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Best tool to maintain trails

Started by livemusic, July 16, 2019, 08:53:03 AM

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livemusic

I have tried to figure out the best tool for this. Once I clear a trail, small saplings and bushy growth appears. This also applies to clearing it in the first place, after you take out the larger saplings in the way, this stuff is left. At this time, I like my trails narrower than a logging road for aesthetics. I will have to go wider eventually if I need to get larger equipment in but that day is not here yet, if it ever comes. This is for hiking and I also ride them on my ATV. I tell ya, I have had a heckuva time determining a solution!

From manual hand tools to machines...

Condor Parang machete -- blade mass works great but you have to bend over too much

Martindale 30" machete -- bend over less but blade is too flimsy, a no go

Common sling blade -- works good on smaller stuff but tough hardwood saplings, no go

Heavy sling blade -- These do not have a support frame, the entire tool is shaped like a hockey stick. Supposedly, the head is heavier gauge. Reviews are not great and I have not bought one yet. This seems a great solution, swinging back and forth is less tiring than whacking, but I just have not found one with good reviews.

Loppers -- Work great but have to bend over too much

Common brush axe -- Works but too heavy for extended use

Light brush axe -- I have one ordered and on the way but have not received

Tractor/bush hog -- Would work fine but need small tractor

Walk-behind brush cutter -- Would work fine but trail is bumpy and it would work you just guiding it. A benefit is its brush/trail clearing ability from the getgo

Brush cutter behind ATV -- A definite solution if willing to spend a couple grand. Not as good for clearing ability because it's behind the ATV

Manual heavy duty scythe -- I bought one and it ain't cheap and there is no way you could swing this thing for a mile or so without being built like an NFL linebacker

Articulated hedge trimmer -- Seems to me this could work great. You'd swing it back and forth in front of you. I like cordless but even with two large batteries, not sure it'd be the thing, might need a gasoline powerhead. The problem with this device, if any, is it being tiresome to hold a large head swinging just above ground.

Power scythe -- Stihl makes the only one I've seen and it's about the same as their Articulated Hedge Trimmer but the blade/trimmer head is shorter. I have read a number of threads I have found via Google and still not sure whether an AHT or Power Scythe would be better. I think this device is only available with the Stihl Kombi kit and it ain't cheap. It's almost double the cost of a dedicated tool. The Articulated Hedge Trimmer is available in a dedicated tool. Of course, if you buy a Kombi setup, you could use more tools in the future once you buy that powerhead, whether gasoline or battery-powered.

Herbicide -- This might work but I don't want to use them unless I have to. Generally, I don't favor using chemicals.

Husky 345FR brush cutter -- I own one and this might work, if I could find all the parts to mine! I have never used it except for sapling clearing with a brush cutter blade like the Maxi or the carbide-tipped blades and it's a powerful machine. You can cut small saplings up to 3 inches pretty easily, and 1 to 2 inches it's pretty much instantaneous cut. I was thinking that the heavy grass blade might work. It's a 3 or 4 point/cutter blade, I can't recall if it's 3 or 4. The problem with the 3 or 4 point blade or the carbide-tipped blades is that they are only about 7 inches diameter. That isn't much blade that you'd be swinging (machine has a shoulder harness and handlebars). So, wondering if the string trimmer attachment could work. Is there any really heavy duty line you cut use for this? The machine using the trimmer head/line touts a 17 inch swath.

EDIT: I forgot...

Ride on brushcutter like Versatrac or Orec. Could be awesome, just expensive.

Lawnmower. I have wondered if you could beef up a mower, with heavier blade. A friend has a Bush Hog brand zero turn mower, says it has thicker blades. An option if could find used.

Sorry this was lengthy, but that's everything I have considered. If anyone reads all of this, wow, I didn't know it would take this much explaining! If you have an opinion or suggestion, thanks!
~~~
Bill

SwampDonkey

My trails are 8-12 feet wide, which are old roads and skidder paths. I use my brush saw to walk the trails every few years. I like to keep them narrow until the trees get big anyway. Once I have bigger spruce, fir and maple, stuff doesn't grow too much under, too shaded. I always go down my boundary lines to, cutting out any wind fall with chain saw and any whips that want to sucker in the line.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Hilltop366

A similar situation at a camp except it is mostly open, rough ground that I bush hogged with the tractor and some places cut with a bush saw. We try to keep it cut back with old push lawnmowers but it is not ideal, bent a few blades and a crank shaft. I figure a walk behind course cut flail mower would be ideal but I will probably just drag the tractor and bush hog out there again. We did pull some bushes and small trees out with an atv a few weeks ago hoping they won't grow back as quickly. 

Okefenokee_D


bluthum

I have extra long handles on a lopper that I use often. It gets used far more than some with regular length handles i have. Once I disked some of my fire lanes and they all get bush hogged once a year. Foot paths get manual trimming. 

florida

At our old hunting lease we had probably 50 miles of trails which we cleared every year. Of course we mowed the middle with a bush hog so that was easy. Two of us would fire up our weed eaters with blades and start down the trails cutting off the sides. The other guys followed throwing the debris into the woods. We could do 6 miles before lunch and then would do another couple after lunch. We tried to do the trimming in cooler weather so we could work faster. We typically would knock out the trails in 3 weekends. I later tried leaving the debris where it fell and mowing the trails and chopping the debris at the same time, that was much faster and easier.
General contractor and carpenter for 50 years.
Retired now!

Corley5

Offset bush hog like a Bush Hog SQ84T.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Skeans1

Another option is to rent a skid steer with a mower on it, we have one as well as an offset flail mower to maintain road ditches.

Crusarius

Walk behind sickle bar mower.

Personally I would just smooth the trails as best I could and try my luck with a riding lawnmower. But if I taco a blade or mess up the deck I take it into the shop and rebuild it or make a new one if its that bad.

I have used a push mower for a lot of heavy brush trimming. But don't buy one. look for one on the side of the road that probably just needs fresh fuel and spark plug. Then when you hit something and bend the spindle on it like I did you won't care :)

Raider Bill

I've got a few miles of trails I maintain. I 6' bush hog them generally 2 swipes wide or less or there abouts. I also have a pair of loppers on the tractor for the tall over hangs which I get from the seat.
Those trails that are too narrow or too steep [atv only] I use a weed whacker type machine [clearing saw] with a saw blade on it.

I do them twice a year.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

gersus

I use a brush hog for the bigger areas. Fence rows, edges etc I really like my Stihl FS110 with brushcutter blade. No bending, cuts well, handles hitting rocks pretty well, and its fast compared to a chainsaw or loppers. 


mjeselskis

DR All Terrain walk behind mower works great. If you can drive an ATV on it, it will mow it no problem
2006 WM LT28  1993 John Deere 5300
Husqvarna 562XP & 365 X-Torq

62oliver

I used to cut mine by hand with axe and machete too, but getting too old and sore for that, have a skidder now. The chained tires do a good job of chewing stuff up and I drag a big old loader tire behind which looks after the middle. Then just walk along and toss sticks in the bush once in awhile, in a couple years you got a nice trail.
 Also skidding some firewood on them works wonders too.
Husqvarna 266, Case 90xt, JD310C, TJ240E, 02 Duramax

upnut

I use a Swisher rough-cut trail mower behind the ATV, it's been durable and efficient. 

Scott B.
I did not fall, there was a GRAVITY SURGE!

Ed_K

 Check out @sprucebunny s brush cutter she built. sorry I don't know how to find thrd's for look up.
Ed K

sprucebunny

The closest I got to making a 'brushcutter' was rigging up a way to run an old lawn mower to one side of my ATV. It was crude but cheap.  ;D
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

moodnacreek

For easy going a cub tractor with a c2 mower that is a swing blade, belly mount 42" mower. Go through once a year. Where I cot cedar [trees] I mow before I log, lots of barberry.

dustintheblood

For me, I started years ago with a pick and shovel and blind ambition.
Then I got a pretty fancy long handled snip
A few years later got a forestry trailer with a grapple (which digs rocks fairly well)
A few years later rented a mini excavator 
Then a few later a rented bigger ex with a thumb for a week
Now we have a box blade scraper behind the tractor

Point is, trails are an evolving project.  It all begins with the first shovel-full.
Case 75C, Case 1494, RangeRoad RR10T36, Igland 4001, Hardy 1400ST, WM LT40HD, WM Edger, ICS DH Kiln

livemusic

Quote from: moodnacreek on July 17, 2019, 08:42:36 PM
For easy going a cub tractor with a c2 mower that is a swing blade, belly mount 42" mower. Go through once a year. Where I cot cedar [trees] I mow before I log, lots of barberry.
That's a pretty good idea! They are small and don't weigh much. I bought an old Cub last year but it's not running. And I don't know if I could find a belly mower in good condition. Might could find a Cub and a bellow mower together and sell mine for scrap, lol.
~~~
Bill

Crusarius

I have been trying to sell a pair of 108's with plows mower decks and snow blowers. You want to go for a road trip?

livemusic

Quote from: dustintheblood on July 17, 2019, 10:29:50 PM
For me, I started years ago with a pick and shovel and blind ambition.
Then I got a pretty fancy long handled snip
A few years later got a forestry trailer with a grapple (which digs rocks fairly well)
A few years later rented a mini excavator
Then a few later a rented bigger ex with a thumb for a week
Now we have a box blade scraper behind the tractor

Point is, trails are an evolving project.  It all begins with the first shovel-full.
What is that long handled snip mentioned above? Unsure what you mean.

This morning, I put in two hours doing it as I began... machete and a chainsaw.

Yesterday, I ordered a saw blade for my clearing saw / brushcutter Husky 345FR... a two blade shredder blade... kinda like a lawnmower blade that turns down on each end. Am very eager to try it. Mind you, I bought it mainly for clearing but am wondering if it will also suffice to swing back and forth like a scythe for maintenance.
~~~
Bill

sprucebunny

Ed-K had to write and remind me of another contraption...



 

 

This is made out of an old MS180, an aluminum walker and some other scraps. You push it with your knee/leg and defend yourself from falling stuff with your left arm. The bar at the bottom makes it fairly safe  :)

In the second version, I made a plate out of 1/2" plastic that bolts to the bottom of the saw and made attaching the framework easier and more sturdy.
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

Orange

I have some shredder blades for my brush saw. Work petty well shredding woody stuff up to maybe half inch or so depending on hardness but will be slow going if trying to shred everything. Work fine side to side on small stuff also but really no better than a standard wood blade. If you maintain every year a trimmer head and string would work and likely faster. Mine cuts 20" swath and can take up to 0.105" string, no problem on new growth. Once you miss a year though you'll probably need metal blade. I've seen trimmer heads that accept 0.130" string. Never used myself so don't know if that would allow you to go two years. Also have seen 0.150" string but don't know if any trimmer heads accept it or if it's just for walk-behind trimmers.

Orange

Also, since you seem to be focusing on manual options, you could look into a large weed wrench to pull out woody stems with the roots so they don't sprout back. I would think that once cleared a few dozen aggressive passes with the ATV would go along way in keeping it open?

As with all things property maintenance, money saves time and more money saves more time. Those like myself without much of either don't have well-maintained properties!

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