Wanting to clear a path, just wide enough for a truck to get thru to an opening right in the middle of some really thick nasty mesquite brush we have on our Abilene area lease. We attempted chainsaws and everything handheld tool but it's just a tangle mess. Most trees aren't any larger than 6", most are smaller but wanted your opinions on what type of equipment that could be used to clear a path.....it's only going out be about 40 yards long. I get great rates at a local equipment rental company and was curious is a skid steer would have enough weight behind it to clear these size of trees?

I used a Kuboa 75SVL with tracks to clear a large area of Oaks, it would do what you want in no time. You will have to make sure you get as much of the tap root as possible with mesquites, the rental yard may have a root grubbing attachment, that would work great.

I attached a stihl blade to my stihl weedeater. It will knock down sapplings and small duameter trees. I could clear an east texas path that long in 10 minutes.
Other guys so impressed, they eent and bought them one.

I would clear it wider than just a truck. Our roads grow back in in no time, one year and it will be nearly impassible.

For 40 yards id get the saw back out.

Are you talking about their brush knife or the blade that looks like a circ saw blade?

I had mesquites and lotus trees removed by the hundreads Judy as you are wanting a trail going back to my feeder/blind.
A simple bob cat like the kabota up above did the job very well !!!!

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Red dot is abput 40yrds from the road..just as a visual....the access to the opening from the north and west ren't on our lease

Blade looks like circular saw blade.

Also,. I have used a propane torch to completely burn the path. Torch can also kill Mesquite's if burn at the base. Can also burn off thorns to make work easier.

This........20 yds wide....40 yds long.....should be able to knock that out in a couple hours.....

So you're basically trying to go right at that big tree in the field on the right? I'd rent a track-cat and go at it, 40 yds by 20'+ wide.

I'll take a more detailed pic of what I'm up against.....it took 2 of us, 30 mins to cut our way out of a 15yrd stretch, just cutting and squeezing thru, stepping over, etc. ....not a path.....and especially not a wide. A person(s) COULD do it by hand but it would take a LONG TIME.....multiple cuts to get one branch out because it's intertwined with 4 other branches.

I can get a skidsteer for about $250 for the weekend, just curious if this would tackle the trees themselves.

Our entire place burned in 2009 and it didn't kill hardly anything. The mesquite weathered the fire better than anything.

Rent the skidsteer for a weekend. That should not take very long to clear out. I find other projects for the skidsteer. You'll have plenty of time

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......basically

Yeah our land owner has given us a "do anything" type of deal but setting it on fire isn't something I'd roll the dice on.

Let me know where you can rent a skidsteer for $250, I think I've got some brush to clear as well.

Like Western said, with mesquites they want to just break off, but unless you get the root it will come back. I have a turbo saw for my skid steer and I could make quick work of it, but it would come back within a year or two. The grubbing fork on a skid steer might be the tool.

Like I said, I get great rates because I use them exclusively on all my Construction projects....it's a good deal, that's why I'm asking

Just make sure and get that tap root, if you don't, next year you will have some nice thorny bushes you will have to spray and kill, then mechanically remove them again.