Plant Health Care Innovations: The Urban Defense Warrior van

Wilson Yoingco from Davey's Washington D.C. office introduces his office's Urban Defense Warrior, or a plant health care van, and how its design better delivers plant health care to urban settings.

In this episode we cover:

• What is the Urban Defense Warrior van? (0:40) (2:32)
• What is the van used for? (1:00) (5:25)
• What is a plant health coordinator? (2:13)
• Specific jobs the van does (3:00)
• IPM, pesticides and fungicides (3:31)
• The van's fertilization process (4:59) 
• The van's storage tanks (6:59)
• New technology (7:06)
• The benefits of having a smaller vehicle (8:18)
• Does the Urban Defense Warrior get used outside the city? (8:53)
• The power behind the engine (9:17) 
• Is the van user-friendly? (10:06)

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To read our Plant Health Care blogs to learn the best ways to grow and care for your plants, visit Blog.Davey.com by clicking here - Plant Health Care Davey Blogs.  

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Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com. 

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Transcript

Doug Oster: Welcome to the Davey Tree Expert Company's podcast, Talking Trees. I'm your host, Doug Oster. Each week, our expert arborists share advice on seasonal tree care, how to make your trees thrive, arborists' favorite trees, and much, much more. Tune in every Thursday to learn more, because here at the Talking Trees podcast, we know trees are the answer. I'm joined this week by Wilson Yoingco. He is a plant health coordinator in the Washington, DC office of the Davey Expert Company. Today, we're talking about-- What are we talking about, Wilson? What's it called? Because I've never heard of it before.

Wilson Yoingco: It's called the Urban Defense Warrior. It's a plant health care rig that basically is built for inner cities and for maneuvering in and out of those tight spaces that we normally can't get to with a Buffalo or a big rig like that.

Doug: What does this rig do? What can it do?

Wilson: Basically, it's made for plant health care, visits that involve inspection and treatments. Anything that uses water, uses chemicals, it can pretty much handle everything. It's got a big 400-gallon freshwater tank, and then it has two 56-gallon tanks on the side for mixing.

Doug: The 400-gallon tank, is that for watering? Is that what you use it for, or you use it for mixing with other things?

Wilson: We use it for mixing with other things. We can use it for watering. It's just a clean water tank, but mainly it's just for if we have things that need to be diluted.

Doug: What is the size of the van? Because it can get around all the little streets and stuff, right?

Wilson: Yes. I want to say it's about like a 15-foot van, so not too big, not too small.

Doug: Tell me the advantage of having a vehicle like that to do these jobs.

Wilson: The better advantage is parking, especially in places like DC, Baltimore, you get that closer parking that you're looking for, as well as it's thinner, so it fits on those side streets that they normally can't fit a buffalo down.

Doug: Plant health coordinator, tell me what that means. What does that job entail?

Wilson: Basically, I schedule everyone's routes. I order chemicals. I do inventory, those kinds of things, and make sure all of our treatments get done in a timely manner and on time.

Doug: I saw on an email I got it referred to as the Sprinter van. Tell me what that means. Just able to go anywhere you want it to go?

Wilson: Yes. It's the model of the van. It's a Sprinter van, Mercedes.

Doug: I get it.

Wilson: Yes. It basically is just quick and efficient and able to get in, be discreet, and be closed off in those nice areas where you don't want to be out mixing and all those kinds of things.

Doug: Let's talk about specifically the different jobs that van will do. Let's start with, would it be IPM?

Wilson: Yes. It'd be a lot of IPM based. The more broad spray base is where you're going to need the buffalo with the bigger, huge tanks. With this one, it's more direct and has a diesel motor in the back, so it can go up and spray pretty tall, but it's really confined.

Doug: Let's talk about IPM, what that means, and how you use that out in the field.

Wilson: Integrated pest management is basically you're combining a couple different resources to solve problems, whether you got pests, fungal diseases, those kinds of things.

Doug: I only think of it for pests, but I didn't realize, yes, the IPM would be for dealing with fungal diseases too. What would be an example of what would be in one of the smaller tanks?

Wilson: You could have a horticultural oil mix, you could have a fungicide mix, you could have anything. There's two tanks, so typically we split up one for fertilizations and one for target applications.

Doug: Does somebody go out there first and say, "Okay, we've got a fungal issue," or are they calling and saying, "I have a fungal issue and you know what to put in the truck," or both?

Wilson: Typically, they have a lot of storage inside the van, so you keep on hand what you're using for the season, and we'll rotate out fungicides and pesticides based on timing of applications. Mainly inspections, the arborist will sell an inspection, so it's like a four-treatment plan. Typically, we'll stop by four times a year at the minimum, and then we'll go out there, the technician or I will inspect what's going on. Then we will treat as needed.

Doug: Talk a little bit about the fertilization with that truck. Is it what I've seen with the bigger truck, that all it does is fertilize, where they're putting it in like a grid pattern, or is this different?

Wilson: Yes. It's the same equipment as a buffalo would use. Basically, the grid pattern injections all around the bases of the tree underneath, the drip line. The fertilization would be the exact same, it's just on a smaller scale.

Doug: How many of those vans do you guys have?

Wilson: We have two currently, and I believe there is about six or seven company-wide.

Doug: I'm assuming that will increase for urban areas, right? That's where you want those?

Wilson: Correct. I believe North Baltimore has one as well. It's not really for the offices that are out doing those big orchard sprays or those big, huge properties out in rural areas, but yes, for the more city spaces, we use that.

Doug: Tell me a little bit about the storage on the van. What can you hold in there?

Wilson: Above the tanks, there are several racks that can hold a good amount of chemicals. The 2.5-gallon jugs that can hold about eight above each tank. Then we have stainless steel cabinets inside the middle part of the van that can hold a lot more.

Doug: Did you say it's two 56-galloned tanks?

Wilson: Yes.

Doug: Is that right? When you're going out to someplace, is stuff already mixed in there or do you mix it once you get there?

Wilson: Typically, for IPMs, we only mix as much as we would need. Your tanks will be empty in the morning. You'll fill from your 400-gallon freshwater tank and then mix chemicals as you need. If you only need 50 gallons for a property, if you only need 20 gallons for a property, typically, we only mix as much as we need.

Doug: Would there be several stops for the van during the day?

Wilson: Yes, there would be anywhere from, I want to say, 10 to 15 stops per day, depending on job size.

Doug: Obviously, this is relatively new technology and not the way this has always been done, right?

Wilson: Correct, Doug. My boss used to rev up an old Ford van and just load all the things in the back, have a separate little pump, separate little tanks, when he was doing stuff in the city, I believe it was New York. GreenPro has completely taken the whole system apart and redeveloped it in a way with the Mercedes Sprinter van that they have outfitted it with everything that you could possibly need. Then Davey comes along and they can add extra amenities they need, whether we need a bigger engine, bigger tanks, or more storage. We outfitted to exactly what we need for urban pest management in DC.

Doug: GreenPro is like the company that sells the van with some stuff in it and then you guys tweak it to what you want?

Wilson: Yes, we add specific modifications to it that we need, whether that's a bigger diesel engine or if it's the tank size, if the tanks are too small. They are extremely good at working with whatever Davey needs to get the job done.

Doug: What do you think the biggest benefits have been for having a smaller vehicle like this?

Wilson: More compact, it's easier to work with the DOT, it's more efficient, the engine runs clean, and I think it's just overall better for parking and fitting into those small spaces in DC, like we talked about.

Doug: I still can't imagine parking a big van in DC, but I guess it's better than a Buffalo, right?

Wilson: Oh, yes, 100%.

Doug: These guys can parallel park it, right?

Wilson: Oh, yes, they can parallel park pretty well. It has a backup camera that's mighty nice.

Doug: It's a vehicle that's great for getting into small spaces. Does it get used outside the city sometimes?

Wilson: Yes, our two rigs are running full-time, and whether that's working in DC or working out in Potomac or Gaithersburg, it's places that are more rural. It definitely gets used all the time, and it's not just for those small spaces, but it's specifically made for them.

Doug: Yes, let's say we're treating a hemlock tree for hemlock willy adelgid, can that thing spray up to a tall tree just like a Buffalo could?

Wilson: Yes, this engine is actually more powerful than the Buffalo because it can go up to 700 PSI, so it runs that diesel from the engine to the rear pump.

Doug: Even though it's a smaller vehicle, you can get the material up even higher than the Buffalo. Correct. That's another advantage, right?

Wilson: Yes, definitely a win-win with that. The diesel engine is a lifesaver. It can get up into those high spaces while not needing that big, huge tank.

Doug: The same is true, I guess, for a fungicide too. Would you be applying a fungicide that way too?

Wilson: Yes. You can apply fungicides and insecticides, all the same.

Doug: What does it take to learn how to use this van?

Wilson: It's extremely user-friendly, Doug. New employees, I always train them on it just because it's the easiest form of pest management. It drives similar to a car. The inside is all outfitted to be completely user-friendly. Everything can be managed from the ground. There's nothing you need to climb up in the tanks like with Buffaloes or Alltechs. It's all from the ground or the walk-up back behind it. Yes, but extremely user-friendly, and driving, it's just like driving a regular old car.

Doug: All right, Wilson. Thanks for the information. That is the coolest thing. I have to assume that there's going to be a lot more of those added throughout the area, especially where you've got to get into small spaces. Thanks for your time and the great information.

Wilson: Of course. No problem, Doug. Have a good day.

Doug: All right, fellow tree lovers. Tune in every Thursday to this Talking Trees podcast from the Davey Tree Expert Company. I'm your host, Doug Oster. I need you to do me a big favor. As always, I want you to subscribe to the podcast so you'll never miss a show. What do you think of this podcast and what should we be covering? A couple different ways to tell us. You can send us an email at podcasts@davey.com. That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T-S at D-A-V-E-Y dot com. You can also click the link at the end of our show notes to text us a fan mail message. Your ideas could be on a future podcast. We'd love to hear from you. As always, we like to remind you on the Talking Trees podcast, trees are the answer.

[00:11:55] [END OF AUDIO]