Jeffsaw
ArboristSite Operative
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:
Bucket Truck as a Crane ?
- Thread starter Jeffsaw
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fishercat
Addicted to ArboristSite
not trying to be mean but........
Ifg you have to ask,I hope you don't have access to a bucket.
Ifg you have to ask,I hope you don't have access to a bucket.
ducaticorse
Addicted to ArboristSite
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.
treeslayer
Addicted to ArboristSite
48"BAR PINCHER
ArboristSite Member
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.
ducaticorse
Addicted to ArboristSite
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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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.
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.
DangerTree
ArboristSite Operative
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.
ducaticorse
Addicted to ArboristSite
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.......
So true.
Just another example of how imperfect information gets turned into journalistic documentation through the reliability of internet information.
Just another example of how imperfect information gets turned into journalistic documentation through the reliability of internet information.
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Jeffsaw
ArboristSite Operative
Thank-you for the replies. I don't have the use of one but was wondering about their versatility.
ducaticorse
Addicted to ArboristSite
ooops
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48"BAR PINCHER
ArboristSite Member
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.
ducaticorse
Addicted to ArboristSite
I did read that. It still doesn't add up. It's not the end of the world though....
Rftreeman
Addicted to ArboristSite
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....
David (saltas)
Addicted to ArboristSite
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
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
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.
David (saltas)
Addicted to ArboristSite
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
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
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.
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.
woodchux
Addicted to ArboristSite
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:
:crazy1:
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