Best equipment to open up / clear a trail

Spcamno

Spcamno

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I am considering buying a hunting property accessible by a logging road which was previously maintained by the Crown many years ago when the property was logged but now the brush has grown in would like to know what everybody uses to clear the brush / weed etc?

The road is just over a km long any input or ideas are welcome.

Thank you in advance.
 
Purdom234 said:
For a kilometre I'd try to hire a local fella with Cat, or maybe a skidder to clear it.
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Thanks for your post.

I thought about that too but since it was a logging road for the truck to use it looks like it was 8 feet or wider before and it just need to brush back for a vehicle to go through.

It is totally accessible by a four wheeler but would like to build a hunting cabin there in the future so would like to clear it for car or truck access in the future.
 
get a Stihl back pack brush saw.
It's like a weed wacker on steroids and has a large , I wanna say 6 inch saw blade. Has many safety features and the back pack/ rigid harness is fully adjustable and takes the load off the shoulders.
It's what a friend uses to clear kilometers of trail when he is creating cross country ski trails
 
45ACPKING said:
get a Stihl back pack brush saw.
It's like a weed wacker on steroids and has a large , I wanna say 6 inch saw blade. Has many safety features and the back pack/ rigid harness is fully adjustable and takes the load off the shoulders.
It's what a friend uses to clear kilometers of trail when he is creating cross country ski trails
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That would be the easiest way short of heavy machinery. If you don't want to buy one (they can be pricey) most rental places will have them and you can rent it for a weekend.

The longer, sweatier, sore back way would be with a chainsaw. This is usually how i end up doing it. Small brush is the worst, i'd take felling big trees any day.
 
Depending on how thick the growth is a good brush saw with a blade will clear most things, we slash alder with them up to 4-5” diameter. Beats bending over all day to brush trail with a chainsaw, keep the blade filed sharp and they go through almost anything quickly. Stihl or Shindaiwa are what I see the most on site.
 
I have been using a stihl Kombi tool with a brush knife blade to keep the trails clear at our place. It works like a hot damn. Add to that you can buy multiple attachments, including pole saws etc. So far it’s been very versatile for clearing overgrown trails. You can always rent a bush hog to tow behind a wheeler as well when your first opening it back up!
 
Jmcc said:
has anyone used both the back back and bicycle handle style?

key differences?
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I’ve used the ones with bike handles. They are quite comfortable to use and apparently they are safer as well. That said I cleared a metric sh!t ton of overgrown trail this year with a standard kombi tool. With the regular handles and the brush knife blade, which in my opinion is the best blade you can get for clearing standard overgrowth up to 2.5 inch thick shrubs.
 
If it's just for knocking brush back on the sides of the road to protect your paint job, a brush saw.

If cutting the trees will leave a lot of stumps where your tires will be driving over top of though I'd get some heavy equipment in to clear it... also if you need to clear a spot for a cabin you might be able to get that done at the same time to save some future $.

The circular saw style brush cutter blades dull a lot quicker if you are cutting low to the ground next to or on a gravel road, and if you hear a 'ting' sound from the blade even gently brushing against a rock you will be filing for a while to get it cutting fast again.
 
If you decide to go with the blade on a weedwhacker route, be sure there is no one within reach of the blade on either side of you. The blades can kick to the side viciously. Bicycle handles are good for control. I've used the D handle, and it's not safe to have anyone within ten feet or more if you use that.

A loader tractor with a good heavy Brush hog type mower can handle stuff up to 2". It's fast, but very messy. Loader pushes down the trees, mower does the rest, just drive slow, and watch for rocks. There will be lots of flying pieces, even with the guards in place.
 
I have both a Stihl FS 110 ? brush saw and a Stihl Pole saw. The pole saw is far superior for clearing small trees and limbs as long as you dont want them flush with the ground. The pole saw will cut them flush but you end up running the chain into the dirt a lot and dulling the chain. If you are primarily clearing stuff that overhangs the road get a pole saw, you can cut branches high up that hang over that are awkward to cut with the brush saw. The brush saw is better for small stuff that you need flush, as others have said you can cut bigger stuff with it but it has its limits.
If I had to choose only one it would definitely be the pole saw.
 
Jmcc said:
has anyone used both the back back and bicycle handle style?

key differences?
Click to expand...

I have the large Still weedwacker with the bicycle handlebars and a sling that goes over the shoulder. Have both the weedwacker attachment and the saw blade attachment. Works awesome on brush and small trees up to 2” to 3”. Will do larger trees but you have to keep the saw blade from getting stuck.
 
Brush trimmer

I was in the same situation like you years ago. Bought 40 acres off a logger and he left me some nice logging roads. Over the years brush and wild raspberry choke up the trails.

I pickup a Echo PAS power head that takes different attachments. Pickup a shoulder strap for it to make life easier when clearing the trail and it is a yearly task to keep the brush back.

For small trees or thick shrubs I use the circular saw but I put on a carbide tooth 5-1/2" circular saw blade. It cuts like butter. Don't bother with the blade that come with the saw attachment. It is only steel tooth and dulls fast. For high branches, I use the pole saw attachment.

For brush, I use the articulating trimmer. Adjust to the right angle and you can trim it very close to the ground.

PAS.jpg
Hedge.jpg
PAS-saw.jpg
saw.jpg
 
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