Skidder mounted tree spade?

sixdogs · Apr 30, 2008

I have a JD 5520 with a loader and am thinking of getting a skid steer adapter for the loader and then a skid steer tree spade for it. I have rear remotes I could use for the connection.
Any thoughts on this good or bad? I don't want to use commercially but have a few hundred trees I would like to ball and burlap for sale. Any idea what these things cost? Any input is welcome.

MrJimi · Apr 30, 2008

Is this the product your talking about HERE ?
I made mine and It works great I have pictures in my galleries and lot's of others have also made their own

sixdogs · Apr 30, 2008

MrJimi said:
Is this the product your talking about HERE ?
I made mine and It works great I have pictures in my galleries and lot's of others have also made their own

That's not the kind I was thinking of but I suppose it's worth a look. Wouldn't that be difficult to obtain a uniform rootball with? I do have to ball and burlap the trees and make the rootball fit into a standard size wire cage. What do you think?

radman1 · Apr 30, 2008

If you are going to ball/burlap and put in wire cage you will need a standard type tree spade. How big of trees and what kind - pine vs hardwood? Estimate about 1" diameter tree for foot of spade width but you can stretch that a little with TLC and time of year. I have a 36" tree care spade with rear stabilizers that can be 3pt or mounted on skid steer. Bought it used for 5K with rear stabilizers and thought that was a good deal. New ones will cost 12K or more for that size. You won't need the rear stabilizers for a tractor FEL mount. My tree spade weighs about 1200 lb and figure root ball around 1200 lb. Your FEL will be ok with its lift of 2500 lb. A 36" spade can do a 36" ball but can be setup for smaller diameters as well by lowering stands on the spade. Smaller spade/ball will require less lift.

sixdogs · May 1, 2008

radman1 said:
If you are going to ball/burlap and put in wire cage you will need a standard type tree spade. How big of trees and what kind - pine vs hardwood? Estimate about 1" diameter tree for foot of spade width but you can stretch that a little with TLC and time of year. I have a 36" tree care spade with rear stabilizers that can be 3pt or mounted on skid steer. Bought it used for 5K with rear stabilizers and thought that was a good deal. New ones will cost 12K or more for that size. You won't need the rear stabilizers for a tractor FEL mount. My tree spade weighs about 1200 lb and figure root ball around 1200 lb. Your FEL will be ok with its lift of 2500 lb. A 36" spade can do a 36" ball but can be setup for smaller diameters as well by lowering stands on the spade. Smaller spade/ball will require less lift.

Almost all are evergreen and a 36" root ball would be fine. I would dig in late winter while dormant and am familiar with digging trees. I have backhoe-dug 15 ft trees. Any hardwoods would be maple and even I have been unable to kill one of those. I wouldn't mind a 3-pt hitch model--just thought the skid-steer type might prove cheaper. Figured if I bought it at a good price I could use to dig my trees and re-sell for the same or close to the price I paid.

dangerdoc · May 1, 2008

sixdogs said:
I have a JD 5520 with a loader and am thinking of getting a skid steer adapter for the loader and then a skid steer tree spade for it. I have rear remotes I could use for the connection.
Any thoughts on this good or bad? I don't want to use commercially but have a few hundred trees I would like to ball and burlap for sale. Any idea what these things cost? Any input is welcome.

I put a skid steer adapter on a Kub M5400. The two biggest issues I have found are.

1. Visability. The hood blocks your view making what would be easy using a skid steer a challange with the tractor.

2. The adaptor plate moves your attachment a few inches further out. It doesn't look like much but really adds leverage to the load. You will want to use more more weight on the 3pt than you would normally.

Also, if your loader valve has a power beyond, it makes the plumbing a little easier.

radman1 · May 1, 2008

I haven't tried a 3pt treespade. I am always concerned that there won't be enough weight to force the spades into the ground when dry. I just put the rear stabilizers on my SS this winter and haven't used it yet. Last year when dry, it was difficult to get spades into the ground. I called the Tree Care company and ordered a set of mounting plates for the stabilizers and welded them on the SS. They said the stabilizers will help a lot to get more front end wt. The stabilizers weight about 200# apeice and give a nice counter wt for the SS. My Bobcat S300 can probably lift 3200-3300 lbs with the rear wt added. Truncated spades won't dig as well as the longer pointed spades but most cages/baskets are design for the truncated spades. Watering the spades as they dig will also help in hard/dry ground. You will want good rear counter wt on your JD. That can be a lot of weight hanging out the front.
I would get the SS mount version if possible because will be easier to resale and the downpressure of the loader will be helpful. You can also tip the spade as needed with FEL and won't with 3 pt unless you have a top link cylinder. FEL will significantly block the view of the spade. May need a helper or get off tractor to check positioning before digging. Your not into using it for a living and FEL with SS attachment should work ok.

njustaminute · May 2, 2008

sixdogs said:
I have a JD 5520 with a loader and am thinking of getting a skid steer adapter for the loader and then a skid steer tree spade for it. I have rear remotes I could use for the connection.
Any thoughts on this good or bad? I don't want to use commercially but have a few hundred trees I would like to ball and burlap for sale. Any idea what these things cost? Any input is welcome.

I put a tree spade on the front of my John Deere last fall. I purchaced a simple conversion kit that changed the JD universal mount to a skid steer universal mount. That way I did not have to change the mounts on the bucket. With the skid steer universal mount I am able to utilize many attachments such as a power angle broom, grapple bucket, plate compactor and the tree spade. If your are interested, I will give you the companies web site were I purchaced the spade. They were very helpful and they shipped everything right to my door. I will send you a picture of my tractor with the tree spade.

AlanB · May 2, 2008

36" is a good size deal.

The guy I buy a lot of my equipment from, bought out a complete nursery out of McMinville recently and had a bunch of well used ones.

PM me if you want his info, not sure I can put it out here.

I am not tied to him, but buy a fair amount of my stuff from him, we looked at several but just do not have the demand to justify the cost at the moment.

woodlandfarms · May 2, 2008

36" root ball is HUGE. Not that it is wrong, it is just big. There is a device I saw somewhere on the web with what appears to be a icecream scoop device (you know that metal band when you pull the trigger on the icecream scoop it moves around). Anyway, this device vibrates and pulls itself through the dirt like butter.

That is assuming you are talking about doing this at a pro tree farm. One with no rocks in the ground. If this is for your backyard you are probably SOL and need a real tree shovel (4 hydraulic pie shaped points). Those units themeselves are 2000 to 3000 lbs. Plus a ton for your tree. You need a lot of lift (I don't know your tractor but)....

njustaminute · May 4, 2008

sixdogs said:
I have a JD 5520 with a loader and am thinking of getting a skid steer adapter for the loader and then a skid steer tree spade for it. I have rear remotes I could use for the connection.
Any thoughts on this good or bad? I don't want to use commercially but have a few hundred trees I would like to ball and burlap for sale. Any idea what these things cost? Any input is welcome.

Here is a picture of a tree spade on my 5105 John Deere.

I am able to dig a 28" to a 34" root ball. The tree spade weighs 1,200 lbs. and a 34" root ball weighs around 900 lbs. If you are interested here is a link to were I purchased the tree spade. TREE SPADES There is a chart that tells you how much the spades weigh as well as the root balls. I hope this info will help you.