We live in an age where bigger is better—bigger burgers, bigger flat-screen TVs and, in the world of clearing vegetation, bigger equipment.
A large-scale mechanical tree trimmer with a 75-ft boom can tear into towering pines, and a dedicated mulching machine will make mincemeat of the thickest buck brush.
But aside from rural areas offering ample space to maneuver, these behemoths can be a headache to handle and transport. Good luck maintaining right-of-ways near urban sprawl. In such cases, bigger is definitely not better, but instead a hindrance to operators, residents, motorists and utility company vegetation-management professionals whose operations bear, in many cases, a direct relationship with those of state and local construction contractors.
Increasingly, the argument with clearing equipment is to go small—compact—not big. And through technological advancements, increased power and affordability, such compact equipment options can expand versatility…
