Bucket Truck Safety and Skill for Beginners?

rfwoody

Treehouser
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I've never been in a bucket truck before.

I'm pondering the idea of trying to get a job with an established tree company.

I've seen some videos on guys doing tree work out of bucket trucks and it looks like the main danger would be to rightly judge the reaction of the limbs you are cutting to make sure they didn't come back and strike you or the bucket or boom or truck, etc.

Now, just from a tree *removal* aspect is this all there is to it or am I totally naive and over-simplifying it?

Thanks!
 
Yessir...you are pretty much totally naive. And please don't think me overly harsh, but I feel I must add...again.

Robert, you are obviously a nice fellow. You are more than welcome here. But maybe consider doing yourself a favor and find another less difficult and potentially dangerous way to add some to your retirement income.
 
That he is, Butch...and that is a good thing. I'd just hate to see that enthusiasm broken upon the rocky shoals of reality without at least throwing up a gentle warning.
 
And my first work day climbing I was spurring a 40"dbh, 225' oldgrowth Douglas fir.

We both survived, obviously.

But I'd bet neither of us were more than a little lucky to have done so :).
 
First of all, you have to do one of two things. You either need to buy a bucket truck or you need to find somebody who is willing to stick you in their bucket truck with zero experience or training.

I worked on the ground under bucket trucks for 2 years before I was allowed the chance to run one. Then when I went to work for Davey I lied and said I had been running a bucket for a year, so they let me use theirs once in a while. The next time I was in a bucket was when I bought my own.
 
Bucket work is infinitely easier on the body Robert and in most circumstances speeds up production considerably. Rigging is basically the same except that the boom and truck below creates a new obstacle and the boom and bucket itself affects manueverability in the tree. There are infinite variables in buckets from boom length to bucket design. If you have a boom that is too short for most of your work, you'll be setting up directly in the LZ. A boom too long and you're more concerned with the knuckle or elbow striking a house or getting into utilities behind you. A lot of other differences but there's a couple.
 
In Ontario, Canada you need a working @ heights cert.

Woody sure seems hell bent on cuttin' trees. What did they do to him? ;)
 
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  • #13
Thanks everyone! :)
Thanks for all the harsh reality and practical information about it.

I usually always want to know and think the worst about things which tends to greatly annoy my sweet wife.
And which is why I wasn't as beloved in my former job career as I might have been.

So I really appreciate the worst you can throw at me :)

And thanks a lot everyone for taking the time to read and reply.

And I really do think this kind of work in some form or fashion would be more fun and profitable than working at wal-mart, at least for the time being.

... even my current job I'm trying to get done (working around my truck woes) of cleaning up the silver maple left by another tree company on the curb of my customer's yard for (now) $190 taking 6 or 7 trips --- working outside and some/good exercise.

So you have given me something to start with in thinking about the bucket truck. Thanks!

Also I have begun studying arboriculture and trees, etc. Very interesting.
I found what appears to be a college course online.

https://www.educatedclimber.com/dr-ed-gilman-teaching-series/

haha, and you are right, Burnham... I'm not going to get anywhere surfing the web!
...one reason I'm getting ready to pack a couple of chainsaws and PPE in my car trunk and drive over to the lady's house and at least cut and stack the rest of the silver maple in manageable chunks so when I do get my truck back I can get it loaded more quickly and easier.

I guess the topics in this post here are sort of scattershot but ALL the feedback and information, criticism, EVERYTHING from you tested, experienced professionals has supercharged my understanding (still not much but a LOT more than it would have been) of this kind of work.

So still hope to hear more info on bucket truck work and safety..... and especially THANKS to anyone who takes the time to read this thing!

Robert.
 
My first day I was in a 60' Hi-Ranger, lol.

I was all like... cool!

My first time was a 75' and it wasn't cool.

Neither was the second time. Then I found an operator that knew tree work, that was cool. \\:D/

Only 90ft after that. Used them for years but the work changed and no call for them now. Safety "police" would have a fit if they saw what we did then, lots of things have changed in the last few years.

And.
oversimplifying it.
Yep.
 
Through my career I haven't spent much time in a bucket at all. I purposely never liked having the bucket truck below me as one more thing to watch out for. I have rented a tow behind lift for a couple of jobs and used a snorkel lift in a few places where they were a 'necessary evil'. One of the sure things in life is that things change. So recently I have been considering buying a spider lift as my next big purchase to deal with the large volume of dead pine trees in my area that become unsafe to climb and to make it more easy to do nice exterior prunes on trees further out into my working life.

A spider lift came up for sale four hours from me in Redding CA and I went and tried it out to see if it was the right fit for me. Amazing to be able to effortlessly glide/fly here and there and get work done with so much ease.

I could see you doing this Robert if you were committed to it. But, as a part of your mental exercise of looking at the worst case scenario .........probably think more in terms of the life that a person has who survives a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge, or the guy who went to commit suicide with a shotgun and survived it with a face removed etc. If thinking of something like that as closer to worst case scenario you are wanting to go forward....then I could imagine you doing it.
 
So then my thought of the best course of action would be to find a good "safety first" oriented tree service who sees your dedication to work, showing up on time, etc, etc, as so valuable that they are willing to train you in the safe use of a bucket truck.

Danger....22 or 62 years of age you can get hurt just as easily doing the wrong things.
 
That Ed Gillman online info is some of the best in my opinion and is the very same info he used in his college courses. When he retired from university life as a professor he put it up for free.
 
If it turns out that Robert is going to go forward with tree work (bucket work) regardless of what people think or say I would bet that a lot of you guys would have good info and ideas on how to go about it. How a beginner could learn bucket truck work safely and develop skill.

One thing I noticed when using a lift was that I am used to jerking limbs out of the tree while tied into the tree. But from the lift doing the same would pretty easily side load the lift above its max ratings.
 
Sometimes it's wiser to not pursue a passion...

Truth!

Merle, I think that Skwerl2 had some of the best advice, buy a bucket! I guess it's different for everyone but I was given the opportunity to use a lift truck very early on in my career.

I have a friend selling a lift cheap, if anyone's looking.;)
 
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