Aerial Lift Wisdom

[decreppo]

When the mechanic came to service our lift it was a great time to pick his brain on service and tips for maintenance. Because some things had changed since the machine was bought. Oddly some mechanics have different procedures for parts. We had to replace our remote because water had gotten into it, so one mechanic said to do it a certain way vs another. Not a huge deal. I’m wondering if anyone has a recommendation on rappelling out of the basket? There’s a place to connect the lanyard for the fall arrest harness, but I’m not sure how one would attach to it for a rappel out? I’ve not seen any videos or info on how to rappel out of it? Here’s a pic of the lift in action.

We tried out connecting to the lift today. The best way would have been to use a Clevis and attach the carabiner to the clevis by taking out the screw part and putting the carabiner through (no chance of it coming undone).

we connected a steel carabiner to the attachment point and put a friction saver through that. We were natural pruning the tips of some 12ft hedges so it was a good opportunity to try this out in a controlled environment. Feel more prepared now in case of emergency.

 

[decreppo]

Taller the lift =built stronger
Correct?
We don’t cut n chuck as much as possible

the cheap metal covering all the controls on the cmc is what makes it not feel sturdy. All the little metal panels are very flimsy versus the Nifty

 

[Frankkytree]

We tried out connecting to the lift today. The best way would have been to use a Clevis and attach the carabiner to the clevis by taking out the screw part and putting the carabiner through (no chance of it coming undone).

we connected a steel carabiner to the attachment point and put a friction saver through that. We were natural pruning the tips of some 12ft hedges so it was a good opportunity to try this out in a controlled environment. Feel more prepared now in case of emergency.

Nicely done! Seems like a legit way of doing it. Did you have any trouble exiting basket or did you have any other thoughts on doing it differently? (Just out of curiosity.) I still need to talk with my co worker on some options. Our lift has a 300lb limit too, so only one of us could be in it. And our tie in would be inside the basket, so we’d have to account for not being able to see the TIP when rappelling out.

 

[VenasNursery]

the cheap metal covering all the controls on the cmc is what makes it not feel sturdy. All the little metal panels are very flimsy versus the Nifty

I believe that structure holding the controls is purposely built light so it bends or breaks before the controls do

 

[flushcut]

the cheap metal covering all the controls on the cmc is what makes it not feel sturdy. All the little metal panels are very flimsy versus the Nifty

That's my point they are flimsy for a reason, being don't hit your lift. They are not suppose to take a hit.

 

[decreppo]

Nicely done! Seems like a legit way of doing it. Did you have any trouble exiting basket or did you have any other thoughts on doing it differently? (Just out of curiosity.) I still need to talk with my co worker on some options. Our lift has a 300lb limit too, so only one of us could be in it. And our tie in would be inside the basket, so we’d have to account for not being able to see the TIP when rappelling out.

Nicely done! Seems like a legit way of doing it. Did you have any trouble exiting basket or did you have any other thoughts on doing it differently? (Just out of curiosity.) I still need to talk with my co worker on some options. Our lift has a 300lb limit too, so only one of us could be in it. And our tie in would be inside the basket, so we’d have to account for not being able to see the TIP when rappelling out.

I know some co workers who have tied into a bucket truck basket, I’ll ask them how they did it. The fact that we had this open aluminum basket installed made it easier than if we had the enclosed fiberglass basket (our lift came with both and you can switch them out easily). One thing I’ll mention is that in the pic it looks like the rings are touching the lift from the angle but they are actually hanging free and not rubbing. I would probably make sure the friction saver rings are low enough so that if the climber swung he wouldn’t hit the rings on the lift.

 

[flushcut]

Taller the lift =built stronger
Correct?
We don’t cut n chuck as much as possible

I would say there is more metal, sure, but they are still vulnerable to damage.

 

[VenasNursery]

I would say there is more metal, sure, but they are still vulnerable to damage.

Well of course they are not baseball bats
We never touch our lift with brush wood or ropes nor do we rig off of it
We don’t cut them because they’re not wood

 

[VenasNursery]

I would say there is more metal, sure, but they are still vulnerable to damage.

And yes more metal more sturdier
More metal means heavier = stable

 

[Frankkytree]

I know some co workers who have tied into a bucket truck basket, I’ll ask them how they did it. The fact that we had this open aluminum basket installed made it easier than if we had the enclosed fiberglass basket (our lift came with both and you can switch them out easily). One thing I’ll mention is that in the pic it looks like the rings are touching the lift from the angle but they are actually hanging free and not rubbing. I would probably make sure the friction saver rings are low enough so that if the climber swung he wouldn’t hit the rings on the lift.

Thanks for inquiring for me from the bucket truck guys. I’ve run an Altec for a while and the TIP wasn’t inside the basket. It was more on the end of the boom. Thanks for the insight on the rings! I’m glad we’re having this conversation. There’s just not a ton of people doing any self rescue from these style lifts. Does your lift have an option for a fire extinguisher mount? I know chances are slim we need it. But another project is to mount a extinguisher to the lift. We keep ones in our trucks but if we’re not working near the truck it might be nice to have one on hand?