Cherry Pickers

[880]

I have to ask, why are you blokes so keen on climbing instead of using a cherry picker? It seems to me that a lot of time is wasted, especially with all the preparation with ropes etc, I fully understand that there is the odd place that they are unsuitable such as access and height, but nearly 100 percent of the jobs I encounter this is not the case. This is not a thread for flaming, but a general question. Ill include a picture for any that are not sure what I'm on about

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

On removals, a bucket truck can be a big time saver when you can get it on the tree.

Quite often, there are things that get in the way of the truck or the boom that make it impractical.

If you have a 55ft boom, what do you do with the 75ft trees that you cannot just bomb or pull away from the lift?

If you have the 75 ft boom, it can often be too big for tight lots.

You have to have the volume of work to make them pay for themselves, so if you do a lot of trim work, the bucket truck may sit around too much.

And that tree pictured looks like a 3-4 hour job if the ground crew is moving fast enough. Why have a 2 man bucket crew?

 

[arbor pro]

I'm with you about ease of use. But I also live in the fairly open, flat midwest. I'm sure most who prefer climbing over lifts choose so for various reasons including the following:

1) A good climber can access any job - a good bucket or cherry picker will always have limitations - especially in densely-forested coastal areas

2) Cost, maintenance and insurance of a lift - especially if it isn't going to be used on a regular basis

3) Some guys actually like to climb and have the experience to do so quickly and profitably. Not everyone is as out of shape and out of practice in climbing as I am. Once you get used to using a bucket, you get pretty slow in climbing - at least that's the case with me!

 

[kkottemann]

I would love one, but I have not been able to grow my business enough to buy one yet. half the work I do is inaccessable to a bucket truck. hopefully soon!!

 

[lxt]

I got a lift for the competitor factor along with wanting to save my body!! however I still climb, just did yesterday & I would of loved to be able to use the bucket on that one 60-70ft carolina polar!!

I think everything has its place, its when you try to put these lifts into an area they`re not suppose to go is when problems seem to happen!! sure enough If I put mine in the tightest area which took a little time It will either go wonderful or the occasional wasted time, horrible, still cant get it all scenario.

But I still love my lift, I still like climbing too....however a blown out knee from years ago can put a damper on climbing, funny not all the time but if I turn, twist wrong & tweak it a lil........

I figure in this trade, whatever makes you happy & hopefully you will make money(a living anyway)


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

 

[880]

Ok, thanks for the quick replies fellas, I know where you are coming from when you talk about accessibility.
I just haven't seen many on this site, someone asked why 2 would be required in the bucket, well on certain jobs 2 can be required for a few reasons such as multiple limbing, handing gear etc, but on a job such as that, an apprentice may be along for the ride, to gather some visual skills.

 

[arbor pro]

...a blown out knee from years ago can put a damper on climbing
LXT.............

Here ya there lxt. Blew out my left knee in a downhill skiing accident in 1989, put a chainsaw through my right knee (fluke accident) in 1994.

I still climb when I have to but, it's no longer a labor of love - just a lot of painful labor!

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Buckets are great if you work in an environment that allows you to utilize them. For my company they would be a big waste of money, I cant think of a job this year which would have been useful to have had one available from memory.

They are a great tool, but seem to turn the challenge of tree climbing into the mind numbing production line, I got bored real fast using them, and is it just me or do bucket guys tend to start filling the bucket they stand in with there own girth?

 

[arbor pro]

is it just me or do bucket guys tend to start filling the bucket they stand in with there own girth?

Right on the money. I'm a testament to that. But buckets aren't the only culprit. Bobcats, log loaders, heck - even gas-powered saws are all contributing to bigger waist lines in our industry (but fewer back and knee aches too).

 

[Nailsbeats]

Me and my crew will take climbing anyday. A good climber and rigger can move enough wood to keep the cleanup crew busy easily. A climber can also be anywhere in the tree anytime. No ruts, access problems, payments, huge guts, boredom, all the stuff that goes with the bucket. Now if you don't have that good driving force of a climber (or 2 or 3) than I could see the need for the bucket.

Climbers need to be in shape, with physical fitness comes your drive, we thrive on the physical challenge, even my dad at 55. Bucket work is not even as close to as physically challenging as climbing is. I realize that some of you see that as an advantage, but we can put all the wood down that can be handled without it, cheaper and in 95% of the situations. So for us no real advantage.

I do see 1 advantage for a bucket and that is working around power. We do some, but mostly residential work.

I am not trying to put anyone down that uses a bucket a lot, but for us it's just and unneeded expense. Keep taking the challenging path, stay fit, stay driven, and live long. That is of course as long as you don't become disabled or injured, then get a bucket or get out of tree work altogether, which for most with trees in their blood ain't gonna happen.

When times are tight and fuel is high, it's nice not to have that asset sitting there and the expenses looming.

 

[tomtrees58]

bucket trucks have their limits boy you men open up a can of worms may be stick with alligators tom trees :monkey:

 

[Blakesmaster]

I like using lifts and will hopefully own my own one day. I'll probably get either a genie or spider lift because you can haul 'em with a pickup instead of needing a whole separate cdl rig. Seems to me that's where the technology is heading anyway. Buckets make jobs go faster but I'm more concerned with getting work at this time than shaving a few minutes off of each job. Plus when there's 3 climbers on the crew seems everyone's chomping at the bit to run up a tree so there's really no need right now.

 

[TDunk]

I think it depends alot on where and what type of work your doing. Last year (even if i had my bucket truck then) there were maybe 3 jobs where i could have used it to speed things up/be safer/had access to. This year, every job i've done has been with the bucket truck. Mainly because they were accessable and could be done alot quicker with the bucket over climbing. I pay cash for everything i buy, no loans etc. etc. So if the truck sits for a month, all i'm out is the insurance. If i had to make payments every month, i'd have never bought it.

 

[Bermie]

NIce to use if you can but...ccess, access, access!
Teeny tiny driveways, postage stamp properties, stone walls and rock cuts, trees way in the back yard,...most of the time I could not get a lift to the tree!
COST - the amount of times I need a high lift, does not make sense for me to have one of my own.

However...
I have a friend with a 30' bucket truck, spent all day in it yesterday, perfect for pulling vines out of a dead tree, trimming the top of a 10' hedge, reducing a very iffy magnolia...
I also can hire the big ones IF there is access, did two Norfolk Pines last year with an 80' lift, tight access ($200 delivery charge then $95 per hour! before my costs!)
The next one I did I had to climb...60' to the first cut, on a golf course, no way they were going to let a lift onto the fairway!

 

[oldirty]

buckets shmuckets.


i rather be in the tree.

 

[clearance]

If I can't fall it, I like the bucket best.

Now, that being said, the man who can climb is the man, cause if you can only use a bucket, you can't climb.

On tall trees I climb out of the bucket, both worlds on the same stick.

 

[juststumps]

they work really good on stone dead trees.. uprooted trees,, leaners,, around power lines,,, tight spots...

some times the truck is to big, ,,, some times the truck is to small....

but , it's a tool,,,, right tool for the right job !!!!

 

[tree MDS]

I got to use my truck this week for a few days. I find that its both faster and a little boring at the same time. I had a big sugar maple that I could'nt even fit my 18' sling around to tie my portawrap around-big rot hole 7' up where a large codom ripped off years ago, about 75% compomised I figure, tree was a piece of cake, no fear drop hitching big tops, right on scedule with everything-nice for a change really. Also did another one at that same job, that one even went ahead of schedule, then alot of big dead over a driveway and over a bird aviary (I think thats right), those trees would have been so boring and tiring to climb-F that. Now if it did'nt cost me probably 30k per year, I'd be in. But I'm far from done climbing-next week I've got some huge willows that have been topped hanging over a sea wall down an embankment on a lake-the next tree is a stone dead sugar maple that I would not be able to climb as the bark is falling off it, I can get the truck to that thankfully, so I got the job, 4500, without truck no job. I also have a tractor so there again, no tractor,no job, its nice when the stuff pays off, a good feeling. MDS.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

The only advantage on a technical rigging job is that with a bucket you can move your redirect blocks around with so much more ease.

 

[squad143]

I could only get a bucket truck into less than 5% of the trees that I remove due to narrow or winding driveways, slope, forest density or distance from the driveway. It is not cost effective for me to own one.