The bobcat or skid steer is a very powerful device that can do a lot to clear land. However, if you are buying or renting a smaller skid steer rather than a larger industrial grade one there are limitations to its hydraulic capabilities. The main attachment of a bobcat or skid steer is usually the bucket. This is a deep shovel that has space for moving a lot of soil. This is what the skid steer is best at but there are other attachments that can help. The important thing to remember is a bobcat is not the best option for clearing a heavily wooded plot, a large plot of more than an acre or a plot with a lot of stone in the way. It can lift a lot but if it is not a large industrial-grade device the better option would be an excavator or a bulldozer. However, on a small lot with just a few trees and bushes that need to be cleared, nothing that is old growth of more than fifty to a hundred years old but just a lot of detritus and small trees that need to be knocked over or bulled out. A shed or a deck, especially with concrete inground supports is an easy job for a skid steer. Its affordability and the many optional attachments make it a fantastic choice for small domestic jobs.
Attachments are the greatest part of the skid steer. While bulldozers and excavators can have different kinds of tools attached nothing compares to the skid steer or bobcat. You can attach a brush saw that will make short work of a large amount of brush and foliage and even young trees as old as ten or twenty years. It can pull the roots out with something called grapplers, for logs, and for roots. The device can also dig holes, tamp the ground with a drop hammer and even mow your lawn with a finish mower attachment. You can attach a forest cutter which is a far more aggressive attachment that can fall larger trees and if it’s winter and you have to clear some snow, get the snowblower attachment. Owning one can make life much easier in the long term. Renting or owning the basic attachments you need to do whatever landscaping you want to do is a great idea. But for a one-off event of clearing, grubbing and grading a property that is not too wooded or overgrown can be a money saver and a lifesaver.