Transportation Engineer
To safely move tree stock to various locations.
Some developers want the place to look like it's been there a hundred
years, and the best way to do that is to plant large trees. Golf
courses and casinos routinely call for large tree installations prior
to opening. Seven Oaks Country Club in Bakersfield purchased 60 acres
of rolling hills in Tehachapi, a rural community less than an hour
away. Mature oaks and pines were then carefully moved by transportation
engineers and transplanted at the golf course, producing the effect of
a mature forest.
Don Walker recognized the opportunity 20 years ago and has been hauling
trees ever since. "What I like about it, they (trees) add something to
the place" says Walker, owner of Don Walker Trucking, Inc. in
Camarillo, on California's central coast, home to many commercial
nurseries. He owns a 40 ton rig valued at $100,000, and unloads trees
with a fork lift.
"I haul lots of trees to Vegas. Vegas always grows. A new casino wants
huge trees" explains Walker, who charges $1,000 for a typical haul from
Camarillo to Las Vegas for six hours travel one way, plus unloading.
Years of experience and a true love for trees insure that his tree
loads arrive safely, without getting wind damaged or losing their
leaves. "Palm trees are fragile. They'll break in the middle. You need
to know where to brace them. Sometimes you only get one or two trees on
a truck" says Walker, who carries $50,000 cargo insurance, just in case.
Baron Brothers Nursery in Camarillo have in house drivers, trucks and
cranes, and on occasion sub out to professional transportation
engineers truckloads of trees going long distances or consisting of
large orders.
Typically, transportation engineers have a high school education with
on the job training or a diploma from a trailer school. A clean driving
record and a commercial driver's license (Class A or B) is required, as
are drug and alcohol tests. Hours are irregular and cargo insurance is
prudent.
Beginning as a salaried employee for a
commercial nursery is a good alternative to fronting start up costs of
$100,000 or more for large rigs.
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