spider lift

[keithk]

i am looking for some feedback on spider lifts. looking at getting a teupen leo 23 gt. i work for a planned community that has 1000 acres of open space. some of the parcels are only 30 ft wide between houses. also have over 60 miles of pathways that are 8 ft wide but with tight turns. trying to decide between bucket truck or spider lift. any help would be great. thanks keith

 

[jim454]

Service for the Tuepen can be a nightmare. I had the 15gt and the service tech said he did more work on the 23gt than any of the other Tuepen lifts. I don't know if you can even find service for them on the east coast.

PM me if you want more info.

 

[MisterSir]

I have a 2006 15gt and it is the best machine I've ever seen. I've never needed to have it serviced by their techs; just regular maintenance that was either done by myself or at a local shop.

The 15 will make much tighter turns than the 23 because of the difference in length. Side reach is somewhat limited and the booms are slower than a bucket truck but the versatility in getting into small areas more than makes up for that.

There's a dealer/service department in Charlotte, NC.

 

[treegig]

My company is the west coast distributor/technical support. We went with a 23gt many years ago, well before we got more involved with Teupen, and that first model we had was a bit troublesome. Lots of little issues that kept keeping the machine down. Many of those issues on the earlier models have been dealt with.
But the back yard access was a revelation (see dead rotten trees, giant hedges, etc.). Even the front yard stuff we do with it was not possible with normal bucket trucks because tight spaces and soppy lawns. We upgraded to the version with hydraulic track height adjustment and love it. You have to do your regular cleaning and scheduled maintenance on these machines though, you can't get lazy or you will have to get a technician to work on your machine.
We got rid of our bucket truck and go with the Teupen for all of our lift needs. My guys love it, and we have contracted with some of our competitors to work on trees that were unclimbable and inaccessible with a regular bucket truck.

 

[Jeff_Cochran]

A guy in Memphis just got fried in a mobile areial platform. Sucks the lift caught fire and he had to jump out at forty feet. Told that dude MAP's weren't for tree work; he didn't listen. If they were designed for tree work a ground man could operate them with a pole pruner from the ground and be made of fiberglass. Seen a lot of men get hurt because of a MAP.

 

[treegig]

What kind was it Jeff? And what were the circumstances?

 

[brendonv]

They are irreplaceable for back yard access. I used one for two or three years three days a week.

In that time I think he went though three computers, 8,000$ to repair faulty wiring, and plenty of other things in between. This was the 23gt or whatever the letters are.

Slow as molasses in travel speed, and operation speed. Power of the tracks was terrible for subtle inclines. Not going over center kind stinks too.

They have their place, but they need more time to get beefed up for tree work. It sure was nice not climbing though, once a month I'd throw on the saddle working there.

 

[S_Laug]

Has anyone used a mini lift from Man Lift Mfg.? They have a lift designed for tree work, insulated 79ft working height.

 

[UP Equip]

A bit late but hey...
Check us out here: www.upequip.ca
North and South american distributor for Easy Lift series.
We provide unequaled phone support, since 90% of the problems with our machines are operator based.
Get a lift, not a pain!