We are pleased to offer our line of truck spades ready to tackle the largest or smallest tree transplanting jobs. For years people have asked us to design larger truck spades with the same durability you have come to trust in Dutchman.
The goal in building these 3rd generation truck spades was to design units that could not only last but be compact enough to easily get in and out of tasks easily. Our focus was not on the cost effective method of building a unit but rather the best way to design a unit that will meet all conditions all the time. At Dutchman, we are forever striving to build a better, more refined tree spade. Common issues such as tall towers, small frames and weak blades all had to be addressed. Most of these concerns were shared by many, if not all, owner-operators within the truck spade moving industry. State-of-the-art technology, computerized sketches, and stress analysis all played a part in building a sleek, compact, reliable unit that makes for a solid, sound investment.

We were able to develop methods to cold form blades making them stronger than the original AR450 material used. We designed new methods and placement for support ribs, and added scraper plates to keep the soil from sticking. This now allows the user to wire basket trees without any obstruction on the outside of the blades.

After the blades were strengthened, we focused our attention on shortening the overall height of the spade itself. Many have complained before that their conventional spades cannot get under the canopy of the tree. In order to combat this issue, we had to first redesign the conventional way a cylinder operates. The end result was a new patented, multistage cylinder that does not have any oil displacement issues or side load concerns. The speed is consistent through out its stroke and has the power to get the blades in the ground. These cylinders now enable us to build much shorter towers then other brands.

We also wanted to address concerns on how the blade is supported on the tower. Rather than guiding the blades on narrow track like the competition, we use the face of the tower itself: the surface area of the slider is many times greater than small interior rails. The interior support ribs are also used to mount the blades to the slider housing. The width of these ribs is more than double the competition, holding the blade at a much wider position. The blades are pulled down the tower by the trunnion mounted cylinder in the center of the slider box; this position is the most favourable as it is directly in line with the the tracking system.

Lastly, we wanted to address the constant concern of too little operating space within the frame of the spade. We created a completely circular frame that has plenty of room inside to accommodate wide low branching trees. All frames are structurally much stronger than frames that are pieced together using hollow tubes and flat bar. The gates were made taller and have replaceable hardened steel bushings. Finally, the frame has a hydraulic locking mechanism to ensure a stable connection when digging.

Combined, all of these features and innovations make the Dutchman Truck Spade the strongest and easiest to use on the market.

Dutchman 500i Straight Blade Truck Spade Specification Sheet