Holster the saw on quad and trailer to help get the trees out.
Hello Rob here from the Flanagan Homestead and esport Christmas Tree Farms uh I got a little something here To share with you today it's uh not Rocket science or Earth chattering news But uh if you're looking to do a Christmas tree farm that you might get a Few ideas here so uh on my small Christmas tree farm we do cut the trees For people and help haul them out and so We have this is our setup that we have I Have a Honda Rancher 360 and a trailer Uh that we like this trailer because it Has the rubber edge of the plastic edges That are rounded so you can throw a tree In and pull it out we have a bigger Trailer that can hold more trees but it Has the the 90 degree angle iron on the Sides and it sometimes the trees get a Little bit of damage when you're yanking In and out we could be more careful and Not let that happen but this is safer Um it's a really narrow trailer and it's A really narrow quad I purposely bought This quad the Honda Rancher 360 because Of the width of our Rose Smaller quads aren't strong enough to Pull my my sprayer or my fertilizer Spreader but this one is a perfect size For me and I think it has a 42 inch Wheelbase or maybe even less than that Anyway I bought it from my father-in-law Off of his Ranch so that I could use it On my Christmas tree farm because I can
Get up and down the rows but yet it's Got enough power to do it 250 has the Same wheelbase but it's almost uh not Enough power to do some of the things we Want to do the 420s a little bit too Wide so that's why I have a Honda Rancher 360. Um the other thing I want to show you Here is we have a place to put our saw We have a sheath that we just stick the Saw in and so Before we had that on there uh the boys Would throw the the saw in the trailer And then the teeth would sometimes grab The tree or uh if we don't pull the tree Out we're looking for the saw and so It's nice to put it on there um I'm Going to show you a little bit more uh Closer up but uh just what I did to Create that sheath it's just something I Built myself we like to have it on the Back half of the Quad because sometimes We're carrying a tree and and then we're Carrying a tree on the front racks and Then it's also the most efficient I've Loaded it I had the sheath up on the Front of the Quad at one point in time But then you're throwing a tree in Running to the front of the Quad Sticking it in and then going back and Whereas if you have it right here you Throw the throw the three in put this in Hop on and you're on your way so uh this Is the setup that we like we all um have
A John Deere Gator now that varies In-laws helped us uh buy and so we pull We have the same trailer attached to the Back of that and it also has a bed That's wide enough to put a tree on so We can get a couple trees out but our Tree farm is small so to the point that We don't have people just driving their Vehicles all the way around they need to Cart their vehicle their trees out but It's large enough that there's some Trees quite a distance away so we help Haul the trees out with this so here you Can see I have that narrow wheelbase for My 360. This is how we carry our saw Nice rounded edges here Keeps the tree safe and secure this is Really good for keeping the saw safe in A secure place and you know where it's At Slides out real easy I made this long Enough that I have a 30 inch bar that Also will slide in there it is just a Couple pieces of plywood with another Piece of plywood in between left the Hole I'll show you a little bit more of How I made it but uh this is not only Good on the tree farm but when I don't Have my trailer on and I'm clearing Trails out of my property and I need to Drive up and down through Trails instead Of trying to hold the saw on my lap or Tie it down to the racks and then get it
Off tie it down to the racks and use it And then tie it down the racks just pull It out use it slide it back in and it Rides really well and it rides better Than sitting on the racks I made this Holster or sheath whatever you want to Call it separately but uh It's really easy to get on and off I Have a little bit of a bar on the rack Here and just a couple bungee cords you Take off a couple bungees And then it comes off real simply There's the groove that the saw goes in I put a notch right here so that It catches on the right place on the Rack to hold on so that Notch fits in Right there bungee around this back bar That goes up a little bit holds it nice And tight in there works great We have recently planted uh probably or Expanded our field another acre and a Half to two acres so it's spreading out Through quite a ways and we're gonna Have to do some things uh to make it Easier for people to get trees in and Out One thing we're considering is doing the More traditional for larger tree farms Is let the vehicles just drive out throw It in the back of their truck and then Bring it up to the cash register but I Don't know if we want that much traffic Out there another thing that's proven Really popular on different uh tree
Farms and pumpkin patches and whatnot is Hayrides and so I'm considering hooking Up a trailer On our tractor and just uh driving it Around the field in a loop and setting Up racks on it that I don't have a Design yet but setting up racks I don't Think you could just throw some trees on And people can actually jump on and sit On it and then bring them in so it won't Be a true hayride where you go all the Way around but we'll we could just have One person driving the tractor so Obviously someone responsible going One Direction all the way around the field People can cut their trees bring it out To the main road in the middle throw the Tree on jump on get a ride back to the Cabin and the Shaker and then get off There and so they can have I know Families would love to get on there with Their kids and whatnot and so we can Pick up trees drop them off just go Around pick up trees again and just keep Making a loop and that would be a fun Fun addition for the families and it'll Help get the trees in and we don't have Traffic back and forth As always thanks for joining me on the Flanigan Homestead where Christmas trees Are my business teaching including Horticulture is my job and outdoor Projects are my passion hope to see you Again soon everyone be blessed
