Cryptomeria Yoshino Ball and Burlap Planting – Part 1 – Unloading the Tractor Trailer

Nellie Stevens Holly’s Ball and Burlap (B&B) Trees are moving with great success. We want to cover; the best way to unload the truck, equipment selection, the advantages of pre-digging holes and how exactly to place and straighten trees without damaging the connection between the root ball and the trunk, and the best use of your planting equipment.

Treat the trucker right!

Nellie Stevens Burlap trees and holly balls will arrive on a flatbed truck. Standard trucking practice will allow a two-hour window for unloading, after which the customer will pay the trucker $100 per hour for the additional time needed. This is paid in cash directly to the trucker. Typically, the trucker will cut the string holding the tarp in place, but will assist you when it’s time to remove the tarp from the trees and assist you in pulling it back onto the trailer after unloading, especially if it’s wet. .

Taking the trees out of the truck

I have a short 7′ piece of 3/8 chain that I made and attached a hook to each end. Lay that chain across about five teeth on the bobcat bucket so there is about 2 feet hanging on either side of those teeth. Gently lower the bucket down so that the hooks are hanging just above the root balls you want to hook to. Have a helper stay on the truck to connect the chains to the top wire of the wire baskets. If you are downloading 22" gold 28" root ball trees, you can take two at a time by hooking the chains to the wire basket two different trees. Hook the upper thread of both wire slippers. If you are downloading 36" root ball trees, connect both strands to the same root ball, hook it to the top strand at two points at least 16 to 24 inches apart. You can also hook one of the hooks to a bottom strand of the wire basket and the other to the top strand. Remember that the objective now is simply to unload the truck, so at this point there is no need to hook up the trees in any special way. It is good if the trees travel around a 45% angle from the vertical position. If you have a lot of trees, have a helper stay on the truck to hook up the chains and one helper stay on the ground. Once you gently lift the trees, back up and rotate the bobcat so the trees are away from the truck, then gently lower the bucket so the trees are less than three feet off the ground. You should travel with the trees hanging low to the ground this way in case a wire basket breaks, Nellie Stevens’ holly won’t fall far enough to damage it. Have your ground helper walk holding onto the tree tops as you go, so they don’t swing back and end up under bobcat tracks. The goal now is to line them up somehow so you can move them into the holes after the trucker has paid and left. The use of unloading forks requires the man (or men) in the trailer to stand each tree vertically on its pointed root ball in order for the bobcat operator to slide the forks around the root ball tip. I previously downloaded using this approach; don’t do it. Someone can get hurt with all that lifting the truck.

Best Download Team

I usually use a T190 bobcat and a bucket with teeth for 10′ trees on a 28″ root ball. A point about using rental equipment, like I do: make sure the equipment is delivered to you the night before you arrive your trees. Let the rental company know it has to be delivered the night before. Personally, I’d rather go to the job site that night and get the key out so no teenagers go for a ride. I usually order a Bobcat equivalent to T190.

Using a dingo to plant trees.

If you are planting smaller trees, 22 inch root ball in 7′, you can use a Dingo and you may have to if you have a 3′ wide gate to get through with the trees. One point about using a Dingo: It may be rated to lift 500lbs, which means you can use it to handle the 28-inch root ball trees, but it won’t lift high enough to allow unloading as described above using chains from above the root -balls. You’ll need to get your dingo forks, then you’ll just need to lift it up to the truck bed or a bit higher if the Thuja Green Giant trees are stacked two by two. The man in the truck will have to lift more etc as the trees need to be upright to slide the forks under the root ball. Stopping too quickly with a 500lb tree in a Dingo’s forks could cause your machine to tip forward. If I had a truck with a trailer that brought only half a load of 28" root ball trees for example, being 45 instead of a full load of 80-90 trees, you could use a Dingo with forks and you would only have one layer of Nellie Stevens Holly trees, it wouldn’t be hard. An issue with using a Goofy; Assuming you’re also going to dig the holes with the same machine, it’s easy to burn out the hydraulic seals on the Dingo auger head due to digging in rocky ground. Use a jack instead with the most powerful hydraulics if possible. For example, your Bobcat with delivery and auger attachment might be $650 vs. the $450 Goofy’s $650, but remember that if the auger head starts leaking fluid, your job is stopped until the rental company equipment send a repairman, and only if they have a second auger head are they willing to bring it. They’ll find that their rocky soil has ruined one auger head, and if they have another ready to bring in, their work probably won’t harm a second. I remember my last Dingo rental turned out exactly like this, I had half my holes dug out when it started pouring fluid, the repair didn’t come all day, finally a neighbor came with a backhoe and headlights and saved the day by digging. my holes Always rent a machine with a load capacity greater than what your trees will weigh. 22-inch balled trees weigh 250 pounds, 28-inch balled trees 500 pounds, 36-inch balled trees 1,000 pounds, and 44-inch balled trees 1,500 pounds if Leyland Cypress, Thuja Green Giant , Nellie Stevens Varieties Holly or Cryptomeria Yoshino. Root balls of the same size on trees like Zelkova, etc. they will be lighter.

Tree weight based on root ball size

Managing larger Cryptomeria Yoshino trees (root ball 44 inches and larger) can be difficult as they weigh 1,500 pounds or more. Trees taller than 36 inches from our nursery will have seatbelt material woven through the wire basket. When connecting the hooks to the seat belt material, always connect them where they cross so that you distribute the load on both straps.

Security First

While the bucket chains are attached to one or more trees you plan to take down from the truck, you can take down a neighboring tree from the truck. There is risk to anyone standing on the ground near where the trees fell from the truck. Your man on the ground can walk around holding the tips in your drop area, but don’t let him be there near the truck where the trees first fell. One thing to keep in mind that causes an extra tree to be dragged out of the truck is that twine wrapped around a tree’s branches can snag a loose piece of wire in the root ball of a tree you’re lifting. Also, renting a skid steer and doing cleaning work etc. it’s a good way to learn to handle a bobcat. Don’t learn to drive a bobcat by renting one to unload a tractor trailer full of trees! Your bucket movements should be smooth and easy when working so close to your helpers to be safe. While you’re learning, you’ll occasionally move a controller in the wrong direction, and you also won’t become fluent with the controls until you’ve been running it for eight hours. Always rent a skid steer with a load capacity greater than what your trees will weigh.