Bucket trucks users or climbers

[PTS]

I am curious to see how many members on the forum are using bucket trucks and how many are strickly climbers.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

at least in this area, the perponderance of small companies operate sans-bucket.

They help speed some things up, but there are few jobs that only a bucket can do, and many that only a climber can do practicaly.

 

[clearance]

When doing big removals like 100-140ft firs its great to have a boom truck, the guy in the bucket can strip the branches and you can chip them. Then you can put on your belt and spurs and max out the bucket where he had to stop. Throw your strap around the tree and climb out of the bucket, go up the next 40-80ft. Then he cradles the boom and chips. Gives both guys a bit of a break, climbing out of the bucket the first time is kind of scary. Or on a row of big trees the climber can get moved from tree to tree. Kind of frowned upon for safety reasons but it sure works hot. Do you guys do stuff like that? Is it allowed?

 

[Ekka]

The best for me was working out of a bucket truck chaining sections for the crane, man that tree was gone in no time, ???? that was fun.

 

[NeTree]

Both. Since we get alot of hazard trees, it's nice to have the alternatative to tying into them, when you can get the truck in.

 

[P_woozel]

A bucket truck is a needed peice of equipment, if for no other reason than to be used as an elevator to set climbers in trees. Also it is a risk reducer on decayed trees. Use it for chunking large diameter stems etc.

 

[PRUNER 1]

weve started using them more now for dodgy tds but thats more for new hse guidelines in blighty. i prefer climbing but u cant use a bucket for pruning work

 

[BranchWalker74]

I am a climber, mainly just because at this time in my business we are too small to afford a bucket truck, and that huge insurance that goes with the truck. Also my dad was seriously injured from a bucket truck, when the boom snapped in half. He fell about 50 feet on his head. They say that the boom was not ex rayed, to reveal cracks. The company he worked for cut a lot of corners in those days.
This may be a message to some of you guys that are in small to medium sized tree businesses. To never ignore safety regulations like that one. Your workers are worth the extra money you will need to spend.

Mark