Using bucket as work platform.

[3RRL]

oh come on... if climbed down, and hung from the edge, even at 8' in the air, thats a 2' drop tops....

That's easy for you to say...
But in all seriousness, if FiremanPat's friend was say like... Billy Barty then it would look like forever down there! Plus it would be tough to hang on with those stubby fingers.

 

[N80]

I've never lifted anyone in my bucket nor would I let anyone lift me. I either use a ladder or climb into it myself. And even at max height I can jump out of the bucket. Height isn't the issue, its getting hit by the bucket on the way down if there is a failure.

Now, before I got a tractor I helped my B-I-L build a cover for his cattle working area (headgates, chutes, tubs, etc). It is a steel frame structure with metal roof and no walls. Well, he gets up there and walks on the beams and trusses that are 15-18' up like a tight rope walker. That's just not my cup of tea so I was pretty useless to him. But, he put a pallet on his pallet forks of his (old!) FEL and I worked that way for several days. That was before I knew how dangerous it could be. I just assumed it was no different from working in a bucket truck.

 

[Timber]

When I lift pallet of hay and bales of chip into the loft I stand on the pallet and pallet forks to get the bottom tear. You do what you have to do

 

[AlanB]

As I was retrieving a fence post thrown down in the debris pile last night, you guys had me thinking of this thread, and thinking I can see the write up now.

As man crawls out into bucket of front loader, front wheels slip down embankment trapping and squishing man with bucket trying to retrieve $10 fence post.....

I think we all weigh out the risks and decide if we are going to take the action or not, some we do without even considering it. I still drive on Friday nights, and Sat morning's even though I am more likely to get hit by a drunk.

Oh, and bucket trucks that I am familiar with (tree guy's trucks) have a cable safety system in conjunction with the hydraulics. However as I was looking over this sign installers cable boom truck, I realized there was NO safety devices at all, and the length and weight they were lifting and hoisting with a ford starter motor and an aircraft cable scared the beejeebus out of me. And they thought nothing of it. (and they were working off the end of it in a bucket or laying on the pole)

 

[TrippleT]

Let's face it, never, should anyone use the loader bucket to lift someone. With that said, I will break the rule, and make a repair on my roof outside the radio room here. It will only be about a two foot lift. But even with that, I am going to make sure that my wife is in a real good mood. I don't won't the bucket flipped even at about two feet. At my age and condition talk about breaking all to pieces. LOL

 

[Brad_Blazer]

I had a bad experience once in a bucket truck. It was a dually service body rental with a knuckle boom. I had backed up the driveway into the corner of a cemetary and stopped when the truck was level, set the brake, chocked the rear wheels. I was testing a fiber optic cable we had spliced. There were several low lines so I had to unfold the boom and swing it around the front of the truck to get to the node. I was coming down from my third and last trip up and paused my motion right at the front of the truck. That was when the truck started rolling down the hill! The technician helping me jumped in and stopped the truck. I eased away when I noticed power lines about 6" from my back. It turned out they were unpowered tensioners insulated from the live lines.

Here is what happened. Even though the truck was level the front wheels were still on the slope. When I paused the bucket in front of the truck, the extra weight on the front wheels plus the rocking motion was enough to drag the rear wheels over the chocks. The rear wheels left skid marks the whole way. When my partner hit the brakes the front wheels stopped the truck.

I'm an engineer and fully understand what happened but I sure didn't predict it.

Brad

 

[N80]

The truck I worked on was a standard boom truck I guess. It had a big boom attached behind the cab, no knuckle, and the boom carried the hydraulic auger, a hydraulic winch at the end and a set in pinchers on the end to grab poles. The bucket stayed strapped on the cab roof until you needed it. This truck had hydraulic stabilizers that extende out each side onto the ground and typically lifted the front wheels off the ground. Rear wheels were chocked. So there wasn't much way for it to slide or roll. I do not know what type of check valve or cable saftey system it had, if any. I was too young to notice or care. We did have an auger hose bust one day when we were digging a hole for a pole. I took a shower in hot hydraulic fluid. Wasn't too hot to burn but that is _nasty_ stuff. I had to hose off at the physical plant and then go home for a shower. I had stains on my arms for a week (don't know why.)

 

[Trahere]

Sometimes , only, when we have to , rarely, not very often, but when it's absolutly necessary, I use my FEL to drink beer on!

 

[johnk]

An analagy is like using a grinder without goggles or safety glasses. You might not get a spark or metal in the eye but what if you don't have any goggles or safety glasses close by and you need to get the grinding done ASAP? Do you take the chance?? I think we all have. Maybe not the smartest thing to do but it's a test of fate. Sure feels good when you come out on the winning end because it could be real ugly the other way around.. Glad I can still see to type this.....

 

[JRobyn]

Not to hijack this thread or anything, but now who has ever used an upside-down 5gal plastic bucket as a "work platform"??!?

 

[Soundguy]

Buckets.. great impromptu seats.... and I have been pressed into standing on a bucket a time or two.. for lack of -anythin- better.

Soundguy

 

[MikeD74T]

Not to hijack this thread or anything, but now who has ever used an upside-down 5gal plastic bucket as a "work platform"??!?

I once stepped up onto a right side up bucket 1/2 full of drywall compound. Had my slippers on, went completely thru the cover. Because the petals pointed down it hurt like stink trying to pull my foot out. Did you ever try to take the cover off a bucket a legs length away. It wasn't fun, I don't stand on bucket covers anymore, however I apparently didn't learn too much cause I still stand on bucket bottoms - very carefully. MikeD74T

 

[AlanB]

Not to hijack this thread or anything, but now who has ever used an upside-down 5gal plastic bucket as a "work platform"??!?

I got to think the question would be,,

Who has not?

 

[roxynoodle]

Not to hijack this thread or anything, but now who has ever used an upside-down 5gal plastic bucket as a "work platform"??!?

Do it all the time! Easier than getting out a ladder for 1.5 feet of extra height. For that matter we can all think of people who have had ladder accidents, yet I use them. Worst one was a coworker who died after falling off one in the Ag classroom. He was an amazing teacher and we still miss him. I think of him everytime I'm doing ladder work. I put siding on my rather tall old farmhouse last summer and pretty much everyone I knew was convinced I'd have a ladder accident. I did not, but at the end was using my neighbor's bucket truck to get on siding for a top peak that was over a lower peak that jutted out. No safe way to use a ladder for it, the angle would have been too small (like 45 degrees). Well, I was cutting a piece of siding and he moved the bucket and smacked my head right into the overhang. My brand new fascia now has a dent the size of my head in it. I had a concussion and was sick for like 2 weeks. Be careful with bucket trucks, too.

 

[N80]

I've done the upside down 5 gallon bucket thing and I'll bet you my tractor that more people are seriously injured doing that than standing on a raised loader bucket. (Somebody please tell me where the smileys are!)

 

[Soundguy]

Have to go advanced to get the smilies.

On the bucket deal.. one thing works a bit to make them safer. I cut a round-ish piech of 3/4 plywood slightly larger than the bottom of the 5 gallon step laders that most of us have. This ends up working -real- well.

Soundguy

 

[tractorsanmore]

n80 , boom / bucket trucks have holding valves attached to the ( boom ) cylinders to prevent this . Most , if not all tractors with loaders , backhoes, etc do not .

 

[N80]

Have to go advanced to get the smilies.
Soundguy

 

[3RRL]

OK, so the way this thread is going the next question is...
Has anybody used the 5 gallon plastic bucket while inside the fel bucket? That sounds interesting...
Personally, I would never use a 5 gallon bucket as a step stool...I'm too uncoordinated. I have a 2 step stool for that stuff.

 

[SkyPup]

The most dangerous problem with the dang 5 gallon pail is setting it down with the right side up for stepping onto.

With only a 50:50 chance of the bucket being upside to set up on it and accidentally not into it, tripping, and falling over.....