On Sun, 27 Nov 1994, Jerry J Bromenshenk wrote:
> Hi: Andy is upset with me for suggesting nets. I agree, for short hauls
> it is a mute point. Lots of effort and additional cost, when the bees
> obviously drift and visit nearby yards, etc.
Once we all have both mites, it will matter less, I suppose.
snip snip . . .
> As for Allen's closed van, when the University is short of trucks - which
> is most of the time and mine is tied up - usually moving bees, we have
> had to use a Travelall or a stretch passenger van. Not my idea of a fun
> time, driving down the highway with the "leakers" in the cab with you.
> No thanks, I bought a King Cab pickup just so that I, the crew, and our
> fragile computer gear stay nice and dry and separated from our friends
> riding in the box in back.
Actually, I was referrring to the cube vans - the ones with a cubical box
and a roll up back door. Some have power tailgates designed as a platform
to lift 1000 lbs or so from the ground up to deck height so that it can be
carted in and out easily.
The floor is low because there are wheel wells inside - and the cab is
totally isolated. Things don't have to be tied on and bees don't escape
because it is dark in there.
I'm thinking of getting one. My neighbour had one before he retired. He
never used it for pulling honey though because it didn't carry enough.
For that I've been using a 12,000 lb flat deck trailer in conjunction with a
one ton Ford - total payload 26 drums full of honey , or equivalent. It's
enogh for a day's work, usually. A van and trailer would do the same,
methinks.
Besides the inevitable trail of lost bees from an open flatdeck , dust is
a problem and things have to be tied on. The truck must be unloaded on
return or housed inside, and rain is a problem,
Therefore I dream of a cube van and an enclosed trailer or two. The boys
like loading the trailer (a low one) using handcarts better than using
the boom loader on the flat deck, believe it or not. Several van trailers
could be loaded and left sitting in a yard for pickup when convenient - even
by a small person with a pickup truck at night in the pouring rain
several days later - with no ill effects.
Maybe for interest sake I should mention at this point that a few years
back I sent a load of bees in hives to Arizona. It filled a 45 foot
*reefer* completely. The month was November and they left snow and cold
weather here to go through Vegas and into AZ where temps were 90 plus. As
far as I know, they arrived just fine. We had to have vents in the front
- as well as the small ones at the back - and the reefers ran hard.
I think I'll get a van - or two. Nets seem to me to be dirty and a
hassle, and not entirely effective. Besides people can still see the
bees. With a van you can paint a picture of the kind of of bees people
like on the side if you want to be conspicuous - you know - the kind with a
human face and a big smile :)
The little old guy at a corner store way out in the country complained to
me a while ago about beekeepers stopping for soda and leaving bees when
they go. Seems he was stung a fair bit and had to close up early one day.
That bothers me.
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK
Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0
Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: [log in to unmask]
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