CEE provides exceptional land clearing capabilities. Our grapple rake, severe duty ripper*, and patent-pending screening bucket can clear land better and faster for building or farming applications. In addition, we manufacture and offer John Deere 8850 Repower kits.

Because our roots are in farming, we have extensive technical knowledge and hands-on experience operating and maintaining equipment. The products we offer were conceptualized and developed on the family farm to eliminate the tedium of what seemed to be never ending chores. These innovative products and services address tasks where solutions have not yet been established or are not economically justified with the equipment presently available for small to medium size operations.  

The productivity and reliability of these products have been proven and are worthy to offer to others as products designed specifically for one’s own machine, equipment for rental/lease or as a custom service.

Grapple Rake

Overall a loader grapple rake is the most effective attachment for land clearing.  A wide swath is cleared in a single pass and the debris can then be grappled and raised above the ground to avoid scraping up valuable top soil as is done when dozing along the surface.  To further enhance the productivity of the grapple rake our duplex design incorporates secondary teeth on the grapple providing a single rake with two different shank spacings. 

• A coarse spacing of the primary shanks with the grapple raised
• A fine spacing with the grapple lowered with the secondary shanks positioned in the spacing between the primary shanks. 

The coarse spacing enables more dirt to pass through the shanks in the initial clearing/raking operation resulting in cleaner debris.  The fine rake can then be used in secondary raking for clean-up of smaller debris minimizing and often eliminating the need for manual labor. 

Overview/Specifications:

• Grapple rake for loaders & excavators…¾ yd to 6 yd
  • Coarse rake/fine rake/grapple rake - combined functions in a single attachment
    • coarse spacing of primary teeth w/ grapple raised
    • fine spacing of primary/secondary teeth w/grapple lowered
    • secondary teeth attached to grapple fill in gaps between primary teeth
      • improve machine productivity by increasing attachment versatility
      • coarse/fine rake in single unit for separating/sorting & clean-up
      • root rake/finishing rake in single unit for land clearing/ripping & clean-up
      • self cleaning of lodged debris in teeth by simply raising grapple
    • numerous applications
    • landscaping…brush removal/clean-up & seedbed preparation
    • land clearing…tree, stump, root, rock removal & finishing rake/clean-up
    • demolition…separating/sorting of varying sized debris
      • options
        • single or multiple secondary teeth between primary teeth
        • choice of shank width, primary tooth spacing & secondary tooth spacing
        • anti-rollover mechanical stop…  ripping force not governed by hydraulic capability of tilt cylinders

Severe Duty Ripper & Severe Duty Trailer Ripper

Ground Clearing Apparatus U.S. Patent No. 7,913,431

Severe Duty Ripper: In our land clearing service the attachment that gets the most use is the severe duty grapple ripper. It was built with each shank being able to withstand the loader’s breakout force.  It’s large width however inhibits it’s ability to remove stubborn stumps and large trees.  A two shank ripper addresses this issue by enabling breakout forces to be concentrated in a small width. This permits deeper penetration and tearing of the roots securing roots and large trees in the ground. This attachment gives a wheel loader immense capability, with it’s speed and maneuverability making it the preferred machine for land clearing.

Severe Duty Trailer Ripper: A vital step in land clearing is the removal of sub-surface debris, such as roots and rocks.  Left untouched debris beneath the surface can result in damage to tillage and planting equipment and reduce the moisture holding capability of the soil.  A multi-shank ripper pulled by a large high hp 4WD tractor can speed this operation considerably.  We offer a trailer ripper built with the strength to deal with anything encountered beneath the surface for years of trouble free service.  Its applications are not limited to just land clearing.  It can also be used to break-up hard pan in fields already being cultivated with conditions too harsh for lighter duty rippers/sub-soilers and to break-up heavy soils prior to utilizing pull pans built lighter than construction grade scrapers utilized throughout construction. 

Overview/Specifications for Severe Duty Ripper:

• Ripper for wheel loaders…3 yd to 6 yd
  • highly portable & proficient
  • easy transport with rubber tired machine
  • excellent maneuverability & visibility
  • concentrates loader break-out force to shanks for massive ripping power
  • applications in land clearing & demolition
  • large tree & stump removal – roots & all
  • sub-surface rocks & boulders brought to surface for removal
  • break-up sub-soil/hard pan
  • break-up stone foundations
  • options
    • spacing between shanks - anti-rollover mechanical stop…ripping force not governed by hydraulic capability of tilt cylinders

Overview/Specifications for Severe Duty Trailer Ripper:

• Severe Duty Trailer Ripper
  • Multi-Shank Unit – Virtually Indestructible
  • >10,000 lbs   operating weight
  • 425/65-R22.5 Floaters
  • 24” max penetration
  • 43” shank spacing

Custom Services: Land Clearing & Severe Duty Tillage

CEE offers the custom services of complete land clearing and severe duty tillage utilizing the equipment developed and used in our own farming operation.  The wheel loader is our choice of equipment for clearing land. We’ve utilized track machines and found them to be slower, more difficult to transport from site to site and higher in  maintenance. The main advantage they offer is traction in adverse conditions, which directly correlate to poor land clearing conditions and dramatically increased costs. We utilize a large 30 ton machine with different attachments for optimal productivity in varying conditions to tackle and complete large jobs when conditions are favorable. 

The same equipment utilized for land clearing is directly applicable to severe duty tillage. In the past we purchased a new subsoiler for custom tillage work, which only survived 3 years. We then built a ripper able to withstand the harsh rocky conditions of this area.  We utilize this equipment for custom tillage or offer it as a rental unit for those preferring to provide their own tractor and operator.

• Land Clearing:

• Complete Clearing of Large Acreage…Removal Above & Below Surface
  -  Removed: trees  -  stumps  -  roots  -  brush
  -  Brought to surface: boulders  -  rocks  -  roots
  -  Material raked/windrowed/stockpiled
  -  Wood: process wood…harvest lumber/fire wood...chip roots/brush/branches...burn stockpiles
  Benefits:
  1. Load/transport material off-site
  2. Hedge Rows Removed – increased productivity & profits:
     1. Increase productivity by reducing number of headlands
     2. Less time spent turning around… applies to tillage – planting – harvesting
     3. Less traffic – less compaction – higher yields
     4. Reduced fuel consumption
     5. Increased acreage – over years hedgerows can easily become 50 to 90 ft wide (75 ft x 2,000 ft=3.4 acres)
• Clean Removal
  • Separation of soil from material…  all soil remains on site
  • Ripper & rakes break-up sod – even in heavy clay soils
  • Soil passes thru shanks as material raked
  • Material grappled & lifted for transport/stockpiling/loading no topsoil scraped into windrows/stockpiles as in dozing material along surface
  • Capable of complete burn-down by end of clearing process
    • Brush/tree piles free of topsoil material loaded onto top of burn pile
    • Green wood dried periodically stoke fire w/ grapple rake
    • Unburned material separated from subsoil remaining on tree roots material piles screened for complete separation of fines/soil from larger objects
    • No stockpiles to work around stone piles screened to remove all topsoil
    • Topsoil remains in field maximizing yields
• Quick Process…Utilize Large Articulated Wheel Loader
  • Heavy operating weight
  • Large break-out force
  • Large load carrying capacity
  • Fast shuttle speed & highly maneuverable
  • High dump clearance
  • Wide Attachments wide paths cleared/raked
  • Large quantities grappled                 

• Land Clearing - Equipment
  • Articulated Wheel Loader – Terex 7261
    • 30 ton machine
    • 75,000  lbs breakout force
    • 31,000  lbs lift capacity
    • Quick Coupler 
  • Wheel Loader Attachments
    • Severe Duty Duplex Grapple Ripper
    • HD Duplex Grapple Rake
    • Severe Duty Ripper – 2 Shank
    • 5.5 yd Spade Nose Bucket 
  • 90 hp Skid Steer – John Deere 280
    • Roll’n Rock Screening Bucket
    • Rock Bucket 
    • GP Bucket 
  • Severe Duty Trailer Ripper 
  • 6x6 Dump Truck – FWD
    • 24,000 front axle w/ 445/65-R22.5 Floaters
    • 44,000 rears w/ 12.00R20 Tires
    • 14 ft Steel Dump Box – Rock Body

• Severe Duty Tillage — deep tillage 18 – 24 in depth penetrate hard ground
• tilling recently cleared ground
• bring-up roots, rocks & boulders for sub-surface land clearing
• fracturing of subsoil
• break-up hard-pan up to 30” deep
• increase water intake & reduce run-off
  • retain more moisture for roots/plant growth

• RENTALS — Specialty Equipment for Severe Duty Tillage & Land Clearing
  Severe Duty Trailer Ripper
  • Multi-Shank Unit – Virtually Indestructible
    >10,000 lbs operating weight
    425/65-R22.5 Floaters
    30”  max penetration
    43”  shank spacing
    15° shank swivel – each side of center
    18”  beam clearance – full penetration
    15” axle clearance
    3”   shank – thickness
    10.25” shank – width
    60”  shank - length