Tree Spades

CGranat · Apr 22, 2002

The Dakota Hand Tree Spade is probably the one you're thinking about. They say it'll do rootballs from 16 to 28 inches so it's a bit bigger than the Tree Toad. The hydraulic breaker should be able to be connected to the tractor's hydraulics. This one is one I'm looking into further.

jrlichina · Apr 22, 2002

PCMEM.

You don't necessarily need down force. The spades are angled in towards each other so if you actuate the opposing spades pairs at the same time little by little it shouldn't lift off the ground since the force is not directed perpindicular to the ground but rather askew.

jrlichina · Apr 22, 2002

Actually the treetoad has a model that will produce a 32" root ball wich is bigger than the Dakota.

pcmem · Apr 22, 2002

CGranat,

Yes, you are correct. I dug a bit found their information. Another nice feature they have is hydraulic lift to adjust the spade entry level so you can effectively vary the root ball diameter.

Thanks,
Michael

pcmem · Apr 22, 2002

jrlichina,

I see what you're saying however my prototypes have great difficulty. Could be poor engineering on my part, soil conditions or spade design. I'm also using a 25degree octagon for free standing balls. I suspect a 30degree cone would better facilitate your method. Please let me know if you are successful.

Thanks,
Michael

jrlichina · Apr 22, 2002

Well here's a suggestion for the case of not having down force on your 3-point. You'd have to make the 3-point mount have a carriage that holds your spade fixture that moves up and down via a double acting hydraulic cylinder. You would raise your 3-point then lower the spade fixture via the vertical carriage. This would provide you with sufficient down force and not enough to harm you 3-point hitch. Once the spades are in you would lift the ball via the carriage. It's a little extra work but it should work very nicely.

pcmem · Apr 23, 2002

jrlichina,

That is an excellent idea /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif and would facilitate a variable size rootball similar to the Dakota spades.

Thanks,
Michael

indianajeff · Oct 21, 2002

Ok, I am new to this site and stumbled into the discussion on tree spades. I just purchased a used CareTree 3 Point Hitch Hydraulic (Model 520 3pt) tree spade and will pick it up in Ohio this week. I cannot wait to pick the unit up. Need to move some trees I planted a few years ago from seedlings (planted around 500) and they are around 2" in diameter. I am curious what some of you ended up doing or buying. I looked at the TreeToad, but not sure that I was up to the manual effort. I purchased the used CareTree tree spade for $3,000 and they cost $7,000 new. Thought I got a fair deal.

Thanks Jeff