I hate bucket trucks.

familytreeman said:
(catapult/flicked like a booger if not properly tied in with fall arrest harness)

my uncle D saw a boom fail on an operator

The boom dropped 30 or 40 ft , hit the ground and threw the op into the air, landing on the ground

D says if he had a fall arrest harness on, he would have flipped out and been immediately whipped to ground by the lanyard , which would have killed him.

-When I use lifts , I use a fall arrest lanyard , but this story always scared me about lifts possibly failing, and what good does the lanyard do you if the bucket drops?
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That makes absolutely no sense. How about maintaing a bucket truck that will not fail, set it up properly on a solid surface and then you don't have anything to worry about. Waring a harness is critical in operating a bucket truck. I wouldn't say don't wear it in case the bucket fails so you can jump out. I would say, lets make sure the bucket doesn't fail.
 
frashdog said:
Love and hate...at first I though your rant was from experience.

I only climbed for a while! Fine tune prunes to big remote technical removals . Proclaimed I'd never get a bucket. Swore I was getting a knuckle boom first! Made up all these excuses, till it made $en$e! I really looked at knuckle booms 70'-80' realms. $75,000 area, one was a rear mount refurb from a palfinger dealer. Found a couple I was about to go look at till I realized I did not want to marry:endesacuerdo: :chica:the crane, as great as it might be. I wanted a piece of equipment that I could comfortably (safe and efficiently) put employees in use of it. I still dream of a crane some day, but that machine would need to be worked often and by a dedicated operator. Wonder who that would be. We don't use the bucket every day, some times not for a week. But when we do use it, the weather calls for 100% chance for some heavy precipitate in the form of tree body parts falling from the sky.

As mentioned their full destructive potential is truly unleashed with an adept climber aboard ready to hop out and do what's gotta get done! Just imagine all the other bucket truck guys in town don't know how to climb?
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Yup, a great climber with some real good bucket skills is a killer combination
 
shaddart said:
they are loud- all day long

they are expensive as hell

they tend to encourage pruning of the outer extremes, denying the arborist the interior point of view

they crush root zones! (in yard)

they are loud (sorry, i didn't hear you the first time)

they encourage skipping the cut if the bucket can't reach

they encourage cut and hold sore elbows

the damn bucket truck is in the drop zone - again!

less peaceful for neighbors

one more way to die - (catapult/flicked like a booger if not properly tied in with fall arrest harness)

collateral cambium/ broken limb damage courtesy of boom

need 2 trucks on the job burning fuel unless you chip into the bucket which means dragging brush farther

noise all day long_ yup, the third time i've said it.


That is just off the top of my head- I could go on and on

- Paul
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Paul, lots of the elements you describe here are no longer an issue with a spider lift.
What's your thoughts on those?
 
That makes absolutely no sense"

idk the boom failed and he was thrown i guess. makes sense i thought. impact and he bounced out ?

as far as maintenance, not all guys do. some get greedy and just try to make money and not spend it

i would follow maintenance on the lift for sure, but cant even a good lift fail? they just scare me
 
It also depends on where you work? What's the environment like? City or Rural? There are positives and negatives no matter how you look at it.

For instance, when I was working in Denver, I couldn't even imagine competing with other companies in terms of production without a bucket truck. The bucket was VERY useful. But of coarse so was climbing. Yet, try busting out large contract pruning for the city in the winter without a bucket in Denver. Maybe Court can chime in, but that would be some hard, low productive work.

In the steep hills of Portland, trees were generally tall enough where the bucket would have to take the back seat most of the time. If I'm not mistaken, most companies were equipped with excellent climbers to compensate for not using buckets.

And I'm sure if you all look at your individual circumstances, you'll find that each situation is different. It's what makes tree work so fun, diverse, and interesting. By the way, I climb everything now. I prefer climbing. There are still many days I wish I could use a bucket:whistle:.
 
lifts are awesome and a great part of tree work. climb trees all day , then use a lift

it will feel like you were on skyscraper stairs all day, then get to ride the elevator. no question
 
It also depends on where you work? What's the environment like?"

great point

here in MN at 9 degrees right now your hydraulics will be pretty slow, unless you have a heated shop to store the truck overnight!
 
My mistrust in lifts has a lot to do with lack of knowledge. What are all of the load bearing elements? I dont know, never was taught, just told it had been "inspected"

If I knew ALL of the details about working parts and potential points of failure and I could see for myself I'd be all for it!
 
ill only fly the buckets of a few of the companies that i climb for, and thats only with companied that i have been affiliated with for years and know managements operating practices. I climb for several guys who have third or fourth hand buckets that they've bought as their first trucks and those i wont fly in. Too many guys with ex-utility company trucks that have material handling jibs try to use it as a mini crane, one originally designed for static picks of transformers and X-arms from ground to pole top, are now using it as a movable rigging point for rigging brush, i dont trust them. too much rides on a few components, with just a few pins and cables being all that keeps the boom aloft.

But dont get me wrong, in a clean well maintained machine I love flying the bucket when i have an opportunity, the speed you can blast down say a long row of pines along someones property line or remove a reaching oak way out over someones pool and patio without a high enough tie in point to climb off makes them incredibly applicable in the modern tree care industry.

Id still prefer to climb any day of the week though, as long as its above 5*F unlike its been here recently
 
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"What works really well, is a good bucket operator and a good climber both working the same tree. Bucket does outside and climber does inside. Climber rides bucket up to his tie in point and then ties in and starts working."

This is an awesome combo !
Also a great way to train a climber.
 
MikePowers321 said:
It also depends on where you work? What's the environment like? City or Rural? There are positives and negatives no matter how you look at it.

For instance, when I was working in Denver, I couldn't even imagine competing with other companies in terms of production without a bucket truck. The bucket was VERY useful. But of coarse so was climbing. Yet, try busting out large contract pruning for the city in the winter without a bucket in Denver. Maybe Court can chime in, but that would be some hard, low productive work.

In the steep hills of Portland, trees were generally tall enough where the bucket would have to take the back seat most of the time. If I'm not mistaken, most companies were equipped with excellent climbers to compensate for not using buckets.

And I'm sure if you all look at your individual circumstances, you'll find that each situation is different. It's what makes tree work so fun, diverse, and interesting. By the way, I climb everything now. I prefer climbing. There are still many days I wish I could use a bucket:whistle:.
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Who were you with in Denver Mike? I climbed every thing for years in Colorado Springs until I started working for one of the bigger companies that had City Forestry contracts. You cant do production work with out a bucket. Now that Im getting older I really enjoy having a 55' truck for about 75% of the removals I do. Just knocked out a big job taking down 10 big cottonwoods in a trailer park. It took me a week and a half using a bucket to speed line everything out to the chipper. If i would have had to climb them all I would be working on tree number 7

Personally I like to be well rounded in everything I do. After 15 years there is very little that I havent done in the tree care industry
 
kstreehuggerco said:
Who were you with in Denver Mike? I climbed every thing for years in Colorado Springs until I started working for one of the bigger companies that had City Forestry contracts. You cant do production work with out a bucket. Now that Im getting older I really enjoy having a 55' truck for about 75% of the removals I do. Just knocked out a big job taking down 10 big cottonwoods in a trailer park. It took me a week and a half using a bucket to speed line everything out to the chipper. If i would have had to climb them all I would be working on tree number 7

Personally I like to be well rounded in everything I do. After 15 years there is very little that I havent done in the tree care industry
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I worked for Ironwood Earthcare in Denver

You got it man, right tool for the job. I understand peoples safety concerns with buckets. I learned to run the bucket and climb at the same time; and my cutting and rigging techniques were increased dramatically by working in the bucket. I was more comfortable trying new things in the lift.

Cranking a 25 foot long piece of horizontal wood up to its rigging point would have scared to shit out of me when I was just learning how to make proper cuts! So, I figured a lot of the details from trail and error in the bucket, then it was much more effortless transition to technical climbing/rigging.

So thank you bucket truck, for helping me become a better climber.
 
Yeah I don't know why I mentioned being flicked like a booger- that wouldn't happen unless you really f***ed up. The incident I heard of the other day was a tree or large part of the tree falling onto the actual bucket, pushing it down, then slipping off creating a catapult effect, and the operator was not clipped in to it. Also heard of another where the guy was trying to remove a stub that got buried in the lawn by tying it to the bucket and trying to lift up, the boom busted under load and slapped the guy to the ground., Both guys died but they were messing up bad.

I understand the practical reasons of why it's such a great tool- I just don't like them.

I like being the guy in the company who gets sent to do the hard trees that the bucket won't reach.

I also worry that sales reps start looking at everything as bucket work, and don't know how to bid to get the climbing jobs.
 
To add to what someone else mentioned before, there is a guy around here that uses his utility bucket with winch, not only to lift logs, but to take tops!!!!!! I don't even care about the logs, but when I say tops, I mean big ass tops. I was stunned the first time I saw it. Crazy man
 
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MikePowers321 said:
To add to what someone else mentioned before, there is a guy around here that uses his utility bucket with winch, not only to lift logs, but to take tops!!!!!! I was stunned the first time I saw it. Crazy man
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There was a guy advertising a bucket truck for sale for 50K dollars. In his ad he was bragging about all the things he has lifted with the winch on the end of the boom. Truck was in good shape, 4x4. I just couldn't image the abuse it went through with all the stuff he was lifting. I see it's still for sale and the price has been lowered slowly over time to 35K. I wonder if he realizes that no one will want it when he has lifted so much with the boom.
 
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