Why does one of those smaller mulching machines fetch such a premium price per hour compared to price per hour of a good sized dozer , track hoe and such?
A dozer has its place and I could have accomplished my goal with a dozer. But if we'd used a dozer we would have lots of brush piles to burn, with dirt piles mixed in, plus a loss of top soil. The mulcher saved top soil, didn't leave us with any debris to deal with, and it moved through this overgrown mess faster than dozer could have.
So that's the reason they fetch a higher price? Looks like they'd be more common if you can invest 1/2 the $ and get the same return. Only one I've seen is on the RR up here.
I guess it's because they are specialized and the market isn't saturated yet.
Several things your not factoring, As outback said, a dozier “piles” debris and spoil. If you dont want very large piles of debris, you have to pay a dump truck to haul it off, not cheap” burning is not an option because your top soil is rolled into the debris pile. Also, the maintenance on these machines are very high, the cutter teeth cost around 3k. This is a wear item you have to figure into the price. A dozier doesnt have this kind of wear item. There are cases where a dozier is a better option but if your goal it to 1) remove vegetation 2) not to disturb top soil 3) eliminate erosion 4) not have any debris pile to deal with, A forrestry mulcher is the best option.
I have a job we are working on where the and owner called us to come mulch the back half of his land after he had dozier come in to clear his land. He didnt like the damage the dozier was doing and the large dirt and debris piles. We are going there either tomorrow or Friday, Ill take pics of the area the dozier did and the piles he left and the area we are doing, it will make a lot more sense after you see the pics.
