[TowerTalk] "Bucket Truck" for Tower Work?

[Gary and Jane Nieborsky]

Been there done that!

I used one (125' manlift)  to work on my 110' tower.  Had to repair the 40M
beam....worked great!

Recommendations:

Use a qualified operator from a bonded, insured and REPUTABLE company.
Determine if they provide the body harness or if you'll need to go get one.
Your climbing belt is not adequate to comply with OSHA rules regarding fall
restraint.  If the company says you won't need one then go find another
company...it's a good indicator of bad things to come.

Be 110% sure that heights don't bother you.  These things move around
(bounce, jiggle, sway) and the higher you get the worse it is.  If you're
not comfortable on your tower then you'll be even less comfortable in a
bucket.

Be aware that the truck will leave some sizable dents in your yard.....the
bigger the truck the bigger the dents!

You'll need to get the truck up close to your tower.  An 80' manlift will
need to be right next to the tower in order to provide adequate reach on a
70' tower.

You'll also need to make sure that there is adequate room for the lift arms
to unfold.  Trees and buildings are the biggest nuisance.  The chosen
company should come out and survey the sight beforehand.

Have a big check book......most companies want a 4 hour
minimum.....including drive time.

73 es GL

Gary K7FR


-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Maass <jmaass@columbus.rr.com>
To: towertalk Mail List <towertalk@contesting.com>
Date: Monday, July 17, 2000 6:00 AM
Subject: [TowerTalk] "Bucket Truck" for Tower Work?


>
>I'm beginning to shop for a crane to assist in the refit of my 70'
>tower. I was looking at hourly rental of a crane with a 80-foot
>working height with operator included.
>
>A neighbor suggested that he could get me a weekend rental
>of a "bucket truck", where the operator rides in the bucket while
>controlling the extension of the boom. This would seem to be
>ideal should any on-tower tuning be needed, as well as significantly
>cheaper than a crane/operator.
>
>Does anyone have experience with using one of these devices for
>tower work? Problems (other than my hesitation to operate it
>without adequate training)? Caveats?
>
>I'll be removing a small tribander and Hay-Gain 2-element 40 and
>installing a KT34XA and Cushcraft 2-element 40.
>
>73,
>Jeff Maass       jmaass@columbus.rr.com     Located near Columbus Ohio
>         USPSA # L-1192       NROI/CRO    Amateur Radio K8ND
>    Maass' IPSC Resources Page:  http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass
>
>
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>


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