# Bucket Truck as a Crane ?



## Jeffsaw (Apr 18, 2011)

Can a bucket truck be used as a crane (move heavy pieces of wood) at times or is it just for a worker to stand in and work on a tree at convenient heights? They are a total mystery to me.:msp_confused:


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## fishercat (Apr 19, 2011)

*not trying to be mean but........*



Jeffsaw said:


> Can a bucket truck be used as a crane (move heavy pieces of wood) at times or is it just for a worker to stand in and work on a tree at convenient heights? They are a total mystery to me.:msp_confused:


 
Ifg you have to ask,I hope you don't have access to a bucket.


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## ducaticorse (Apr 19, 2011)

Jeffsaw said:


> Can a bucket truck be used as a crane (move heavy pieces of wood) at times or is it just for a worker to stand in and work on a tree at convenient heights? They are a total mystery to me.:msp_confused:


 
Some of them have material handlers, and are capable of lifting loads, some are just for height only. Do some research, and familiarize yourself with the differences between the two.


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## treeslayer (Apr 20, 2011)

Jeffsaw said:


> Can a bucket truck be used as a crane (move heavy pieces of wood) at times or is it just for a worker to stand in and work on a tree at convenient heights? They are a total mystery to me.:msp_confused:


 
All the best cranes have fiberglass booms........


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## 48"BAR PINCHER (Apr 20, 2011)

Jeffsaw said:


> Can a bucket truck be used as a crane (move heavy pieces of wood) at times or is it just for a worker to stand in and work on a tree at convenient heights? They are a total mystery to me.:msp_confused:



In case you are tempted to try it think on this one: A local tree service here was moving logs or really large rounds depending how you call it. Rope broke. HEavy log fell. Bucket now turned into a catapult. Chucked the operator way up and out (no safety harness either) killed him dead in the third impact. First one put him into a nearby tree 20 some feet away, second he hit some big limbs on the way down. Third was he landed on his head on blacktop.


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## ducaticorse (Apr 20, 2011)

48"BAR PINCHER said:


> In case you are tempted to try it think on this one: A local tree service here was moving logs or really large rounds depending how you call it. Rope broke. HEavy log fell. Bucket now turned into a catapult. Chucked the operator way up and out (no safety harness either) killed him dead in the third impact. First one put him into a nearby tree 20 some feet away, second he hit some big limbs on the way down. Third was he landed on his head on blacktop.


 
I'd like to see the official accident and OSHA report on that one there.......... I've seen the top 3rd of a 50 ft pine come down on top of an LR3 boom and the op didn't get flung from the bucket, and that was with a dynamic shock load, not static. Sounds like a load of bull#### to me. I however, have been wrong once or twice before.

Either way, doesn't mean an accident like that won't kill you......


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## pdqdl (Apr 21, 2011)

I sort of agree with that, unless they were not using arborist rope. Hook any of my ropes to a log, and a normal bucket truck is coming down before the rope breaks.

There could be a lot more to that story, though. Perhaps the operator put too much log on, and then cut the rope in a last ditch effort to keep from breaking the boom or tipping the truck over. Maybe the truck was tipped over until the log made it to the ground, and then they cut it loose. You would be thrown a very long way if your truck righted itself while on a long sideways reach.



There is no doubt that operators have been flung out of buckets; that's why fall protection is required.


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## DangerTree (Apr 21, 2011)

pdqdl said:


> I sort of agree with that, unless they were not using arborist rope. Hook any of my ropes to a log, and a normal bucket truck is coming down before the rope breaks.
> 
> There could be a lot more to that story, though. Perhaps the operator put too much log on, and then cut the rope in a last ditch effort to keep from breaking the boom or tipping the truck over. Maybe the truck was tipped over until the log made it to the ground, and then they cut it loose. You would be thrown a very long way if your truck righted itself while on a long sideways reach.
> 
> ...


 
The fact is that a bucket truck is rated for handling weight. The load is stated on a sticker at the base of the turret. My truck can handle 1500 lbs. and if used as a crane the operator may choose to use the lower controls as his weight is added to the total. The main problem is not being sure how heavy that log is. Over stressing a boom is very bad news and can require complete replacement. Remember that the truck and boom need inspection annually it would suck hard to find out you have a stress crack. Fiberglass gets weaker over time as it gets compressed and stretched. Large loads will quicken the process. Be careful and always lift less than the total allowable. Lift with the lower boom vertical if possible and keep the load as close to the truck as you can. Stretching is less damaging than bending.


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## ducaticorse (Apr 21, 2011)

pdqdl said:


> I sort of agree with that, unless they were not using arborist rope. Hook any of my ropes to a log, and a normal bucket truck is coming down before the rope breaks.
> 
> There could be a lot more to that story, though. Perhaps the operator put too much log on, and then cut the rope in a last ditch effort to keep from breaking the boom or tipping the truck over. Maybe the truck was tipped over until the log made it to the ground, and then they cut it loose. You would be thrown a very long way if your truck righted itself while on a long sideways reach.
> 
> ...


 
Yeah, but the way it was told, it just doesn't make sense. He knows what 3 objects the guy got flung into, but doesn't have any detail about the actual action that caused the result.......


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## pdqdl (Apr 21, 2011)

So true.

Just another example of how imperfect information gets turned into journalistic documentation through the reliability of internet information.


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## Jeffsaw (Apr 21, 2011)

Thank-you for the replies. I don't have the use of one but was wondering about their versatility.


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## ducaticorse (Apr 22, 2011)

Jeffsaw said:


> Thank-you for the replies. I don't have the use of one but was wondering about their versatility.


 
ooops


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## 48"BAR PINCHER (Apr 23, 2011)

ducaticorse said:


> Yeah, but the way it was told, it just doesn't make sense. He knows what 3 objects the guy got flung into, but doesn't have any detail about the actual action that caused the result.......


 
The rope broke or didn't you read that? That was the action. And this was not 3rd hand info. The owner wasn't saying why it broke whether is was worn, kinked, underrated etc... and I wasn't asking.


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## ducaticorse (Apr 23, 2011)

48"BAR PINCHER said:


> The rope broke or didn't you read that? That was the action. And this was not 3rd hand info. The owner wasn't saying why it broke whether is was worn, kinked, underrated etc... and I wasn't asking.


 
I did read that. It still doesn't add up. It's not the end of the world though....


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## Rftreeman (Apr 23, 2011)

ducaticorse said:


> I'd like to see the official accident and OSHA report on that one there.......... I've seen the top 3rd of a 50 ft pine come down on top of an LR3 boom and the op didn't get flung from the bucket, and that was with a dynamic shock load, not static. Sounds like a load of bull#### to me. I however, have been wrong once or twice before.
> 
> Either way, doesn't mean an accident like that won't kill you......


different forces at play here, tie the bucket to something heavy and try to pick it up then cut the rope and watch what happens......bye bye operator.....if he's not wearing a harness that is...

I know of a guy that got flung out because the bucket got stuck on a stub and the op kept pulling on the trigger and the bucket slipped off the stub and sent him to his death....


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## David (saltas) (Apr 23, 2011)

*simillar ewp acident young linesman outback queensland*

The EWP had an insulated fiberglass boom
the operator had a full harness and fall arrest but the lanyard was too long so the fall arrest did not come into play.

the hand controls were old and unguarded.

the linesman was under the crossarm and booming out.

the crossarm came into contact with the hand control and jammed it in the boom out position.

The fiberglass boom snapped and the bucket fell to the deck of the truck the operator bounced out of the bucket and landed on the rail on the back of the truck and broke is back beside the bucket 

This happened about ten years ago Queensland Australia


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## pdqdl (Apr 25, 2011)

I would guess that the deadman controls were disabled, too. Otherwise, the operator would have been able to stop the action regardless of the controls being interfered with.


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## David (saltas) (Apr 26, 2011)

PDQDL
I don't remember reading about any bypassing of controls in the inquiry.
I assumed that the operator had all of his weight on that footswitch when it happened and that it happened too quickly for him to work out what to do.

He had his hand on the control that was now pinned and then broken by the cross arm. He was probably looking at his smashed hand with a OMFG look 

the pole was steel and cement and the cross arm was steel so it was not going to move/flex like a wooden one would have.







I have seen electricians break a lot a stuff using knuckle booms in a chemical plant environment trying to get to some impossible to reach part of a pipe rack.

The recommendations were that all machines have a unbreakable guard retro fitted to them

All new machine should have the control levers set so that contact with fixed Items would stop the action. 

example you pull the lever back into the bucket to extend the boom


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## pdqdl (Apr 26, 2011)

Damn!

You guys get really serious about building your utility poles, don't you?

You use a foot switch for a deadman control? The only kind I have seen are on the control grip of a joystick controller, but I don't spend much time in a lot of different bucket trucks. A foot switch seems likely to become a problem with debris, contamination, or carelessness.


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## woodchux (Apr 26, 2011)

I got ejected out of the bucket one time years ago. it was on a large pine tree i had topped out and was blocking down the spar. i put downwards pressure with the bucket on a small dead limb to break it off. The limb did not break and i continued to cut the spar. when i got about halfway through the cut that limb snapped off and the bucket dropped out from under me so fast that i was 10 feet in the air above it and fell down into the bucket with one leg in and one leg out! i stay tied into the boom at all times but damn that was scarry chit. it happened so fast that i thought the boom had broken off the truck for a moment... 
:crazy1:


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## pdqdl (Apr 26, 2011)

I got a good chuckle from visualizing that! I'm glad you kept at least one foot in, but your gonads may not have felt the same way about it. 

Technically, I don't think you were ejected. That sounds more like abandonment to me. _I'll bet that was about the last time you did that with a bucket, eh? _

The most I ever did was use the bucket to push logs off the spar. Even that wasn't really any fun. My old bucket truck was so decrepit, you just didn't dare break any rules with it.


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## David (saltas) (Apr 27, 2011)

These poles are called "Stobie poles" after the guy that invented them.
they come from the state of south australia the driest state in the driest continent in the world. they don't have enough trees localy to make utility poles.

The "stobie" poles are fireproof, rotproof, and termiteproof. They are also "*car proof*", *causing enormous amounts of damage to vehicles.*

Stobie pole - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Bigus Termitius (Apr 27, 2011)

saltas said:


> These poles are called "Stobie poles" after the guy that invented them.
> they come from the state of south australia the driest state in the driest continent in the world. they don't have enough trees localy to make utility poles.
> 
> The "stobie" poles are fireproof, rotproof, and termiteproof. They are also "*car proof*", *causing enormous amounts of damage to vehicles.*
> ...


 
STOBIE......Australian for pole.


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## Bigus Termitius (Apr 27, 2011)

woodchux said:


> I got ejected out of the bucket one time years ago. it was on a large pine tree i had topped out and was blocking down the spar. i put downwards pressure with the bucket on a small dead limb to break it off. The limb did not break and i continued to cut the spar. when i got about halfway through the cut that limb snapped off and the bucket dropped out from under me so fast that i was 10 feet in the air above it and fell down into the bucket with one leg in and one leg out! i stay tied into the boom at all times but damn that was scarry chit. it happened so fast that i thought the boom had broken off the truck for a moment...
> :crazy1:


 
That is funny....like something out of looney tunes where you're suspended in the air for a moment with just enough time to whip out a sign before you fall.....lol!


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## Darnell (May 7, 2011)

*No pain involved just info*

I was going to give a long story that you likely would not have read. Instead I will say this. My father was a boilermaker for TVA, The weakness is not the welds but the metal close to it that recived heat and therefore changed temperment. Weight ratings are not just pulled out of the air. They may save your life.


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## ROPECLIMBER (Jan 29, 2012)

I will try to post a copy of this was not in its on thread

*[Hi my name is tammy, my husband jerry (aka) squirrel flew up out of a bucket truck september 6,2011 he died on september8,2011 at osu hospital i pray that no family should endure what his family and i had to endure he had two broken legs,a broken shoulder a broken arm a broken neck and they removed the bone from his brain because he went straight onto concrete on his head his lungs collapsed and his kidneys shut down and he passed away on september8,2011 he was one of the best tree climbers around he was 41 i wish there was more being done to keep the climbers safe we are loosing to many good men to trees, trees were my husbands life he died doing what he loved that is for sure he is dearly missed from people every where to my husband you were the best the tree men will never forget squirrel they just forgot about the family you left behind. R.i.p jerry radford jr.(aka)squirrel 4/3/1970-9/8/2011 Share 
Share this post on
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Likejustme23005 likes this./B]

My condolences too*


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## sgreanbeans (Jan 29, 2012)

Is that the same guy that's on here, named squirrel? I hope not.

My condolences as well


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## ROPECLIMBER (Jan 29, 2012)

sgreanbeans said:


> Is that the same guy that's on here, named squirrel? I hope not.
> 
> My condolences as well



Was posted by missjerryratford I think couldnt make a link cause was on another thread on bucket truck fatality, Ill look again for link,

here is another one from OSHA

http://www.arboristsite.com/arboricultural-injuries-fatalities/183617.htm#post3236881
post #9 I think,


2011 - 10/05/2011 - US Department of Labor's OSHA cites Alabama tree trimming company for safety and health violations following fatality
Paul


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## Carburetorless (Jan 29, 2012)

48"BAR PINCHER said:


> In case you are tempted to try it think on this one: A local tree service here was moving logs or really large rounds depending how you call it. Rope broke. HEavy log fell. Bucket now turned into a catapult. Chucked the operator way up and out (no safety harness either) killed him dead in the third impact. First one put him into a nearby tree 20 some feet away, second he hit some big limbs on the way down. Third was he landed on his head on blacktop.



Do you mind if I send your post to Myth Busters?


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## Tree Pig (Jan 30, 2012)

Carburetorless said:


> Do you mind if I send your post to Myth Busters?



Honestly dude I dont know why you would make lite of someone dying... If you read the fatality/injury forum below I am pretty sure that incident he is talking about was in there sometime ago. I dont see it there now I know that was posted and discussed in here. Really man use your head.


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## JRepairsK70e (Jan 30, 2012)

Carburetorless said:


> Do you mind if I send your post to Myth Busters?



i hope your rep stays red , myth bust that !!


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## Carburetorless (Feb 5, 2012)

Stihl-O-Matic said:


> Honestly dude I dont know why you would make lite of someone dying... If you read the fatality/injury forum below I am pretty sure that incident he is talking about was in there sometime ago. I dont see it there now I know that was posted and discussed in here. Really man use your head.



I'm not making light of anyone dying man, I'm not even saying that the guy didn't die. I'm just saying that it seems far fetched to me that someone could be ejected that far out of a bucket and in the manner described is all.

I'm mean it's bucket truck, not a trebuchet.


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## Carburetorless (Feb 5, 2012)

JRepairsK70e said:


> i hope your rep stays red , myth bust that !!



That's red man.


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## Iustinian (Feb 7, 2012)

I've operated bucket trucks that actually have the winch built into them, but most of the time I considered it to be a PITA because it always got in the way and made it harder to get into tight places. 

its useful if you don't have a skidloader or grapple truck to load logs with tho.

it had weight limitations too, I heard one of the other guys that had run it had blown the hydraulic lines trying to load a log that was way to heavy for it.


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