Heavy Ripping with a Dozer for a Reforestation Project

I am using a John Deere 850 dozer and ripper to do site preparation on 145 acres as part of a reforestation project after logging operations. The project is ripping the soil 2 feet deep at 10 foot intervals on contour across the terrain.
#forestry, #dozer, #ripping, #reforestation, #johndeere

[@PineyWoodsHomestead]

That was a massive project. That's a job that I've never done. I've done plenty of grading with big dozers but no field work like that. Thank God for the cabbed machine! I can't imagine having to do that with one if the old open cab cable machines. Neat video. Lots of folks don't realize what goes in to forestry management.

[@ozarksethic]

It was pretty big and spread out. The two main sites were about 6 miles apart by road. There were some serious pucker moments on the hillsides after rain for a few days. Thought I was going to turn the machine over when it started sliding on wet clay. The cab was awesome and the difference between the older and new machine was unbelievable. The new machine was more powerful and rode like a limo. I'm glad I was doing the dozer work and not the planting. Those guys planted a tree every 10 feet by hand and on foot!

[@PineyWoodsHomestead]

@@ozarksethic yes those big cab machines are Cadillacs and fun to operate. I know all about those pucker moments too! I wouldn't want to be the guy planting either. That's why you get good at operating!

[@rickc4317]

Fun to watch, Tony, nicely done with all of the camera work and drone. Your voice over explanations were perfect. That was a beautiful job, hope you got a bonus. Out in the open big meadows you needed a D11...so no stopping and starting. LOL This must have been before you started your house build. Did you have your builder pros yet? As an aside, the music was pleasant. However, I enjoy listening to the machinery more than music when up close to the action. 🙂

[@ozarksethic]

Thanks. My Dad was running the ground camera. Glad you found the voiceover informative. No bonus. It was a fixed price contract. The 850 was a good sized machine. Good power and maneuverability. Some contractors are running D9s which would have made dealing with the stumps easier but that is a lot of machine to feed. It was pre-house. With the delay in construction I needed to fill video space. Gotta keep viewers engaged. No builder pros. Too much mud! I understand about the music. I always am unsure about music vs ambient sounds but thought the machine noise would get tedious.

[@davidlmcdaniel]

Approximately how much does it cost to rent one of those machines to do that sort of work?

[@ozarksethic]

It depends on the size of the machine, attachments, location, etc. This particular job was $8250 per month. The next smaller dozer would have been $6400. Delivery was $1500 and we used about 100 gallons of diesel per day. Daily and weekly rates will be higher. I hope this helps and thanks for watching!