What is the best tree spade to fit a 3010?

[larry656]

Hello,
I'd like to be able to transplant mostly pines and spruce evergreens up to about 4" in diameter. Is there a good option to do this with the 3pt on a JD 3010? I believe that it can lift about 3,000# on the drawbar and has about 55hp. It is a wide front gasoline with a couple hundred pound rock box on front. I'd like the biggest possible that the tractor can lift and still steer! I've seen very heavy duty spades that I think would be too much for the tractor with a tree and I've seen very light duty spades that would dig a small root ball. I have not really seen a good middle ground that I think the tractor could handle. I'm open to new or used within the tri-state MN area.
thanks for any responses-

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

Guess I have never seen a 3pt tree spade. How would it work without down pressure? All I have seen are loader mounted units for skid steers and articulating loaders. That and truck mounted ones.

What size root ball are you looking for? 4" tree, 3' dia root ball?

I think your biggest lift issue isn't going to be the weight of the balled tree, it's going to be breaking it free from the ground.

 

[larry656]

Hi Bill,
They are actually quite common, if you do a search on this forum or the internet. I've read about 1" of tree for 1' of root ball, so maybe a 36" would be ideal but I'm looking for the best option for my tractor too.
Larry