Bucket truck boom mounted on trailer

[grsthegreat]

I agree with you on that one. When we do high work where I work, we are instructed to tie off in the basket OR a solid point where we are working like a ceiling truss. (all indoors). And there are times when we have to get out of the boom like when we are working on building a catwalk, that we have no option BUT to tie off on something structural.

But if you dont like tying off in the boom, if applications permit, could you use a scissor lift. Because (at least what we are told) no harness is required as long as you stay within the handrails of them. So if you are in a scissor, and technically dont even need a harness, I dont think they could fine you IF you were wearing one and tied off elsewhere.

OSHA requires a harness even in a sizzor lift. They shouldnt, but they do. They know alot of folk climb in the cage to get alittle higher. One of our guys got fined cause he jumped into a sizzor lift to move it out of the way of the loading dock and didnt have a harness on. He moved it about 5 feet. Stupid OSHA humps.

 

[2458n]

The trailer lift looks really unsafe. I would like to have the 8000 lb. truck with outriggers underneath me. Running a crane teaches you all about the leverage the boom offers, man that thing gives me goose bumbs looking at it. Out riggers need cribbing or something to offer a solid base. A local guy rents these for 175.00 a day. I do not believe that would cover the insurance.

 

[LD1]

OSHA requires a harness even in a sizzor lift. They shouldnt, but they do. They know alot of folk climb in the cage to get alittle higher. One of our guys got fined cause he jumped into a sizzor lift to move it out of the way of the loading dock and didnt have a harness on. He moved it about 5 feet. Stupid OSHA humps.

That is really odd.:confused2:

Because we use scissors all the time at work. Not only in my department, but production too. And they are VERY strict on saftey. And ANYONE can jump in one of the scissors and operate it, no harness. But the genie boom is a different story. Only trained people W/harness. And not mentioning any names, but this is a BIG time corperation. They have factories all over the states and world.

And before I started this job (inbetween jobs and laid off) only a few years ago, I was doing some work for a welding outfit that my friend worked for. We were re-enforcing the ceiling trusses in the cafeteria of a big highschool to handle an upgraded HVAC system that was 12k lbs. Several welding crews working, all in scissior lifts, and NO harnesses. And while they never came through the 2 days that I was their, they said the OSHA inspectors were all over that job.

 

[LD1]

Not really an official artical, but a google search turned this up.

Scissor Lift & Fall Protection Requirements | eHow.com

And it did make reference to something I forgot, that most MFG's dont have an anchor point in a scissor lift. And sure enough, ours at work dont. And it also says that it is against the osha law to tie off to the guardrail/cage.

 

[simoutdoors]

Just had fall protection review with State Work Safe instructor and an OSHA enforcement officer was observing. They indicated a platform scissor lifts or any lift that only goes straight up do not require a harness, unless indicated in the manufacturers' manual. Any lift that is a boom does require a harness and connection to the basket. In either case it is a violation to connect to the structure while in a lift.

 

[powerstroke444e]

I have rented the towable 50 foot lifts from RSC and no way did I feel. Safe in them at 25-30foot. The picture with one on a trailer screams death trap. I have picked up the mess from lift being miss used and it never works out good for the guy in the lift.
If you have to put it on a trailer find a old dozer trailer that is heavy not a light $500 trailer like in photo. Good luck and have the mrs check your life policies before you get in it.

 

[aczlan]

The towable 35' lift I rent (JLG T350) weighs 3400# and has outriggers that make its footprint 10' 5" wide by 11'6" long when extended.
I have never had an issue with it feeling "tippy" other than the flex from the joints/boom when I have the boom all of the way out.
If I were to setup something like that, I would copy a lift like that and make sure it weighs a lot and has a large footprint.
To give you an idea, the next size up JLG (the T500J) has a 12 ft 3.75 in long, 12 ft 7.75 in. wide outrigger bootprint and weighs 4800#. It will reach 50' up.

Aaron Z

 

[zzvyb6]

Here's the one I rent:

TM34 | Trailer Mounted Cherry Picker - Niftylift

Sensors on the outriggers tell you if one is getting unloaded. Expensive to buy yet inexpensive to rent.

 

[Mace Canute]

I spent a considerable portion of my employment running an insulated boom double bucket (55' working height...mounted on a large tandem truck) doing rubber glove work on 24 Kv lines. I guess if I didn't know better and didn't have any experience, I'd be less leery of trailer mounter manlifts.

That trailer mounted lift in post #5 scares me!

Since the topic of suspension harnesses has been brought up, this is as good as time as any to warn/remind those of you who use them about the dangers of suspension trauma, known otherwise as orthostatic intolerance. Basically put, hanging motionless in a harness can cause death after a few minutes. It would behoove all users of suspension harnesses to educate themselves about this danger. Here's just one link to a site that talks about it...Google suspension trauma for others.

Stopping fall doesn't end the danger

 

[brokenot]

We rent out trailer-mounted booms from JLG and Genie, they're incredibly popular and very safe. The vast majority of the trailer boom customers are DIY-ers that are also first time users. No accidents or mishaps whatsoever with 150 or so rental contracts written per year for those machines.

When you're on a factory-built trailer boom, you will notice some give or flex at maximum elevation/extension. While it may be disconcerting, you get used to it quickly. The reason the flex exists, is because the engineers needed to design the boom components so that they'll support the loads they'll be exposed to, (plus a fairly generous safety factor), without ending up being so heavy that the raised/extended boom section's center of gravity needs to be made up for by having the machine's base weight or dimension being impractical.

A towable 50' boom weighs about 4000-5000 pounds, and it can weigh that amount because it's equipped with outriggers to make the machine's footprint larger. A typical driveable 50' boom weighs about 15,000 pounds because it needs the weight of the machine for stability because there are no outriggers.

I've seen truck-mounted booms converted for trailer use successfully, one of the better ones was on a farm I recently visited during a service call. The farm shop was successful in their conversion mainly because the project's end weight was of no concern to them. They built it heavy because it was going to be moved around with a big tractor....not towed down the road at 60 mph.

The *problem* with converting a formerly truck-mounted unit, is that the designers of that unit weren't confronted with the set of limitations factory-made trailer boom designers have. The boom sections and all of the other componentry are likely much heavier because they were intended from the beginning to be mounted on a heavy truck chassis with outriggers.

Do the math, and stay safe!

 

[varmint]

A friend bought a very servicable 52' boom with 2000# winch capacity at an auction of used utility equipment a couple of years ago. I was amazed at the number of trucks, some with equipment bins still full of goodies, being sold cheap. If you have, or can get, a required CDL to drive them on public roads, one of those trucks might be worth the money. They were selling for $3000 or so! I think most of these trucks had been in service with power companies until just before the sale. Other than some hydraulic hose issues, I don't think he's had any problems over 4 or 5 years of very occasional use. Of course, these things suck diesel like crazy. I should add that this truck has hydraulic outlets on the bucket- very handy for your hydraulic chain saw!

 

[grsthegreat]

A friend bought a very servicable 52' boom with 2000# winch capacity at an auction of used utility equipment a couple of years ago. I was amazed at the number of trucks, some with equipment bins still full of goodies, being sold cheap. If you have, or can get, a required CDL to drive them on public roads, one of those trucks might be worth the money. They were selling for $3000 or so! I think most of these trucks had been in service with power companies until just before the sale. Other than some hydraulic hose issues, I don't think he's had any problems over 4 or 5 years of very occasional use. Of course, these things suck diesel like crazy. I should add that this truck has hydraulic outlets on the bucket- very handy for your hydraulic chain saw!

Well, there are lots of them out there real cheap, and most wont pass the fed testing that is required (at least here in Idaho & Wash) to allow them to be used on high power (has to do with insullation rating or some such thing ??), and thats why there sold. There good enuf for homeowners and electricians that don't work around the "Big" stuff like Mace did. Good for parking lot lights, etc.

Then you need a commercial license...and did i mention the Insurance. I was looking to buy one about 2-3 years ago to help in shop wiring and lights. Could get the truck cheep, but my commercial policy would triple in cost. Never mind. I just rent scissor lifts as the need arises and charge to the job.

 

[Nsaan]

I have a lead on a complete back of a bucket truck. It was a f350 or f450 that has a 29 foot Electric/hydraulic bucket lift on it. The motor and cab caught fire and burned, the shop it was towed to cut it at the back of the cab, it still has everything else on the frame, the duelly axle the sway control was mounted on the rear of the truck, not the front like some i have seen so that is good. the boom has 2 sections and the pivot is centered over the axle, it is mounted on a 9-12 foot utility bed, i don't remember exactly as it has been 3 months since I saw it last. The guy wants around a grand for it. I am thinking that if I set it up with some Hydraulic outriggers and a nice set of batteries I should be good for general lighting. I have a 1999 f450 fully enclosed utility bed that I would be pulling it with. I figure that I could get a electric actuator for the brakes and be able to use the truck axle brakes. what do you guys think... I am not wanting to spend a whole lot on the unit, but i will not scrimp on safety. I figure since it is the original truck bed and was designed to be used as such, with proper outriggers it should be safe.

 

[aczlan]

I am not wanting to spend a whole lot on the unit, but i will not scrimp on safety. I figure since it is the original truck bed and was designed to be used as such, with proper outriggers it should be safe.

You may need to add a long tongue and extra weights to compensate for the missing cab, but otherwise it sounds good.

Aaron Z