Drum Mulcher or Brush Cutter: Which One for Land Clearing?

Clearing land comes down to one early decision: do you cut brush with a brush cutter, or chew it up with a drum mulcher? Both mount on a skid steer. Both can clear a lot of ground. But they do different jobs, and buying the wrong one costs you time on every acre.

We sell equipment out of Chouteau, Oklahoma, and this comes up all the time. Here is how we help people sort it out.

Drum Mulcher or Brush Cutter: What Each One Does

A brush cutter swings blades or knives to slice through brush and small saplings. It cuts and throws or lays down the material. Think overgrown fence lines, pasture edges and thick grass with woody growth.

A drum mulcher spins a heavy drum fitted with teeth or tools. It grinds wood into chips and mulch. It handles larger stems and leaves a covering on the ground instead of a pile to burn or haul off.

That is the whole difference in one line: a cutter clears, a mulcher clears and processes.

How to Pick for Land Clearing

For land clearing, ask what is standing on the ground and what you want left behind.

• Brush, briars and stems up to a couple of inches. A brush cutter is usually enough and often the faster tool.
• Trees, thick cedar and big brush. A drum mulcher is the better fit, since it is built to take the larger wood.
• Ground you plan to seed or build on. Mulch left on the surface helps with erosion and saves hauling. Some buyers like that. Others want bare dirt.
• Stumps. Neither tool is a stump grinder. If stumps are part of the job, plan for a grinder as a separate step.

Most people underestimate the last point. Clearing the top growth is half the job.

Will It Work on Your Skid Steer?

This is where many buyers get stuck. Skid steer attachments are not all interchangeable. Three things decide whether an attachment will work on your machine:

1. Hydraulic flow. Mulchers and cutters draw a lot of hydraulic power. Check your machine's flow against what the attachment needs.
2. Machine size. A full-size attachment on a small machine will bog down or tip the machine. A mini skid steer needs an attachment built for one.
3. Mounting and couplers. Make sure the mounting plate matches your machine.

If you are not sure, send us the make and model of your machine and we will point you at attachments that fit. The mistake is guessing.

What Skid Steer Attachments Work After the Clearing?

Once the brush is down, the work is not done. The ground still needs to be finished. Depending on the job, that might mean raking out roots and rock, leveling, or grading for a pad or a pasture.

A skid steer rake is the usual tool for that kind of cleanup. A few people call the hydraulic power rake a "Harley rake." Tell us the job you are doing and we can tell you which rake will get you there.

Should You Buy or Rent?

If you clear land a couple of times a year, renting a mulcher may make sense. If it is part of how you earn money, owning wins over time. Consider how many acres you clear each season and how much downtime you can accept. The people who buy tend to be the ones who cannot wait for a rental to come back.

Take Care of It

Whichever you choose, the teeth and blades are wear items. Check them often, keep them sharp or replace them, and grease the bearings. A dull cutter burns fuel and slows the job. A few minutes of upkeep saves a day of grinding away at the same stump.

Talk to Someone Who Sells Them

We sell skid steer attachments every day and have for about four years, so we hear what works and what does not. Tell us your machine, your ground and your acreage, and we will help you choose. We also sell on eBay if that is where you like to shop.

Call us or browse chuppindustrial.com to talk through the right attachment for your land clearing job.