"Tree Truck" Gets Watering Done Quick

"Tree Truck" Gets Watering Done Quick MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 34-5-11 Watering trees is a fast and comfortable job for one Alberta man, thanks to the economical system he devised. Norm Belanger of Pickardville, Alta., can water the 450 trees he's planted around his property in just over 3 hrs. by using a pickup he modified for the job. "My 1980 Chevy that I picked up for $500 a few years ago, hauls a 350-gal. water tank that's filled with a 3-in. pump. The most time saving feature is how I plumbed the outlet hose to enable me to water trees as I drive," Belanger explains. "The best part is that the whole thing û truck, tank, hoses, valves û cost me only about $1,200." He first removed the driver's side door and then used a 3-in. hole saw to cut a hole in the back of the cab for the hose. He lined the hole with rubber so it wouldn't cut the hose. An extended valve on the hose makes it easy to control the flow of water out the pipe. Belanger made a foot rest from scrap metal, installing it on the edge of the door opening. This, he says, is because he wanted to be comfortable and needs to sit at an angle toward the door while operating the discharge hose. Because the driver's door was removed, he mounted a rubber flap to the outer roof of the cab and this allows him to leave it hanging down for rain protection when the truck's not in use. Otherwise, he throws it up, out of the way, onto the roof. Belanger also replaced the original steering wheel with a smaller 12-in. jobber steering wheel in order to make it easier getting in and out of the cab. "I pump water from my dugout, which collects there from spring runoff," he says, "and I water my trees once a week on average and can do 140 trees per hour, round trip, including filling the 350-gal. tank." Once filled, he unhooks that hose and connects the shorter section that's used for dispensing water just outside the driver's door to water trees. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Norm Belanger, Box 151, Pickardville, Alta., Canada T0G 1W0 (ph 780 349-6696; norm.belanger@hotmail.com).

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