How to: Maintain your spade

Tom Patterson is the general manager of Trees on the Move, a division of Long Island-based LaMay’s Tree Service. He runs the nursery and supervises transplanting and landscape projects. Before he joined LaMay’s, he spent 10 years running tree spades for a wholesale production nursery.

So you can believe him when he laughs and says, “I’ve got a few trees under my belt.”

Nursery Management spoke with Patterson about the keys to keeping spades in good working order.
 

Grease is king.

The actual care that needs to be done varies from brand to brand, because of the different mechanisms used by different brands of spades. Some use slide systems, some use track systems, and different types of bushing systems require different types of maintenance. But Patterson says the key to keeping any piece of equipment running smoothly is greasing it. Make sure the equipment is constantly lubricated, and you will prevent many major issues. Still, that’s not all there is to spade maintenance.

“Greasing is important, but you don’t just pump a few pumps of grease into a fitting and call it a day,” he says. “There is a lot more to it than that, even though tree spades are relatively simple pieces of equipment.”
 

Be vigilant.

Patterson’s crew inspects their spades every day before they go out on a job. He estimates his 90-inch tree spade is used four days a week in the springtime and the fall, during its peak season. During that time, it is constantly being inspected and lubricated. But it’s crucial to continue that maintenance throughout the hotter months of July and August when the machine may only be used once a week.

Mere rainfall can wash off grease and lubricants, and a lot can happen in a week of disuse.
 

Watch the weld.

Patterson sends his spades out annually, depending on usage, for a complete maintenance checkup.

One frequent trouble spot is the U-bolt attachments where the spade attaches to the frame of the truck. It’s crucial to make sure those bolts are not compromised. Tightening loose bolts is a vital part of the inspection, but Patterson says the cracked welds and hairline fractures in the steel are bigger problems. His mechanics spend hours under a spade looking for open welds.

“I can’t emphasize enough how easily these crack just because of the sheer force they are digging with,” he says. “A tree spade is a really violent piece of equipment. Take the big four-spade systems with a 90 inch tree spade — when you put one blade in the ground and the opposing blade in the ground, you can actually see the twisting motion of the frame of the machine and the frame of the truck.”
 

Don’t forget the hydraulic lines.

It’s also important to check the spade’s hydraulic lines for problems. Often, you can see rubber chafing against rubber on these lines. On the insides of these high-pressure lines are steel belting. When you start seeing steel coming through the rubber, it needs to be replaced.

“Rubber dry rots after a while,” Patterson says. “If you start seeing cracking in the rubber, you’re losing the integrity of the hose.”

For more: www.lamaystreeservice.com