Bucket Truck-Ford/TECO

[john_boylan]

My spouse needs a new(er) bucket truck and we've identified a candidate.  1996 Ford Heavy Duty, 30K miles, 2500 Hours, 8 spd manual trans "with Lo/Lo", 250hp 8.1 diesel, tandem axle w/locking diffs & wheel lock (all 8 backs pull), air brakes.  Good AC, AM/FM/Cass. & good interior.  TECO 65 ft. boom (Model #V7-65IP-4RFS2), double bucket with controls in both, material handler, boom/bucket covers, "very large" outriggers.  Seller says "The only way you would get one nicer is to buy it new."

Any guidance y'all can give on this combo?  Any known weaknesses in either this model truck or TECO boom?  What the heck is a material handler?  Any disadvantages to double buckets?  She doesn't know anything about bucket trucks, and about the only thing I know is where to get the load governor/carburetor rebuilt on her 1975 Ford Hi-Ranger.  We're gonna try to look at it tomorrow.  Thanks for any help you can give me on this. 

[bill m]

Material handler booms have a higher lifting capacity than a regular bucket truck. Most have a jib with a small winch, power companies use them for setting transformers, cross arms, etc. on power poles. I'm guessing you are going to use this for tree work?  The double buckets are a pain in the *** to work between limbs when doing pruning jobs and almost as bad doing removals. Sounds like a heavy truck. May not be to forgiving if you have to back over someones lawn to get to a tree.

[Woodwalker]

30k and 2500 hours doesn't sound like anything to be afraid of on the truck or the unit. We ran a few Teco's some years back. They were ok, I always  liked the Hi-rangers and Altecks best.
A material handler is going to have a jib and boom tip winch for load lift in addition to the normal weight lifting capacity of a man lift unit. Depending on angles and dangles, 1,500# - 2,000# max load. Works great hanging transformers and such on the job. I took down a couple dozen beetle killed pines around here last year using a material handler. Cut the top out with it roped back to the stem to catch it. Then use the jib to to lift the top up and over to a clear spot on the ground.
Double buckets are designed for two men to work off the same aerial platform. Some are rectangular. Others are two separate buckets on opposite side of the boom and the old Teco's we had were kind of a hybrid that kind of wrapped around the end of the boom. The only disadvantage of one (in line work anyway) is the space they take up. Sometimes it's hard to work one on a congested pole.

[john_boylan]

Thank you bill m and Woodwalker.  The truck will be used in her two-way radio business, primarily for pole and low tower work.  There might be some light tree work on her high tower sites, where you have to keep the limbs back from the guy wires. 

The buckets on this unit sit on either side of the boom and do appear to take up a lot of room--it looks like at least eight foot wide to me.  I would guess it's an expensive proposition to swap over to a single bucket?

Woodwalker, what did you like better about the Hi-Rangers?    I know her guys are gonna want to know how this unit will be different from the old Hi-Ranger she's had them using, so your insights would be appreciated.

And does anybody care to put a $$$ range on what this unit would be worth if it's as clean as the seller is representing?  I'll probably be looking on line most of tomorrow for comparables, but I know some of you probably already have a gut feeling regarding how much you be willing to pay if you were buying.  Thanks. 

[bill m]

For a radio business I think this truck would work good. Price range should be $20 to 30 thousand max. Is this being sold by the original owner and is there any maintenance history? Have the booms been certified and if not will the seller have them done? Just some things to consider before you commit to it.

[donny hochstetler]

check out schmidys machinery, out of clinton ill. nice trucks at good prices I bought a truck from them, and would do so again. also stick with the high ranger, you won't regret it, the double buket will be a pain in the butt. good luck

[john_boylan]

bill m, thanks for the pricing info.  The truck's auction start price is at the low end of the price range you indicated, but I expect there will be a reserve.  We've tried to contact the seller, but have been unsucessful so far.  We'll bid only after our guys have an opportunity to operate/inspect the truck.  And, if the price goes much higher than the start, we'll be out early.  This is an ex-government unit, so the seller isn't the original owner, but I'm hoping there will be a maintenance log when we get to inspect it.

Certification of booms is something I'm not personally familar with.  Last year I read my wife some horror stories about bucket truck lawsuit judgments, and she had the old unit inspected by a repair facility for function and grounding.  However, nothing was said to her regarding certification.  Is this an OSHA requirement or a local jurisdiction issue?

donny hochstetler, thanks, and I'll check out Schmidys for both equipment and pricing.  The unit we're looking at is local and won't be used frequently, so right now it's at the top of the hit list.  Like you, our guys have gotten great results out of the Hi-Ranger unit for many years, but know nothing about the other manufacturers out there.  But both you and Woodwalker plainly aren't big fans of TECO.  What are the issues with the TECO units?  Function? Reliability? Repair cost/availability?  Any info will be most helpful.

[Reddog]

Certification of booms is something I'm not personally familar with. Is this an OSHA requirement or a local jurisdiction issue?

This covers what most Certs cover. It is an OSHA requirement and most insurance require it also.

Booms received for repair are visually inspected by a Certified Composites Technician. Then, if necessary, the appropriate piece of analysis equipment is used to further define the boom's condition. This may be a structural test, a dielectric test or a conductivity analysis. The boom may need to be pressure washed inside before doing a dielectric test.

[Woodwalker]

I've spent many hours in several different brands of bucket trucks and Hi- ranger was the top of the line man lift for many years. They were one of the first manufactures to produce a fully insulated di-electric upper boom. Their upper control system wasn't plumbed with high pressure hydraulics. Instead they used a very low pressure control system that operated the full pressure valves in the lower turret. They utilized a one handed pistol grip control and the units worked very, very smooth. You could feather your movement or grab the control and take off in multiple directions with no jerky movements. They used an accumulator in the hydraulic systems that allows the system to hold a set pressure while allowing the engine to idle until movement calles for additional pressure. Hi-Ranger was bought by Telelect and are still made under the Terex\Telelect Hi-Ranger name.
Most if not all manufacturers now integrate  these same type of features into their products. This is a partial list of aerial lifts for you to check out Altec, Versalift, Duralift, Pitman, Liftall, and I'm sure there are others out there.
Aerial lifts are tested by certified personal for weight capacities, di-electric proprieties of the hydraulic system, bucket liners, upper booms and the lower boom inserts. There should be dated stickers somewhere on the unit.