# 1979 Bucket truck



## FanOFatherNash (Feb 2, 2011)

1979 International forestry bucket boom truck chipper - eBay (item 220732689011 end time Feb-02-11 17:52:08 PST)

This year I decided to go out on my own. Would be nice to start out with a bucket truck.

But Dump Truck w/ a Chipper seems more reasonable.

I have some reservations of buying such an old bucket truck with price so low, when seems like avg price for older truck is in the 14k ish range.

What do you guys think ?


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## motor (Feb 2, 2011)

Do you want something to work with or on. Because if you want something to work on that is your truck.

It looks like a skyworker 1045 and would only be a 50 ft working height. You will have trouble finding parts for the lift, especially the low pressure control parts which it sounds like it has.

Try to go for something newer that you can at least order parts for if need be


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## bulldoglover (Feb 2, 2011)

I would love a bucket truck, but I would pass on this. I agree that this will be a work on truck not a work truck. Keep looking, you will find something worth bringing home.


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## TRISTATEFORESTRYEQUIPMENT (Feb 2, 2011)

would you trust your life 55 foot up in that old truck ? i wouldnt. good luck in your search for a good truck, keep in mind, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR !


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## wheelloader123 (Feb 2, 2011)

*Bucket truck*

I have an older bucket truck I think you might be interested in. It too is a 1979, but it is a Ford F700 with a HiRanger 5FI 52 PBI boom. It has a 370 V8 gas enging, 5/2 speed transmission, air brakes, and is in very good condition. It was originally owned by Georgia Power and was then transferred to the University of Georgia (from whom we purchased it last year). I bought it for an extra truck on a particular project. I am only asking $ 6,800. Other than possibly a paint job the truck is quite ready to go. Send me a message and I'll give you my email and phone numbers. Thanks!


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## lxt (Feb 3, 2011)

It just absolutely amazes me that anyone would even consider purchasing a buckettruck that costs as much as a riding lawnmower & to boot, think they can go out make money with it, be compliant, safe & have trust in it to fly a boom thats over 20 yrs old!!!!

truly this is why our trade suffers, a bunch of idiots with enough money to buy JUNK wanna start a biz.......If you are even considering a bucket over 10yrs old you are asking for trouble..............why do you think they are so cheap? 

the maintenance on a Bucket truck must be done by a certified mechanic for aerial lifts!!! to keep the thing up to par is very expensive!!!! So when I read of guys on here even considering buying/let alone using one of these heaps of scrap.......its a recipe for an accident that will make headlines.

Not trying to be mean but..........$6800 for a buckettruck, C`mon??? that thing is nothing but a DOT nightmare waiting to happen!! & those fines arent cheap fellas!




LXT..................


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## FanOFatherNash (Feb 3, 2011)

lxt said:


> .If you are even considering a bucket over 10yrs old you are asking for trouble
> 
> 
> 
> LXT..................


 
so your saying no bucket truck pre 2001 is not road worthy?


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## ducaticorse (Feb 3, 2011)

FanOFatherNash said:


> so your saying no bucket truck pre 2001 is not road worthy?


 
Mr. LXT is not saying that it's not "roadworthy", he's saying that a bucket with a lift that old may not be "airworthy". 

Although I don't agree with the 10 year old buckets being junk, I would be extremely weary of purchasing a 20 yo unit. Companies stop making parts, there are many things that can go wrong. 

Do some research here, and elsewhere for that matter on the subject of older bucket truck purchases. Make an informed decision with the FACTS gathered on your part, and not on the OPINIONS of others.


EDIT EDIT EDIT...... 

That particular truck you're looking at is one of the biggest POS's I've ever seen. The guy that is selling alludes to that same idea. Holy crap.


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## TRISTATEFORESTRYEQUIPMENT (Feb 3, 2011)

just a thought to chew on, i just sold a 2001 gmc 7500 with a seized motor for 6500 to a local tree guy, had a 60 foot high ranger on it. after he puts a motor into it he'll be into the truck 8500 bucks. thats a killer good deal. just think, how sucessful can you be with a 1979. the truck was made 4 years before i was born ! customers look at your equipment . operating your business out of a antique bucket truck will say alot about your business


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## ducaticorse (Feb 3, 2011)

jo6wo said:


> just a thought to chew on, i just sold a 2001 gmc 7500 with a seized motor for 6500 to a local tree guy, had a 60 foot high ranger on it. after he puts a motor into it he'll be into the truck 8500 bucks. thats a killer good deal. just think, how sucessful can you be with a 1979. the truck was made 4 years before i was born ! customers look at your equipment . operating your business out of a antique bucket truck will say alot about your business


 
Come across something like that again, let me know.......


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## lxt (Feb 4, 2011)

ducaticorse..................hit it right on!!

its not that the vehicle part of the truck at 10yrs old is bad..........its about who owned it & is the boom safe?

Heres a story, short to the point!!! was told this by a Davey safety man & backed up by an Asplundh GF.

Asplundh buys as cheap as possible, they dont want maintenance, they get rid of their buckets at a predetermined time...regardless of condition! & usually when things are getting ready to go bad!!

Davey......buys a much better & more expensive package than asplundh.......Davey operates on the thought of milk it till theres nothing left!! thats why they buy Internationals or/Ford/GMC with Cat motors & all the suspension bells & whistles!

Lewis tree buys mostly AL of C which is a very good boom! anyone who has ever worked for several companies will tell you.............Asplundh`s buckets are/ were scary! not as stable as what Davey would use......& the fatality/failure rate shows it!

most of the buckets I see being sold are former asplundh buckets with an all white paint job...............those things have been beaten down BAD!! Ive seen the bucket used as a crane, the knuckle with a snatch block to act as a yarder while another truck pulls the rope going through the block attached to the knuckle to retrieve wood & debris. these are 1996 - 2003 trucks....so imagine what something older has been through!!!!!


Be safe!


LXT........


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## wheelloader123 (Feb 5, 2011)

You guys are full of crap!!! I have run a very successful company for 20 years, the entire time running trucks and equipment that is sometimes well over 10 years old. It all gets inspected and services as needed annually and it is exceptionally well maintained. If you prefer to constantly be paying for equipment that is certainly your call, personally I believe it makes much more sense to get it completely paid for, maintain it well and maximize its earning capacity. The average customer doesn't know the difference between a clean, well painted, well maintained 5 year old truck or a 20 year old truck. If it is washed and doesn't leak oil on their driveway- It makes no difference. I am also in the South were we have no salt corrosion, the underside of even a 30 year old well maintained truck can look as good as a five year old truck in the north. I also run the non-over center hirangers, which have an incredible reputation for safe and reliable operation for decades!


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## ducaticorse (Feb 5, 2011)

wheelloader123 said:


> You guys are full of crap!!! I have run a very successful company for 20 years, the entire time running trucks and equipment that is sometimes well over 10 years old. It all gets inspected and services as needed annually and it is exceptionally well maintained. If you prefer to constantly be paying for equipment that is certainly your call, personally I believe it makes much more sense to get it completely paid for, maintain it well and maximize its earning capacity. The average customer doesn't know the difference between a clean, well painted, well maintained 5 year old truck or a 20 year old truck. If it is washed and doesn't leak oil on their driveway- It makes no difference. I am also in the South were we have no salt corrosion, the underside of even a 30 year old well maintained truck can look as good as a five year old truck in the north. I also run the non-over center hirangers, which have an incredible reputation for safe and reliable operation for decades!


 

WTF does the integrity of a boom have to do with the underside of a truck? Wait, I know, not a damn thing.

There very well may be units over 10 years old that are fine to fly, I know, because I have one. If you've been in the business for 20 years, you know some of the booms we speak of have half lives, and ALL of them need to be rebuilt at one time or another. 

Did you even look at the total POS this guy was talking about?

I'm sure you have great equipment, and maybe someday, I'll buy some of it. But to call us full of crap and than following it with the rambling story you did, does you or your business no justice. 
And I don't know what assclown customers you may have, but I damn sure know the difference between a 5 year old truck, and 20 year old truck. To assume otherwise is an insult, and exactly why I don't purchase "clean, dry, whitewashed rigs" from dealers such as yourself.


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## lxt (Feb 6, 2011)

ducaticorse said:


> WTF does the integrity of a boom have to do with the underside of a truck? Wait, I know, not a damn thing.
> 
> There very well may be units over 10 years old that are fine to fly, I know, because I have one. If you've been in the business for 20 years, you know some of the booms we speak of have half lives, and ALL of them need to be rebuilt at one time or another.
> 
> ...


 
Absolute verbal masterpiece right there Ducaticorse, couldnt have said it better!!!

wheelloader..........if you are meticulous in your equip. service then there is nothing wrong with a 10, 12 or 15 yr old boom!! Boom is the key word here.

but if you havent had it "Professionally" inspected....the boom that is? then it dont matter if your truck doesnt leak oil.......especially when the booms on the ground with the operator being put on the gurney!!

I have my lift inspected & Ill tell ya right now at 15yrs...regardless of condition Im replacing it (I have a 2001 Genie).....as a matter of fact most lift Mfg regarding the type of lift I use...state 40,000 hr life on the unit!!! But hey, its your life.....I would hate to come in & finish a job for a co. that had a boom failure....could you imagine how a homeowner would regard "any" company after something like that happened at their residence??? JUST BE SAFE!!! & any one who thinks a 15+ yr old boom is fine.................without a certified inspection is "full of crap"




LXT..............


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## Mikecutstrees (Feb 6, 2011)

I agree. Get the boom certified. Just had mine done, 99 high ranger. 99 GMC 7500 w/ forestry body. Runs like a top and the boom is in excellent shape. It wasn't $6500 though. A truck that starts out as a 90-120K truck doesn't have much left when its only worth 5k. Pretty much junk, like a $500 car. 

Mike


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