Outriggers

[treemandan]

Aren't they supposed to be set tight on the ground?
I just came through a work zone on the road, the electric co had an occupied utility bucket stretched out over the wires, the outboard outrigger was a foot off the ground . Is that normal? I don't have a whole lot of experiance with these things but the times I have I was always nervous about things like this.
On the rental units I occasionally use I make the guys give periodical reports on just how well the outriggers are doing down there. I am thinking about drift and more than once the outriggers had to be adjusted while the bucket was occupied and aloft.
Maybe you old head bucket men are used to it I dunno but I drove through the work zone, there were a bunch of guys standing around with a guy in the bucket with the outrigger off the ground. I am wrong to think that deserves a beener to the cranium?

 

[tree MDS]

Doesnt sound too good to me. I have been in some hairy set ups though, where the boom is stretched out off the side, over center, down hill, and the guys told me that there's no weight on the outriggers on the one side. Scary.

 

[ropensaddle]

I try to keep at least one out of four on the ground.

Lol outriggers, stifflegs I have floated them more times than not. What to me is dangerous is blocking up to get level I would rather be a little off camber than have the foot slip of a block that's been raised so high the rear dullies are floating. Most trucks will on level ground at full extension hold the boom and rated load without out riggers. I know this from seeing it I was called to the office briefly and the boyz had been trimming away at full extension no outriggers. I yelled and flipped out and asked them why they could not feel the added motion and one even said he did The big thing is, if the springs broke it would be bad for certain. I have only seen failure twice and both times it was from blocking up which I seldom do.

 

[ropensaddle]

Lol outriggers, stifflegs I have floated them more times than not. What to me is dangerous is blocking up to get level I would rather be a little off camber than have the foot slip of a block that's been raised so high the rear dullies are floating. Most trucks will on level ground at full extension hold the boom and rated load without out riggers. I know this from seeing it I was called to the office briefly and the boyz had been trimming away at full extension no outriggers. I yelled and flipped out and asked them why they could not feel the added motion and one even said he did The big thing is, if the springs broke it would be bad for certain. I have only seen failure twice and both times it was from blocking up which I seldom do.

I usually just put enough down to stiffen the truck slightly if you block multiple blocks to level and the truck shifts and foot goes over off blocks it will roll.

 

[ropensaddle]

Funny thing was the two times I saw the aftermath of the blocks rolling the truck both men survived the accidents. It was on different crews but one had three blocks stacked up the blocks broke through the shoulder of the road shifting and ultimately coming out from under the rigger but the boom lodged in the fork of tree stopping it mid flight. The other the blocks sunk in mud and the truck came over in slow motion in this case you need a very wide block or doubled 3/4 plywood, block on top of that; underground springs can be bad.

 

[ropensaddle]

My rule of thumb is to jack up only enough to stiffen the work side and then just bump the counterweight side and I have never come close to roll over in 27 years. The reason is I don't lose the added support of truck and its springs!

 

[Mike Cantolina]

the manual says to raise the rear tires a couple of inches off of the ground.

That's surprising to see in a manual.

I'm not sure, but I think that's how an Asplundh employee got killed in an ice storm. He put the outriggers down on an icy hill lifting the tires of the ground and it was just like skis taking off. I don't remember all the details though.

There are practically no brakes when the rear wheels are of the ground.

 

[treeclimber101]

Its a dangerous thing to do but alot of guys float an outrigger to get the extra reach , and inch on the ground can translate into 5 ft. in the bucket ,I have also seen them float the outriggers so they can lean on the wires and leaving the tires as insulation but a foot thats pushing it , I don't think that it would stop the truck if it went ...

 

[treeclimber101]

That's what I do too but the manual says to raise the rear tires a couple of inches off of the ground. I've got two outriggers on each side of my 65ft. high ranger and I move the hyd. valve ever so easily as they contact the ground so the two are under equal pressure. Each rigger has it's own lock off valve.

If I raise the wheels off the ground reach over the front I get the old seesaw effect with my truck .. I have raised the front to level the truck on a steep driveway but I always crib the wheels .. If you float the wheels than you have the entire weight of the truck floating on four U bolts .. thats a little too hairy for me..

 

[lxt]

Ive had the one side lift many times, flipping over to go under the lines all 50+ foot of bucket straight out to the side......IT IS SCARY to look under the truck chassis & see that outrigger dancing.

Danno.....those guys were just standing around? they should of been hanging off the floating side for counterbalance I guess standing on the rim of the bucket is a NO NO......LOL




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

 

[treeclimber101]

Ive had the one side lift many times, flipping over to go under the lines all 50+ foot of bucket straight out to the side......IT IS SCARY to look under the truck chassis & see that outrigger dancing.

Danno.....those guys were just standing around? they should of been hanging off the floating side for counterbalance I guess standing on the rim of the bucket is a NO NO......LOL




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

Yea going between or under the mid lines does tighten the old butt cheeks for sure , my least favorite is the 45* over the back floating the outrigger and seeing a front tire starting to get loose as well , I worry more about blowing out an outrigger cylinder or tire more than the thought of a rollover ... I wonder if the telephone wires and pole could support the truck briefly?

 

[treeclimber101]

You are right!

The manual says to 'raise the truck about 2 inches'.

Maybe just maybe they mean the truck only not the tires sounds a little crazy but my springs and shocks have a hell of a lot of travel in them , I can raise the truck at least 8'" before I see sun under the wheels ... Seems like releasing the back tires on any slope is just asking for the truck to walk away whether you slide off of a pad lose the stable base that six wheels can contribute..I see electric trucks with derricks on them and heavy booms reaching out over the side with no outriggers at all so there are so many different specs for different booms that one method can't apply for all..

 

[lfnh]

Off-side outrigger would float, sometimes more than 6-8".
Soft ground -used heavy timbers for a big crib footprint.

Leaning on phone cable was accepted.

Leaning on tension lines - nah. Just stupid. Even back then we complied
with the 3 7 10 foot rule. 20 feet for high tension ROW.

Brakes ? Always set four trigs on the rears. Sometimes trig'd the fronts.

 

[treemandan]

You are right!

The manual says to 'raise the truck about 2 inches'.

That is a vague statement they made there. I am thinking raise the body 2 inches rather than bring the wheels off the ground unless it was a 4 outrigger system.

 

[treemandan]

Yes for sure they mean raising the truck 2 inches....not the tires. I went back and edited my original post where I said tires.

Speaking of seesawing......I've got boom trucks unstuck by seesawing and placing fill under the wheels. It takes some time but works well.

I got one unstuck: Dude put a crane on the rear bumper to help yank and I spun the tires and held the wheel just right. First attempt dip#### broke the cable on the crane cause he didn't listen and didn't put the wood in there to keep the cable off the c-channel but the second time was just right.
Still, we had our outriggers down.

 

[treevet]

Tha
There are practically no brakes when the rear wheels are of the ground.

The outriggers ARE the brakes at this point.

If we are cribbing way up (you are saying blocking Rope) then I am gonna use full half sheets of 3/4 plywood so no chance of falling off.

My 75 foot Teco won't even work if rigs aren't all the way out (or almost). Remember, the farther out they are the more stance or stability you obviously have as they go out not just down..

With my 55' Hi ranger (it only got 2 rigs) they can be barely touching down and it is rock solid. It is a little toy compared to the big guy.

We are always floating main rigs on the crane tho. Sometimes (Like LXT says ...we use ballast in the form of big honkers on the bed.

That Teco makes me nervous at times.

 

[Mike Cantolina]

The outriggers ARE the brakes at this point.

If we are cribbing way up (you are saying blocking Rope) then I am gonna use full half sheets of 3/4 plywood so no chance of falling off.

My 75 foot Teco won't even work if rigs aren't all the way out (or almost). Remember, the farther out they are the more stance or stability you obviously have as they go out not just down..

With my 55' Hi ranger (it only got 2 rigs) they can be barely touching down and it is rock solid. It is a little toy compared to the big guy.

We are always floating main rigs on the crane tho. Sometimes (Like LXT says ...we use ballast in the form of big honkers on the bed.

That Teco makes me nervous at times.

I just wanted to point out what could happen. Wheels should always be chocked anyway.

Even with four outriggers, if you're on a hill in hard packed snow you could go for a ride.

 

[treevet]

I just wanted to point out what could happen. Wheels should always be chocked anyway.

Even with four outriggers, if you're on a hill in hard packed snow you could go for a ride.

I slid a 19 ton crane with four rigs down a steep new concrete drive while boomed out to about 75 feet once and it stopped before the primaries. lWe just were standing there gawking at it. no harm done...tree man's luck

 

[Mike Cantolina]

tree man's luck

How come I never got any of that? LOL

 

[treevet]

How come I never got any of that? LOL

it'll come Mike. Save it for when you really need it lol.