog on an excavator or on a skid steer?

Doc

Doc

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Primary target is a side hill about 6 ft tall. Steep so I cannot get at it with tractor and bush hog.
I reserved an excavator with a 42 inch cutter. But wondering if a skid steer with bush hog would be better for this task.

Here are pics of the trail. target is the one on the left. It has some 1" to 2" trees I'd like to cut with bush hog if possible.

1.jpeg2.jpeg3.jpeg
 
That's what I thought, and that is what I have reserved for next month. But while at our grandson's baseball game I was talking to another guy about this. He thought a skid steer might be able to clear it faster. I've never run a skid steer nor have I seen the skid steer bush hog so I had to wonder if there might be something to his thoughts. While it might be able to get the job done, at least most of it. I tend to agree with the experienced guesses here that the excavator is the right tool for this job.
Now I can't wait to tear into it. :D
Thanks All!!!! :tiphat:
 
Doc said:
That's what I thought, and that is what I have reserved for next month. But while at our grandson's baseball game I was talking to another guy about this. He thought a skid steer might be able to clear it faster. I've never run a skid steer nor have I seen the skid steer bush hog so I had to wonder if there might be something to his thoughts. While it might be able to get the job done, at least most of it. I tend to agree with the experienced guesses here that the excavator is the right tool for this job.
Now I can't wait to tear into it. :D
Thanks All!!!! :tiphat:
Click to expand...
If someone else is doing it (equipment and operator), let them do their thing.
If you're driving, pucker factor will be a lot higher on the skidsteer.
 
bczoom said:
If someone else is doing it (equipment and operator), let them do their thing.
If you're driving, pucker factor will be a lot higher on the skidsteer.
Click to expand...
I will have the machine for at least a week and I am the operator for this project. I especially like that the excavator will be able to reach 8 to 10 ft, maybe more. It's a JD 35. Plus I have a gas line along the right side of the pics I shared. I can cut there but will not go down to the ground. Reach in and cut. Seems easier to me to avoid the gas line with the excavator. I've accidently cut into the gas line a handful of times and don't want to do it again.
 
Doc said:
I've accidently cut into the gas line a handful of times and don't want to do it again.
Click to expand...
How the hell did you hit a gas line? Around here, residential gas is 3-4' deep, major lines are 6' deep.
 
bczoom said:
How the hell did you hit a gas line? Around here, residential gas is 3-4' deep, major lines are 6' deep.
Click to expand...
LOL It's a 1" plastic line from my well. Free Gas. It sits semi on top of ground. Over the years it has gotten buried in many places. It's 1/2 mile or so long.
 
The weeds help hold the bank. the saplings bother me more. They get to tall and shade the road, then the road does not dry quickly.
 
Doc said:
The weeds help hold the bank. the saplings bother me more. They get to tall and shade the road, then the road does not dry quickly.
Click to expand...
mow the weeds and dig out the saplings. I just trimmed a lemon tree that shoots up 12' in one year. Every time you cut a branch off the next year there are 2 more in its place.
 
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I'm with @m1west on trying to tear out the saplings if possible.
Best accomplished with a 2nd person (so you're not in-and-out of the machine) but if you have an excavator and some products like "brush grubber", you can tear them out.
Brush Grubber chain

Brush grubber products

BrushGrubber | Home

The Easy, and Effortless Way to Remove Brush and the ROOTS!
www.brushgrubber.com
 
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The hill in question is impossible to mow. Big drainage ditch along the trail that drains the water so that it does not wash out my trail. don't want to dig much on that hillside. Will either rent every two or three years to clear it or ....naaaa I know damn well I will not maintain the entire half mile by hand. I will plan to rent unless someone donates an excavator then I would use the brush grubber BC posted.
 
As a side note, around the farm we are constantly cutting volunteer trees.
I always carry a bottle of Tordon in the 4-wheeler with the saw.
A few drops on the cut stump and all is done.
Once I killed a 36" dia. Walnut tree by mistakenly putting it on a sucker from the stump. Just literally drops was all that I used.
In two years', time, the host tree was starting to drop bark on the ground and was completely dead.
Tordon by Corteva, it works!
 
Great info. THANKS Kirk!!!!!! :tiphat:
 
:pat:
I see the 1st one I posted does have Corteva name in small print on top.
But I found it at a better price with free shipping.

www.solutionsstores.com

Tordon RTU Herbicide

Tordon RTU Herbicide is a ready-to-use specialty herbicide used to kill and prevent invasive trees from growing. It can be used along roads, fence lines, and various non-cropland areas to control aspen, ash, dogwood, hickory, and other tree types.
www.solutionsstores.com www.solutionsstores.com

tordon4Solutions.JPG
 
Thanks for the heads-up on Tordon.
A related question - What do you like for getting rid of dead stumps? Burn, chemicals (if so, which) or other?
 
We have a 555 JD crawler loader here we do most of that with. Neighbor kid has Vermeer stump grinder for in the yard proper.
If I had a lot to do, I would probably rent an excavator. If you cut a tree off high so you can pull on it with a heavy chain, you can
pull them over with a large Ag tractor as well. Our 35K lbs. of rubber tracked Cat Challenger rarely fails in a tug of war if you have
a trunk to pull it over with.
 
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