Bucket truck rental?

Well then maybe you could get some weekend work with a tree service, I’m not questioning your ability to learn it on your own but this business has some pretty significant side effects if you do something wrong. I’m sure it’s been stated before there are some great tutorial vids available online. Climbing Arborist, and what’s Mugg’s channel? Educated climber? Anyway, I was just passing through, carry on.
 
chiselbit said:
Well then maybe you could get some weekend work with a tree service, I’m not questioning your ability to learn it on your own but this business has some pretty significant side effects if you do something wrong. I’m sure it’s been stated before there are some great tutorial vids available online. Climbing Arborist, and what’s Mugg’s channel? Educated climber? Anyway, I was just passing through, carry on.
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Ah, thanks cb.... My response was entirely to South's comments.

Even your post just now was constructive. I didn't know you could get weekend-only work with a service. Thing something people do?
 
I don’t know, if you find a busy company they might entertain the idea of a temp groundman. Bust your ass dragging brush and drink in everything you see being done. Be best if it was s good credible company and not some hacks that will teach you bad or dangerous “techniques”
 
Haha I gotta say, I lol'd at your reference to human. I've watched him for a few years and wondered when/if he was going to eat it, and then...yeah.

I've known more than one individual personally in this business that are no longer with us. I get that it's dangerous. It's the whole reason behind trying to learn. I appreciate the admonition.

So is it the case that absolutely nothing can be learned about this skillset on the internet? Can't be, surely. I've cut wood for burning, for clearing lot spots for houses, and for doing storm clean up for 20+ years and was just looking to extend that skillset so that I could take on complex projects and make some cash. That's all. I love doing what I've done already, but have never done anything off the ground - climbing, buckets, rigging, etc.
 
There’s great stuff on the Internet. Some great climbers making it look super easy. And after awhile it is easy but just keep in mind you’re not seeing what they’re seeing, when August rigs out a big spar over the house you’re not seeing the years of experience that led him to tying it precisely where he tied it, you’re not seeing the potentially deadly consequences if he tied it 2 feet further out or closer in. We all started somewhere and if you go into this with no hands on training which I don’t recommend but if you do, go with small pieces until you truly understand what happens and what could happen. Best of luck. And develop a thick skin on here, lots of rough banter but an excellent group of people with an amazing breadth of knowledge
 
Everyone does this differently in different markets. I work Saturdays sometimes. And jobs are made for Saturdays, work place parking lots, for example.
 
chiselbit said:
I don’t know, if you find a busy company they might entertain the idea of a temp groundman. Bust your ass dragging brush and drink in everything you see being done. Be best if it was s good credible company and not some hacks that will teach you bad or dangerous “techniques”
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That sounds great, but one problem I foresee is working for someone for a while then going out and - whether true or not - being perceived as benefiting from their experience and knowledge, then stabbing them in the back by taking business away. I know when people do that where I work, it isn't looked upon favorably.

Is that an improbable outcome?
 
chiselbit said:
There’s great stuff on the Internet. Some great climbers making it look super easy. And after awhile it is easy but just keep in mind you’re not seeing what they’re seeing, when August rigs out a big spar over the house you’re not seeing the years of experience that led him to tying it precisely where he tied it, you’re not seeing the potentially deadly consequences if he tied it 2 feet further out or closer in. We all started somewhere and if you go into this with no hands on training which I don’t recommend but if you do, go with small pieces until you truly understand what happens and what could happen. Best of luck. And develop a thick skin on here, lots of rough banter but an excellent group of people with an amazing breadth of knowledge
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Thanks man. I wouldn't really care if I had to cut 1' sections to get one down, as long as it was safe to me and structures below. Time isn't really a factor, at least for any particular job, since I'm not doing this full time.

And, as a corollary, I have, do, and will pass on anything remotely risky, e.g., house, fence, shop, or other valuable thing below. Not worth the risk, and I don't need the money.
 
There is always something valuable below where you are cutting. Your legs and feet at the least.

All it takes is one time of getting hurt, which is easier if under some external pressure. A new guy on one of the 'other forums' got in over his head and put a tree on the power lines.

Being an Electrical Engineer shows that you're good at Electrical Engineering, or at least well enough to be successful, presumably, right?
You can be very intelligent about some stuff but not others. There are multiple ways of being intelligent; according to Gardner, there are six. Being able to use a semicolon doesn't mean I'm adept at analyzing shifting, 3d, geometric puzzles with various densities throughout the puzzle.



I'd suggest you start with learning all the terminology appropriate to the techniques you need, in order to not get into an "Ohhhh,...I figured" situation.

Are you familiar with tension wood, compression wood, top/bottom/end/side binds, kerfs, rakers, cutters, gunning sights, reaming, boring, head leaner, branch collar, targeted pruning cut, pruning dose, included-bark crotch, excluded-bark crotch, branch bark ridge, hung tree, walking it down, in the bight, line-angles, vector forces, stump shot, holding wood, dutchman? Dialed in on them?


People will gladly point you toward resources and good knowlege.
 
Of everything you said there, pretty familiar with all but about 2 of your words/phrases and some implications thereof.

If you got resources on what you believe me to be lacking in, point the way, man.

Listen, being an engineer and working around others has made me a proponent of everyone needing to take history and philosophy in college, no matter the major. Probably a little overly simplistic to reduce "being an [EE]" to simply "being good at electrical engineering", but I do support the point you are getting at. I think most people probably possess the intelligence to learn to do most things well, but lack the interest or, in some cases, the discipline (especially in recent decades). Intelligence has actually very little if anything to do with what facts/formulas/data one has memorized. And, as you stated, individuals possess the different types in different relative levels, generally.
 
I mean the whole point of this thread is trying to get info on a bucket truck rental, whether that's even feasible. That's something a person should find out if they don't know, right?
 
Do you by chance have a drone and like to make videos?

I had a photographer come out to shoot pics of me, that were going to be promo, but just part interest for her.

If you approach some local, reputable companies about coming and watching and drone-videoing, you can learn what the climber is actually doing, rather than dragging, chipping, raking, and cutting wood. Make them a promo video.

Most people don't want to train a new guy, so he can become the competition for simple trees, and no-disposal jobs.


You could try to connect with some TreeBuzzers in your area with a new thread. Introduce yourself, learn about climbing and more technical stuff, first hand.


Good experiences come from good judgment and good judgment comes from bad experience.
There is some truth there. Doesn't have to be your bad experience.


In the last two months, I've heard about a climber launched off the spar by the boss pulling too hard on the top, and someone getting hit in the face by a barberchair, in the local area. And that's being out of the loop.



FWIW, its clearly nothing personal, since you've not really revealed anything personal, right?

I've know multiple people personally who have been hurt doing tree work. Only takes once, and Sholy Hit is it unforgiving, fast, and indifferent.
 
And back to your original question about renting a bucket truck: without some ( or a lot) of the basics you’re still in harms way and really high off the ground. And in my opinion you’re more likely to try and rig pieces that are too big or not rig properly because of the limited access to the tree that a bucket has. Having said that, when I need a lift I rent a tow behind man lift (45’) or a 4 wheel drive man lift (60’) from the local rental yard and I pass that cost on to the client. I will also suggest they get bids from companies that have a bucket truck. But some clients just want me to do the work and are ok with paying for the lift. I’m up front with them about the costs.
 
Can’t find the edit button, wanted to add: not only are you high off the ground but now you’ve got an expensive bucket truck or lift under you in or very close to your drop zone. And it’s all that’s holding you up. So your rigging and cutting better be spot on.
 
I'll add to @chiselbit 's last post, just incase your not aware since you haven't used a bucket truck with tree work, no rigging off of the bucket. They are not made to handle the shock loads
 
Rigging off of the bucket sounds like major league retard stuff, to me. Wow.

The complexity of rigging seemed to me to be something beyond what I'd want to take on trying to learn and practice at the moment. I had considered using some kind of lift (if possible) for a job where the guy just wanted the tree down and didn't care if I tore the ground up in the process.

I wasn't interested initially in learning climbing either because of the perceived risk involved with climbing itself (versus the risk incurred from the only rigging part of it). I do a little rock climbing (at an intermediate level) on walls and don't have a fear of heights or anything, but learning climbing just seems like something I'm not ready to take on. I figured "bombing pieces out" from a bucket would be less complex and perhaps less risky than climbing, especially in cases where I don't have to worry about making holes in the ground.

Where is my perception/rationale off here? What would you guys consider the best option here, in terms of simplicity and safety?

I went today to look at an opportunity and ended up telling the guy "no" because it was a ~80' tall 3' diameter pine that was 2/5 rotted out at the base up to about 1/4 of the height, but still all green above that. It was in between a shop and a rental house, about 10' from the power line coming in from the road to the shop, and in the edge of a wood line that he didn't mind if it got thrown up into. Would this have been a climber or a lift job? I have no idea about climbing something like that - if it's safe to, much less actually how to (no equipment for that either). And I would think the power line would make it risky for a lift of any kind too.
 
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LordFarkwad said:
Rigging off of the bucket sounds like major league retard stuff, to me. Wow.
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It's certainly not smart, but people still do it. With not having any experience with a lift I just wanted to make sure you knew it wasn't an option.


LordFarkwad said:
Where is my perception/rationale off here? What would you guys consider the best option here, in terms of simplicity and safety?
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You can be perfectly safe in a bucket or climbing, but you have to know certain things first to ensure that you remain safe. Unless your lift is grossly outsized for the tree you will at some point get in a situation where you don't have enough reach, either side reach or height, and you'll need to take a bigger piece than normal. If your not familiar with how to steer limbs with your cuts, and not using rigging you can get yourself in a bad situation.

The best thing I can suggest for you is when your working on the ground with no hazards practice different cuts and see how they react. Know that if making a cut on the ground and your saw gets pinched, that if you were in the air you'd be stuck up there with a compromised limb (partially cut through) and a saw that won't come free. If you come down to the ground to get equipment to free it, that limb could potentially break free and drop along with your saw. Also if your saw gets stuck in a piece of wood as you finish your cut on the ground (tries to pull the saw out of your hand) know that in the air you probably just wrecked your saw. If you don't have a backup you may not be able to finish this job and be out the cost of the rental. The flip side to cutting on the ground is when you make great cuts you can see how the wood swings this way or that way depending on how you cut it. Not all wood reacts the same, but seeing how any species reacts on the ground and then starting small in the air to confirm that the current tree reacts the same is a good start.
 
I've heard of Asplundh trimmers catching tops on the boom, from an Asplundh supervisor.

Dynamic loading of cut and catch is significant to a lift.
If it's 300 pound capacity, they are probably meaning 300 pounds of operator/ equipment. Mostly, people in other industries don't release and catch material while in the bucket. If you're 175 pounds-200 pounds, and you want to hold a 100 pound chunk of wood, you're at capacity, as a static load. If you start wanting to snap a snap-cut free and momentarily hold part of the load of a log as you guide it down, you're increasing your loading.

If you think you're going to clear the bucket with a piece, and it falls and snags on you or the bucket/ boom, your increasing loading, dramatically.


Be mindful of your loads.



http://wesspur.com/videos/tree-climbing-videos.html

Mega-bundle for about $255
 
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