How Do I Find A Good Bucket Truck???

The nifty 50 has its uses but it’s slow, poor reach, poor maneuverability. But if it’s all you got then it’s better than nothing
 
I wish i had a bucket truck, or even a 55 foot tow behind!!! I know you can get used tow behind lifts for under 20 k, yes they aren't a bucket truck but they do work with a dramatically smaller footprint in both weight and size. One could even go so far as for the price, while sacrificing speed and reach, they excel at a lower entry cost (so much so that you could buy 2 or more for the price of one... aka multiple crews), maintenance, operating costs, and less impact. They aren't dialectic so that rules them out for some, but the steel booms are far easier to inspect. Rental fleets have been carrying them for years, so if they can stand up to homeowner joe blow using them for trees they have to be very robust. The material handler trucks would be pretty cool i think tho, i would think rigging stuff over houses would be gravy with one. No cdl, insurance, or anything like that with the trailer unit tho.
 
The Nifty SD64 is the best piece of equipment I have ever purchased. Smaller, lighter, and much more maneuverable than a traditional forestry bucket truck. More height, more side reach, more bucket capacity, and $30k cheaper than an Altec 60' bucket.
 
I can mini-loader tow a rental tow-behind once or twice a year into spots no bucket truck can access.

It's got limited side-reach, but way better reach than the bucket I could park 80' away at the last place.

I've flown a 60' versalift a bunch. Where it fits, I'd rather have the bucket truck, naturally.

Some steep, waterfront jobs, I can barely turn my pickup around.



A lot is about your market.
My friend in IL used to rent a Biljax 61' tow-behind that covered almost all his trees, in a market with open-lawns, and minimal fences.
 
Carl/ Lumberjack has a lot of experience with the NiftyLift, in place of a bucket truck.
Brett, did you buy yours through him?
 
Best advice I can give is no matter where you buy it, go and inspect it thoroughly. If you don’t know what to look for, find someone that does. Anyone selling used is a used car salesman. Trust me. Been through it enough
 
You could check in with Canary Tree Service in Jacksonville, FL... Just went tree-mec!

Downsizing the normal crews and overstocked.
 
I've been looking at used F550 43' altec bucket trucks....

No 6.0's... I'm in California so diesel trucks have a timer until theh wont offer registration.

I'm trying to look around 25-30k....

But ultimately the business guy I speak with says to lease them do our frequency of use and maintenance costs....

Now I'm looking for a stumpgrinder...
 
Mellow said:
The Nifty SD64 is the best piece of equipment I have ever purchased. Smaller, lighter, and much more maneuverable than a traditional forestry bucket truck. More height, more side reach, more bucket capacity, and $30k cheaper than an Altec 60' bucket.
Click to expand...
Has the nifty lift switched over to pistle grip controls yet?
 
I would also have to disconnect the warning beeper on the niftys. I hate hearing that every time I move the boom. Maybe it’s just on the rentals
 
The pistol grip on my last bucket the trigger was very light/easy to grip. And the movements were quite light as well. I found it far superior to the levers in my truck before that.
 
The only pistol grip type I've tried I didn't like, I think mainly because it would hit the sides of the little box its in causing it to not work sometimes.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #45
The older the grip is the easier it is to operate. Brand new grips are a KILLER.
 
I bought another one last December. I called everyone I could think of. Called all the truck places in several states. Looked online. Drove and looked at a few. Ended up driving 8 hours to test one out after months of looking and narrowing down. "Tree and Landscape Equipment Trader.com" has hundreds of trucks and equipment. That's where I found my last one. I'd never heard of them but there is a good selection on there. There's always a few old 60 ft trucks around here for sale in the 10 to 20k range. But they're nearing the end of their life. My first truck was a 60 Altec. Caught a guy going out of business that had over leveraged himself. He paid 40k for it from an Entergy auction. I waited til he came down to 15k. It's been the best truck. Still use it regularly. I just keep up with maintenance and I can see using it for years to come. It has the material handler. Perfect for storm trees that are on roofs. Ride up there, tie the winch on, cut a decent size piece then pick it up and swing it away and let it down. My 100 ft has material handler too. Couldn't be without it.
 
The only bucket-truck boom I flew had been operated in my supervisor's presence, or by him, since new, for 6 years.

I hear about Asplundh guys catching tops on their booms and can't imagine most employees being overly careful with them. Used booms kinda feel like buying a well-used climbing rope that's core-dependent.

How much do professional inspections catch? How much do they miss?
 
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