# Boom failure,Lima Ohio



## Al Smith

Today,at aprox. 2:30 pm,an arborist was injured,after the failure of the lower boom section of a 65 ft High Ranger.Ernie Smith[no relation],was swinging the boom,in an over center condition,when the failure occured.He is now in the hospitol,with a broken arm,and collarbone.The boom collapsed through the top of a 35 ft soft maple,which probabley saved him from worse injuries.I got the call,about 3:00 pm,and,with the help of another tree service and a Pettybone lift,got the boom,out of the tree.Ironically,this truck has had annual boom inspection,since owned by the present owner,and was slated for one,the end of this month.Another scarey thing,I used this truck,less than a month ago,to take down the big red oak,I made a post on.I wiil send three pictures.


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## Al Smith

*Failure point*

This is a close up,of the point of failure.


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## Al Smith

*Ernie*

This is a picture of Ernie,3 weeks ago.At this point,I am in that dang truck.I will keep all posted,as to his recovery.


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## Al Smith

*Latest update*

Tom,the guy that owns the truck,just called me from the hospitol.Ernie,does in fact have a broken arm,and collarbone,and thay are checking for possible compression fracture of the spine.If none are found,he will be released,to go home.


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## wct4life

Best wishes and a speedy recovery to your friend.


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## rumination

Sorry to hear about your friend. I hope he heals quickly, and completely.


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## MasterBlaster

That's quite the bummer. He's lucky to come out of it as well as he did.


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## treeman82

I was just over at the Vermeer dealer on Monday and started talking with this other arborist who was already there when I came in. During the course of our conversation, he mentioned that he had a pretty much brand new 75' bucket truck with a chip box in the back... nice setup. Only problem I heard was that he mounted some kind of lifting sling to the bottom boom so that he can load logs into the chip box. 

Hope your friend is alright.


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## Dadatwins

Best wishes for your friends recovery. Please keep us posted as to what investigation shows up as to what caused failure. Clean separation looks like the lower boom insert failed. Friend of mine has a similiar year bucket, looks like a 1968? that I have used a few times.


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## Al Smith

*Boom failure*

When Tom bought the truck,It was not in the best of shape.The 391 cu in engine was shot,and the boom,needed some attention.The leveling cables,beleave or not,had been spliced. I helped him restring it,with factory new cables.He later had the main lift cable replaced with a new one,by an autherized repair company.Since then,he has had annual inspections.[1974 boom] The two hacks,that were the original owners,did not use the boom tie down clamp.When Tom got the truck,that is one of the first things he replaced.This unsecuered boom,which caused metal fatigue,was the cause of the failure.If you look closely at the picture,you will see the failure took place under the boom tie down reinforcement piece.This made visual inspection non effective.Due to the fact that the failure was in the bottom of the piece,it would not have failed,in an upright position.In the over center position,it put the fatigued piece at the top.So rather than being in compression,it was now in extension,thus the failure.Perhaps,with this info,another accident can be avoided.


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## murphy4trees

That makes perfect sense... 
So does the fact that he's lucky to be alive... boom failure is all over Tim Walsh's fatality report excel file...

The tree probably saved his life! Good Karma no doubt... Glad to have the pics and best wishes for a full recovery.


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## Al Smith

*Update*

Ernie has been releasedfrom the hospitol .He sustained a broken forearm.The collarbone,is not broken,no compression fracture of the spine.Cast for 6 to 8 weeks,recovery,within 6 mo.Here he is,a little dopey,from pain medication,in our kitchen.I will make a post,in the large equipment part of the site,with more pictures of the boom.


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## wct4life

What's a boom tie down clamp? Is that something only for older buckets? When we're done using a bucket, we seat them via hydraulics.


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## NeTree

Glad to hear he'll be okay!


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## MasterBlaster

> _Originally posted by wct4life _
> *What's a boom tie down clamp? Is that something only for older buckets? When we're done using a bucket, we seat them via hydraulics.  *



It usually just clamps down over the upper boom, if I remember right. It's been awhile since I flew a bucket.


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## Dadatwins

> _Originally posted by wct4life _
> *What's a boom tie down clamp? Is that something only for older buckets? When we're done using a bucket, we seat them via hydraulics.  *



The older hi rangers have a strap for the upper boom that near the controls that clamp the upper and lower boom together. They also have a pin that holds down the boom out near the cradle that holds the lower boom down to the cradle. If I am understanding and seeing the pictures correctly the boom failed at the point where the lower boom would be sitting in the cradle because of not being pinned which caused it to bounce and fatigue over time. We have a couple of older hi rangers year 1991 that I checked today and the pins were gone but the slots are there. The newer models have some springs and rubber cushions and no pins at the outer cradle, just a boom strap by the controls. Thanks for this info I will be much more aware of pinning the booms on the older trucks in the future and also let the safety officer know about a possible problem.


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## fedots

*Hi Ranger 5FI*

This looks like an Hiranger 5FI I had one fail in 89 the Hi Ranger company put a wear plate on the bottom of the boom where the boom sets in the cradle. It was made of Stainless steal. The plate being a harder material would get beat into the lower boom because of bouncing in the cradle, causing a crease in the metal. It would then crack, the crack stayed hidden under the plate until the unit went over center and failure occurred. Luck would have it nobody got hurt. If you have a unit with this plate remove it and leave it off so unit can be inspected.


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## Al Smith

That is exactly what happened to the boom .I helped Tom replace the booms,in my shop,with a set of EI booms .He is taking in to Ft Wayne Ind. tommorrow to get the booms restrung and recertified.We removed the chip box,and installed a flat bed,with the boom support further back,to give it better support.The new cradle,is lined with 3/4" rubber.Enclosed is a picture,the local newspaper took of of the show{ not much happening that day}


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## Stumper

Did Bill Gaither sing for you while he took your photo?


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## DDM

Thought I'd renew this to make sure it's kept in mind.


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## Al Smith

*Glad you did*

The truck has a different set of booms on it,and Ernie is back to work,but still hasn't got all his strength back yet .The owner of the truck,is on this site,but has been working long hours,due to the recent ice storm.Maybe he will step up to the the plate.Come on Tom,don't be shy.


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## greg carr

*check the hydraulic oil daily*

A friend of mine at a large national company went to pick up his aerial lift at the garage after a new piston was installed on the upper boom.he decided to test it out on the spot.one leg in the bucket,one on the outside step ,he brought it full stick.as soon as it passed center it collapsed from 65 feet.both legs crushed,pelvis and testicles blown apart,spine broke in i think 3 spots.
The mechanic had forgotten to refill the hydraulic oil after replacing the piston.
check under the truck every day for leaks and even if there arent any check the tank!!


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## Dadatwins

greg carr said:


> A friend of mine at a large national company went to pick up his aerial lift at the garage after a new piston was installed on the upper boom.he decided to test it out on the spot.one leg in the bucket,one on the outside step ,he brought it full stick.as soon as it passed center it collapsed from 65 feet.both legs crushed,pelvis and testicles blown apart,spine broke in i think 3 spots.
> The mechanic had forgotten to refill the hydraulic oil after replacing the piston.
> check under the truck every day for leaks and even if there arent any check the tank!!


Sorry to hear about your friend but it sounds like something else failed on that unit, modern buckets (after 1970 I think) are designed with check valves to prevent a piston collapse in the event of hydraulic failure. If the piston loses pressure it locks into place. Good idea to check the oil level, but it sounds like that unit had more than a hydraulic failure.


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## Crofter

Load check valves will be closed, but if the cylinder (or hydraulic motor) has filled on one side with air which is compressible it will not prevent movement as it would if full of oil. The Denis Treelength Delimber had a trombone that was powered via cables and a Hydraulic motor. The shaft seal could allow air in under vacumn and the motor would suddenly free wheel in vacumn. The first time it happened to us, the head went through the garage door over night and sabotage was suspected. The second time was witnessed and a narrow miss of a mechanic.No one near the controls. The safety locks were used after that and a strict bleeding procedure whenever any repairs or hose changes done. Motors were modified by changing end plate and seal arrangement.


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## NeTree

Frank is correct.


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## Crofter

Thanks Netree, I haven't heard that in a while! Dont put too much faith in the check valves. Pistons can come off the shaft inside the cylinder too. I am not familiar with that particular boom but some of them have a maze of cable, pulleys and roller chain out of sight out of mind. There is a darned good reason for periodic maintenance by someone who has the factory procedure available to him and is following it to the letter.


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## John Paul Sanborn

> check under the truck every day for leaks and even if there arent any check the tank



Pencilwhipping, or ignoring your daily PM's can get you into serious trouble.


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## nytreeman

thought I'd revive this thread for those of us,me included,with old Hi-rangers,I have the same machine as this myself


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## nytreeman

Al Smith said:


> Today,at aprox. 2:30 pm,an arborist was injured,after the failure of the lower boom section of a 65 ft High Ranger.Ernie Smith[no relation],was swinging the boom,in an over center condition,when the failure occured.He is now in the hospitol,with a broken arm,and collarbone.The boom collapsed through the top of a 35 ft soft maple,which probabley saved him from worse injuries.I got the call,about 3:00 pm,and,with the help of another tree service and a Pettybone lift,got the boom,out of the tree.Ironically,this truck has had annual boom inspection,since owned by the present owner,and was slated for one,the end of this month.Another scarey thing,I used this truck,less than a month ago,to take down the big red oak,I made a post on.I wiil send three pictures.



Scary


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## bushinspector

We have a High Ranger as well an will check the boom again tonight when I get home. Scarry stuff.


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## Jace

wow, I hadnt seen this thread...


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## Youngbuck20

we have an altec bucket truck it has a pin to secure the bottom boom and a strap w a hook on it to secure upper boom.


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## TreeSurfer

ALC is all i have to say. no seriously, we looked at other booms trucks and the fiberglassed ALC booms are what we want. great machines too and verry responsive controls.

glad he was alright. coulda been alot worse for sure. i wonder how hes gonna be lifting big saws after the broken collar bone :/


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## deevo

Wow, scary! Who in their right minds would be in a truck that freekin old anyways! Anything over 20 sketchy, 25 junk it!


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