I only climb. I have been in a bucket a couple times. I've thought about getting a bucket truck. even a small one. just for those pain in the azz limbs that take a lot of brutal climbing. whereas a bucket could get them in minutes. the thought of some of the potential hazards from a bucket scare me a little. so where do you guys feel safer? in a tree or a bucket?
do you feel safer in the tree on in the bucket?
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In a tree. I'm faster and more efficient on a rope than with a bucket. It's funny, I can swing all around when tied in, but you put me on an extension ladder for an extended period of time and my legs will start shaking in no time.
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beastmaster
Addicted to ArboristSite
Lot depends on the tree. Climbing a hazard tree that makes your back pockets come together each time you cut a branch, I would feel safer in a bucket, but day in day out, I'm pretty comfortable climbing trees. With the right access though, you can kick ass with a bucket if you know what your doing. I always find my self climbing out of the bucket anyway to reach those hard to get to places. Rideing the sky has its own dangers and pitfalls and its easy to get to dependent on using the lift and complacent with safety. A good bucket baby can do the work of several climbers, but if all your doing is moving around up there and re-positioning for each cut its a waste of resources. Get in a 60 ft bucket and go streight up as high as she goes and look down. It's aa little scary.
CanopyGorilla
climber....sawyer
i do both a lot! I spend about 50% climbing and 50% in bucket. I don't really like using the bucket for pruning but love it for removals. if you learn how to use it correctly there is no way a climber can be more efficient!!!!!!!! I throw almost every limb into one pile and a mini skid or log loader can grab it. Which one is scarier? Neither, quite being a *****!
CanopyGorilla
climber....sawyer
P.S. I ride a 68' boom
imagineero
Addicted to ArboristSite
I generally feel safer in the tree for sure. There are some jobs you just can't do without a bucket though, and on some jobs the bucket is waaaaaaaay faster. I've been up as high as 100' in a bucket and it sucked. Wet spaghetti for sure. I hire in a subbie with a good heavy duty 80' two man bucket and he's an ex tree guy retired now but heaps of tree sense and amazingly smooth on the controls. Even at full extension he can move that thing half an inch. I wish he'd buy a crane, I can't find a crane guy with half the skill he has.
thisisfluff
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I operate a 55' spider lift and a 60' bucket as well as climb. With time they all feel safe, it's all about being confident in your setup. Once you become efficient operating a bucket you will appreciate the time and energy it will save you.
When I'm in the bucket, I always think that the engineers have done all the testing, so I can't push it farther than it is intended to go. So if I've done my job in ensuring a solid set up (outrigger pads etc) then I feel safe. I'm also comfortable climbing spurless hanging off a rope, but for some reason I'm uncomfortable on spurs, probably because I don't do it enough.
yeahbuddy24
Go big or go home.
Confidence in the setup for sure. I do feel safer in the tree, being in the bucket with nothing but airspace around you can feel sketchy. But the same situation with the bucket inside the tree ( pruning or whatever) is usually no prob.
treeclimber101
UNCLE BUCK
I can tell you that I have had a lot less injuries running the truck .... That being said I always enjoy doing a tree without a truck , but being decent in a tree am awesome in a bucket I prefer the truck for quickness
treeclimber101
UNCLE BUCK
I will say that every truck has a learning curve , I've run the identical buckets and there different from each other , it takes a day or so to get jamming and working together with the truck .
Do you mean will they not come crashing to the ground if the hydraulic lines blow? Yes, you will be stuck in the air, if the lines blow and shoot hydraulic fluid everywhere and you can't get back to the ground before you run out of fluid.
If you work alone, you should always have a line in the bucket that you can rappel out of the bucket with. If you have a groundie, make sure they can use a throwline well enough to get it to you.
sgreanbeans
Treeaculterologist
Depends on the bucket and the tree. I would trust a big ol healthy oak more than a brand new truck, and I would trust a rickety ol rust bucket over a ailanthus.
FanOFatherNash
ArboristSite Operative
I own a skyworker boom
thats only reason i feel safer in the tree
treeclimber101
UNCLE BUCK
I like trunk work in a bucket sure is nice to not be slammed all around like a red headed step child when your hitching big wood ... And I don't care how good the rope man is your gonna have the taste knocked outta your mouth at least once
Up in the tree for sure. Never been in a bucket to remove or prune a tree (was in one to help a guy with some Christmas lights once, didn't like it). Until a few years ago, was so comfortable in the tree I would climb without gear, free climbing with a saw running and never had a problem. With gear, I have almost zero fears. I don't like all of the uncertainty of a bucket truck. Lines blow out, outriggers give way and the rig rolls, by chance too much weight in the bucket, unseen cracks in booms causing failures, etc. Never fell out of a tree, never had one fall over because of my weight, never snapped a rope, never had an injury. Nope, up in the tree for sure.
MasterBlaster
TreeHouse Elder
Be it a rope and saddle or an aerial lift, it boils down to what I said earlier - just trust your equipment! Fear isn't in the equation.
