Best Lift????

Ground speed on the SC252 is pretty tortoise-like, so to have a tracked lift slower is not our cup of tea. NiftyLift at 5MPH is a good bit quicker (more in line with a mini skid).
 
Haven't read the whole thread. One company I contract climb for says in their research the Ommelift seems to have the best rate of repair. I know nothing about them.
ommelift.com
 
I am inquiring the about the cost of a Socage lift mounted on a pickup bed...14 m...if it's reasonable I might think about it...machines4you in Australia.
I have to travel an hour to get to the rental place for my favourite track drive nifty lift.
 
For what it is worth, greg good bought an ommelift and is very pleased with it.
 
So the Socage cost including fitting $78,000 plus gst...and you need to supply the vehicle...Mazda BT 50, yeah that would add another $40,000 minimum...AUD.
 
Wow, that's a lot for that reach. Not sure what it's like there but here our utility companies have scores of trucks with lifts in that range and are selling them affordable at auction continuously.
 
Wow, that's a lot for that reach. Not sure what it's like there but here our utility companies have scores of trucks with lifts in that range and are selling them affordable at auction continuously.

Yea, davey and other municipal operators can only run the trucks for 5 years. So, they go to bulk auctions. Get retrofitted and put to market.
Not made that well actually
 
Why would you say not made that well? Seems most it not all booms and trucks have a lot more than five years in them.
 
Why would you say not made that well? Seems most it not all booms and trucks have a lot more than five years in them.

I agree, but OSHA requires they be removed after five years for utility line clearance companies. That is why there are so many for sale
 
For what it is worth, greg good bought an ommelift and is very pleased with it.

I think his is a 100'er and that's a LOT of stick for Wisco trees. That's hand pruner at the very tips of 99% of the trees here. I do see some trees in the 130'-140' range around the lakes but only in the deep old money controlled stands. Mostly white pine and hemlock and a hand full of oaks red and white.

From what I've heard they are pretty noodle like at that height.
 
Likewise here. Oaks we pruned yesterday were 80' (75' tie in point). That's our usually max height trees we deal with around here, so a 75' working height would be ideal for us.
 
Most people can't see anything over 35-40' anyway. I used to do so much detail pruning at 50-60-70' way back in the day and it is all a complete waste of time. Unless you have something broken or big dead wood there is no reason to mess with the top of a tree's crown. Focus your efforts on what the customer actually sees, because 90% of pruning is for aesthetics anyway. The tree doesn't need it to survive and be healthy, it is to satisfy the owner.

This is why most tree buckets are 50-60' working height. For most of the country there's no reason for anything taller.
 
This is why most tree buckets are 50-60' working height. For most of the country there's no reason for anything taller.
Imcorrect. Standard bucket heights were determined by transmission wire heights and standard 'offsets' of the truck working position to the transmission wires

I think his is a 100'er and that's a LOT of stick for Wisco trees. That's hand pruner at the very tips of 99% of the trees here. I do see some trees in the 130'-140' range around the lakes but only in the deep old money controlled stands. Mostly white pine and hemlock and a hand full of oaks red and white.

From what I've heard they are pretty noodle like at that height.

Rarely do you get to sit under the tree to work in it. Working vertical heights mean little in comparison to reaching over to access a tree.
 
50-60’ works great for 90% of the work. Unfortunately I seem to get the last 10%. I run a 75’ daily and come up short at least twice a week. In need of a taller unit, a giant pay raise, or a really bad ass crane/grapplesaw;)
 
I also thought that was a lot to ask for 12 metres on a pickup...won't be rushing out to buy one.
The local rental just got those 18m trucks in, the one I used a few weeks ago, obviously old hydro trucks, they were due for their 10 year surveys so the rental company bought them and did the necessary and put them back in service as rentals.
I saw one in their workshop, it was in pieces!
Just when I think I could use a lift of my own I get a run of jobs with no access.
 
Just when I think I could use a lift of my own I get a run of jobs with no access.
That's the cycle we live in continually. I guess we need to step back and do a realistic assessment of how many of our jobs are no bucket access.
 
Another thing to consider is that if/once you have a decent bucket truck, then more people will call you for the simple reason that they saw your truck. Many of your more desirable clients prefer hiring tradesmen with nice, new equipment because they associate that with professionalism. I just walked in from selling two jobs, both of which came from people calling me because they saw my bucket truck on a job this week. And once you do enough full access jobs with a bucket, you won't even want to bid on the back yard jobs where the guys have to drag everything out 50'-100' by hand.

Buy it and they will come.
 
Back
Top