If anyone wants to chime in with feedback it would be greatly appreciated. We're looking to purchase our first bucket of any kind. We need to stay under CDL. We're strongly considering an HD Arbor Pro spider lift since it seems like it offers nice versatility. Our vision is to operate it on the bed of a truck as a "bucket truck" when possible and then offload when necessary, to access areas that a truck can't get too. Could more experienced people offer their advise as to whether that's a feasible plan? Our other options are something like an International 4300 with a 60ish foot boom. The problem I'm having there is finding one in my price range that isn't a forestry package. It sounds like the better set up is a rear mounted bucket on a flatbed. I apoligize for my naivete on this matter. I've been in trees for a long time, just not in buckets. Thanks!
CMC HD Arbor Pro Spider Lift
- Thread starter BigLnasty
- Start date
Merle Nelson
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- SF Bay Area, CA
Welcome to TreeBuzz. Quite a few threads going with info about spider lifts and about bucket trucks.
Try the search bar and type in various combinations of the info you are looking for.
Most of those threads are in the forum section, "Rubber Hits The Road."
Again, welcome.
Try the search bar and type in various combinations of the info you are looking for.
Most of those threads are in the forum section, "Rubber Hits The Road."
Again, welcome.
flyingsquirrel25
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- South East, PA
Do your homework all around on these. I've heard great things about the CMC and HORROR stories. Figure the cost out too. New bucket vs. new lift. Even used vs used. There are a couple CMC's in tree trader for upwards of $78k. Then put a 550 under it for another 60-70. Lots of money.
There are all kinds of ways to run things, think about time. How much time does it take to set up, unload break down just to put the lift out back. Then set up, load and break down. Also once the 83 footer is on the truck you really cant do anything else with it as you are at max about 19k. Consider a trailer behind a 550 chip truck or flat bed. Now you set up in the driveway just back it in and set up. In the back yard drop the ramps and drive off no set up and break down to unload. And you have an additional useful truck on site. If the driveway is too tight to back in, unload on the street and track it in as if it were in the back yard.
There are all kinds of ways to run things, think about time. How much time does it take to set up, unload break down just to put the lift out back. Then set up, load and break down. Also once the 83 footer is on the truck you really cant do anything else with it as you are at max about 19k. Consider a trailer behind a 550 chip truck or flat bed. Now you set up in the driveway just back it in and set up. In the back yard drop the ramps and drive off no set up and break down to unload. And you have an additional useful truck on site. If the driveway is too tight to back in, unload on the street and track it in as if it were in the back yard.
CutHighnLetFly
Been here a while
- Location
- Cape Cod, MA
I always thought (this is me being naive as I have no experience considering equipment purchases that size) that after considering the two for long enough and considered the immediate and long-term plans/ needs of the business it would be an easy choice which route one would want to go, spider lift or bucket.
If as a business, I focused more on preservation work, I would get a lift. Dealing with fine pruning and cabling on wide trees in back yard with a lift and climber, yes please. Then if an old tree dies and is sketchy, send the lift.
If I did a bunch of removals, crane assisted or not, I would get a rear mount elevator. Big truck, fast to set up, can tow stuff with it.
In my head without knowing all the logistics one would have to consider that's how j would choose
If as a business, I focused more on preservation work, I would get a lift. Dealing with fine pruning and cabling on wide trees in back yard with a lift and climber, yes please. Then if an old tree dies and is sketchy, send the lift.
If I did a bunch of removals, crane assisted or not, I would get a rear mount elevator. Big truck, fast to set up, can tow stuff with it.
In my head without knowing all the logistics one would have to consider that's how j would choose
Merle Nelson
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- SF Bay Area, CA
Good info and perspectives being shared, thanks.
Bonjour from Montreal.
Just to let you know that we have a nice range of products to which the 83HD could compare, specifically the Easy Lift 87-48AJ. Without going much further, please review the brochure included. We are here if you have any questions.
Merci!
Just to let you know that we have a nice range of products to which the 83HD could compare, specifically the Easy Lift 87-48AJ. Without going much further, please review the brochure included. We are here if you have any questions.
Merci!
Treetopflyer
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Coastal N.J
I only demoed with an owner of another local tree service near me the easy lift 7036 and was Imm pressed with many features, some things I could see would possibly( as a non owner one time in person viewers perspctive). Little beefier protection metal certain fitting near bucket attechment.As well a few other semi sensitive areas slightly beefed up At the base of the machine the hydro pump was unprotected and looked like a bouncing log could possibly cause damage in poor circumstances. The owner of this machine said he would set up higher on outriggers. As in lift tracks more off ground to protect from rolling bouncing logs, which he admitted wasn't recommended, you should keep tracks close to ground as possibly, if I'm not mistaken. I mentioned rigging to keep pieces from flying in which he sorta chuckled with a yeah..he mentioned the self level never being that good , although manually leveling wasn't bad anyway imo, you just need ground protection than a sliding board and pad to accommodate movement as setting up.I only saw it in his flat yard,he said he liked the machine overall, But in his words it althoguh he uses ground protection, he said it was the difficult terrain( of course)such very root laden land (not that common here) and slight off camber hills ( not that common with hills here)which he said was the most difficult to get the setup correct at first . Seems like hes only had a few jobs the machine coupdnt set up which speaks volumes to me , but made it clear the unlevel groumd setups were obviously the most time consuming and lots of time on certain occassions could be difficult .if your terrain is hilly that may be a major limitation. The need to turn on hills seems possibly out the question or aprroches on angles after a point plan on just to break out the Ropes and climb. You could have it done by the time you setup. But it seems over all it will be a worthy investment for sure once i free up some capital. I do a lot of pruning work on the tips and this machine will make that much faster in my market I think as cuthigh mentioned.. I feel overall the easylift has features that make it my best choice. Simple little nuances mean a lot over the life of the machine. It seems plenty fast enough in the controls to me. Some career bucket babies might think they're slow , from a pure climbers perspective I could see one of these complimenting the climbing very well. For instance you don't want to sneak these booms through the tree if your gonna touch it on anything, it seems. Although sneaking through with telescoping and articulation in jib looks mighty fun. But certain stuff way inside just send climber while lift hits the outers. I feel like there's more I'm missing right now.. if I think of more.....I realize this isn't an easylift thread it s cmc thread. I didn't know where else to place this. It was the most recent spider lift thread I guess.
Last edited:
- Location
- Green Mts.
Have you made a decision?
- Location
- Green Mts.
What kind of HORROR stories?
flyingsquirrel25
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- South East, PA
Electrical, tech support and service. You dig deep enough you will find guys that bought them new and used and had nothing but problems. On the flip side there are guys that have had zero problems. I haven’t seen many instances in the middle.
Merle Nelson
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- SF Bay Area, CA
Merle Nelson
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- SF Bay Area, CA
I just saw the 83 foot (working height - what you can reach) CMC at the Western ISA convention. The factory rep talked a lot about all of the sensors and computer type parts having come from the auto industry - I guess the idea being you could easily get parts etc. It seems to me no matter what lift a person goes with there is going to be a bunch of room for troublesome breakdowns and frustration diagnosing the problem and repairing it.
Geez louise!!!! I must not be getting email alerts about comments. I just checked in and am seeing these for the first time. We're in a holding pattern on the lift. We had decided on a used bucket but got some feedback from a trusted source saying to NOT buy used. That puts us back in the market for the spider lift but the price....a little steep. We're going to revisit this purchase mid summer. I haven't had a chance to read this thread all the way through yet. I will today and respond accordingly. Thanks for all the responses!
Great idea...poor follow through i guess. Have a few buddies around me that bought new ones and had problems up the wazoo...and VERY slow parts delivery...shouldn't take 2 weeks for filters. Both also had bugs. Why isnt cmc on here responding when they pay to advertise?
We run a CMC, I wouldn’t want it for my only option but it’s a great tool to have. It’s had a few issues but the tech support guys have been outstanding and helped get us going quickly. It’s slow, that’s the thing about it. Way slower than a bucket truck.
Merle Nelson
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- SF Bay Area, CA
Thanks for the input Rainwater.
- Location
- Wayne
We just bought one a month ago and love it so far. A bucket truck still has its place but the lift is more versatile. If doing quick trimming as we do often in commercial parking lots a bucket truck can be moved and setup faster. When in a tighter urban driveway or trying to fit a crane and bucket in one driveway is alway a challenge. The lift generally works awesome for this. We keep are lift on a 20ft tilt trailer which makes unloading super quick. When the dealer demo the unit on the back of the f550 and unloaded it was ways to slow.
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Merle Nelson
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- SF Bay Area, CA
Nice pictures to see your use of it. It's a big purchase, a lot to think about for me.
I worked for a company that owned a CMC 83hd for about 2 years. I ran the machine maybe once a week during that period of time. That being said, it was only serviceable, on average, 3 days a week during my tenure there. I have never operated another brand or model from and cannot speak intelligently on any upgrades or improvements that have been made to the 83hd, but the one I operated had many issues. This machine was delicate and had to be used by a competent and cautious operator. We had a two man, skeletonize basket, which exposed the wiring harness at the back of the control panel to rubs and damage when brush and wood were swinging around in close proximity to the basket. We had several sensors go bad, CPU issues, and damaged hydraulic lines. I believe they have scrapped the exterior hydraulic spool on the newer models and put them inside the boom, which is definitely a smart move on their part. We had operators stranded in the bucket, which had to be manually lowered using the hydraulic valves. Maybe we got a lemon, maybe not. Moral of the story. Do a lot of research before you buy. Demo the machine if you can. Go visit a company that has one. I hope this information helps.
- Location
- Wayne
The older unit had issues the company even admits it. Seems like they have fix everything now and redesigned.
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