Editor's note: This story was updated April 9, 2024, with new products.
When it comes time to slash and grab, check out these 19 construction equipment attachments for clearing land.
Our product roundup includes a variety of brush and forestry cutters for chopping through thick vegetation and small trees with your construction equipment.
Then when it’s time to clean out the felled debris, several types of rakes and grapples for excavators and compact equipment can help you tackle the job.
Mowing and Mulching
Bobcat’s new disc mulcher for its skid-steer and compact track loaders features a high-velocity disc fitted with four-point, hardened-steel teeth for powering through tough landclearing tasks. It can cut down trees up to 14 inches thick and can turn heavy brush and trees up to 6 inches thick into a bed of mulch. The disc mulcher is available in 48-inch and 60-inch cutting widths.
Virnig’s X30 Mini Excavator Rotary Brush Cutter is the company’s first mini-excavator attachment. The X30 makes quick work of clearing brush, vegetation and small trees up to 4 inches in diameter with its 42-inch cutting-width deck. The front deck is removable, offering 270-degree blade engagement. Virnig says serrations help guide where trees fall when the deck is off. If operators need to control and contain flying debris, optional left and right heavy-duty side curtains are available.
Seppi M. has unveiled its new E20 direct forestry mulcher for excavators, which the company says “marks a breakthrough in green management technology” with increased efficiency, reduced maintenance costs and improved performance. The attachment is compatible with excavators weighing 12 to 21 tons. The E20 is designed for construction site clearing; vegetation management along highways, railways and power lines; and wetlands maintenance. The attachment can mulch vegetation up to 7.8 inches in diameter. It has four different working widths, ranging from 39 to 78 inches.
John Deere’s RX72 and RX84 rotary cutters are designed for heavy-duty vegetation management, including property maintenance and right-of-way clearing. They are compatible with large-frame Deere skid steer and compact track loaders. Each model uses a skid steer coupler interface to mount to the carrier. They are equipped with high-flow hydraulics and a severe-duty door. The motors have a direct drive bearing for higher efficiency and extended durability. The blade carrier is designed for faster startup and recovery time.
ASV has two plug-and-play mulchers for its high-flow compact track loaders for forestry mulching, land clearing, trail development and right-of-way work. They come in a standard drum or depth-control configuration and are designed for ASV's RT-135F and the RT-75HD Posi-Track loaders. The standard drum is a versatile mulcher suitable for most applications and includes carbide teeth that will hold up to rocky soil and other tough conditions. The depth-control mulchers are double-sided and designed with knives to deal with more stringy, fibrous vegetation.
Case’s mulching head for the company’s skid steers and compact track loaders features a two-speed motor that automatically adjusts motor displacement to maximize rotor speed and torque to the material load. The mulcher comes standard in a high-flow configuration but can be converted at dealerships to “enhanced high flow” for machines of 90 horsepower and up. It comes standard with double-carbide teeth. A Samurai knife tool for finer chip sizes is optional. A deflector is also an available option for containing and fine-cutting debris.
Diamond Mowers has launched a Drum Mulcher DC Pro that can run on compact loaders up to 75 horsepower. The attachment is built on the company’s Excavator Drum Mulcher platform but specifically designed for skid steers and compact track loaders. It is lightweight, weighing only 1,350 pounds It has a high-torque hydraulic motor for greater force when mowing through larger material and increased productivity. It cuts at a 50-inch width and mulches material up to 8 inches in diameter.
The Eterra Typhoon Clearing Mower for skid steers and compact track loaders is designed to be an industrial grade cutter for a lower price. It features a large, heavy drive system to achieve professional grade performance. The blade bar is a double-reverse diamond shape for easy startup and to deliver a powerful spinning action while maintaining moderate mulching ability. The blade holder is made of 1-inch-thick T1 structural steel that has been laser cut and computer numerical control machined.
FAE’s BL4/SSL forestry mulcher for skid steers and compact track loaders features the new BL Max Blade and a Bite Limiter rotor system designed for consistent working speed and lower fuel consumption. It also gets FAE’s Sonic System, which delivers a 30% boost in productivity by continuously managing hydraulic settings, the company says. The BL4/SSL is available in widths of 62 or 72 inches and is compatible with 75- to 120-horsepower skid steers and CTLs. The mulcher has a 12-inch shredding diameter and comes in four models, ranging from 2,822 to 3,020 pounds.
Fecon’s Disc Hawk for skid steers and compact track loaders can fell trees up to 14 inches thick and process growth, overbrush and trees up to 6 inches. It cuts a 60-inch-wide swath and is compatible with 75- to 132-horsepower machines with auxiliary hydraulic flows of 30 to 50 gallons per minute. It is designed for mulching thick vegetation at higher speeds than traditional drum mulchers. A low-profile motor and deck provide improved visibility and reduce material buildup. Discharge and intake chutes can be configured to match productivity and dispersion needs.
JCB’s forestry cutting head can cut down trees up to 8 inches in diameter, as well as shred and mulch them. Operators of skid steers and compact track loaders can control material discharge speed and material size from the cab with the hydraulic, adjustable deflector door. An in-line hydraulic oil cooler reduces heat in the hydraulic system. Available in a 60-inch-wide cutting width, the cutting head runs on a high-output variable-displacement piston motor with a self-aligning belt. A heavy-duty adjustable push bar helps topple trees and protects the carrier machine.
Premier Attachment’s Ammbusher AC720 Brush Cutter is made for high-flow skid steers clearing medium to heavy brush and hardwoods up to 8 inches in diameter. It can handle road right-of-way, pipeline maintenance, forestry and land management operations. The 2,400-pound AC720 can cut, mulch, shred and grind brush and trees. Features include a hydraulic pressure gauge for the operator to monitor the cutting load, four ¾-inch-thick blades, and spindle interrupters to prevent wire, twine and vegetation from wrapping around the drive shaft.
Takeuchi’s Fixed-Tooth Forestry Mulcher is available for compact track loaders with flow rates of 16 to 55 gallons per minute. It comes in widths of 69 to 83 inches. It can also be equipped with Takeuchi IQ, an intelligent speed-management system that helps maintain rotor speed and prevents stalling. It also allows operators to calibrate the mulcher to the CTL with the touch of a button; no tools are required. A protruding rotor lets the mulcher process more material without dragging it. An enclosed-door drive prevents dirt from entering the machine’s service area.
Raking and Grabbing
Loftness has designed its new stump grinder attachment, the 24SG Stump Ax, for low-flow skid steers and excavators. It has a 24-inch cutting wheel and is compatible with carriers having hydraulic fluid flows of 17 to 35.9 gallons per minute. It can be ordered with either a universal skid steer mount or a custom excavator mount. Other features include a rigid mount, angled hitch and forward-reaching boom, and the Leonardi’s Phantom Wheel. This cutting wheel has cutouts, which create a see-through effect during operation, and is equipped with Tomahawk teeth for fast grinding times.
IronCraft has introduced its Terminator Tree and Stump Remover for skid steers and compact track loaders. It has enough clamping power to uproot trees up to 12-inches in diameter. It features dual cylinders and up to 29,000 pounds of clamping force for removing shrubs and trees along with their root to prevent regrowth. It is designed for commercial construction, farm and ranch applications, vineyard, orchards, landscape projects.
Ignite offers a rake grapple can be used to remove tree branches, roots and other debris from large areas with minimal soil disruption, reducing the need for additional dirt working, the company says. It is available in widths of 66, 78 and 84 inches. The rake is designed with short, closely spaced tines to minimize snags and a reinforced tip for durability. The grapple secures debris during transportation as well as loading to reduce cleanup. The top grapple can also back rake.
Werk-Brau has launched a wide-mouth box-style grapple compatible with excavators ranging from 12 to 60 tons, and it is available with a variety of tine and width configurations, including custom designs. The company says the grapple is ideal for brush removal, soil scoring, root extraction and other landclearing and demolition tasks. Features include T-1 steel in all critical or high-wear components, ribbed internal gusseting or reinforcements to strengthen the main body, multiple pass welds and wear-resistant high-strength steel throughout the weldment.
Danuser’s Multi-Purpose Grapple expands the use of pallet forks for carrying such items as logs, rocks, brush and debris. It can be pinned in an upright position, allowing for normal pallet fork use without having to remove the grapple from the frame. No tools are required for this. Other features include a heavy-duty rail-style frame that supports up to 6,000 pounds, 48-inch-long tines with 3,500- or 5,500-pound capacity and skid steer and front-end loader mounting options. It delivers up to 9,500 pounds of force at 3,000 psi.
Rockland’s Krypto Klaw Grapple Rake for excavators allows operators to grab large, bulky materials and debris. Its dual-cylinder clamp delivers more force in all positions than a bucket thumb, as well as better control, the company says. It uses 100% of the excavator’s reach. It attaches to the excavator stick with a pin or excavator coupler; no welding is required. The standard design has a cutting edge. It can also be configured with pin-on, replaceable teeth. It comes with a two-year, 4,000-hour warranty.