OH NO!!! NO WAY!!!!!

hitekcountry · May 2, 2005

I saw this when I was coming home today. I was several miles down the freeway when I remembered I had the camera with me, so I turned around and took this picture.

My first reaction was NO!.... NO WAY!! you'd never get me up there. To begin with they are a long way up there, I have no idea how tall those towers are, maybe a 100’. If anyone knows, let us know.

But what makes it bad is that the truck is sitting on one heck of a slope, when I first saw the truck I couldn't believe it could even get to where it was. The picture fails to show how steep that hill really is, or how steep the spot is where the truck is sitting. Looking at the picture it looks something less than 30 deg. When I was on the hill it looked somewhere between 35 to 40 deg. I can tell you I would never take my tractor where that truck is.

And then of course the fact that their up next to those high voltage lines would make it that much more exciting.

Then to add one more little thing that you would never know from just looking at this picture, where I’m taking the picture from, I’m standing right on top of the Calaveras fault. Would sure be a bad time to have a little quake. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Junkman · May 2, 2005

Those trucks have fully insulated booms and bucket, the operator is fully trained in what he is doing, and there is hydraulic stabilizers to keep the truck level. There are more safety features built into that truck than there are built into your car. The men that do that work are highly trained professionals, and as such, they know exactly what they are doing and the risk involved. That is why they get paid the big $$$$$ for doing that job.

hitekcountry · May 3, 2005

Junkman

No doubt they're well trained and more than likely reasonably comfortable with the job. I’m just saying to me it sure looks scary. And the part that really got my attention was how steep the area was where the truck was sitting.

MF1455v · May 3, 2005

I agree, NO WAY!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

If I remember right there are some pretty strong wind currents in those hills too. That is why there's wind mill farms on them on I-580 between the Bay area and Tracy. That would also add to the pucker factor.

Thanks for sharing the picture. It's cool to watch pro's at work.

wroughtn_harv · May 3, 2005

I've worked off of an eighty foot bucket. But without the high voltage, wouldn't like that at all.

I watched a pair of teenagers work ten feet off the ground the other day. The way they were holding on with one hand while trying to work with the other you'd thought they were up in that bucket and the wind was a howling and there was an earthquake. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Soundguy · May 3, 2005

Wow.. that makes me clinch up just looking at the picture!

Soundguy

Gatorboy · May 3, 2005

Hey is that POLECAT?

_RaT_ · May 3, 2005

I once knew someone that does that. He does it in the Bay area to. The lines are denergized, typically they are cleaning the insulators. The rain and dirt make a path for the electricity to ground out so every now and then they need to clean them. Depending on the voltage, the insulators can be quite long.

Jagmandave · May 3, 2005

Even more nutso are those guys who sit on the leg of a helicopter while it hovers next to 500,000 volt lines! They wear some kind of metal mesh suit and "clamp on" with a pole from the live wire to the suit - they sort of become part of the circuit! Craziness!

hitekcountry · May 3, 2005

Rat

Yea the lines they're working on must not be hot. You can barely see it on the picture but there is a ground line hanging down close to the bucket. They typically hook that on first before working on a line that is off.