Getting to old to want climb much, DW hates to see me on ladders (granpa died from ladder fall while painting a house), scaffolding is a pain and also scares DW, so am thinking of getting a bucket truck. Have seen them in the area for under $2k in need of some repair, but no problem there as long as parts can be welded/replaced, etc.
Query is overall usefullness, as $2K would buy a lot of beer <G> or a few rentals. Use is DIY strictly, no OSHA to contend with, etc.
Anybody with bucket truck experience, horror stories, etc. ??
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nobody likes to accumalate tools and equip more than i,but i can speak from my experence on this . buy a bucket truck,have to get title in my name 50.00,oh had to buy ins to get tag 300. use truck to trim some trees,man i'm saving money now [tree guy said he'd cut it down for 300.]! park truck for 6 mons. need to paint a house ,go out batt. dead,1 flat tire ,takes 2 hours and 35.00 to get running.get pulled over by higway patrol for inspection while driving 8 miles to house. get wrote up for tires, lights, cracked windshield,200.00 for ticket ,paint house drive truck home -sell it loose 500.!!! now i go rent one of these buckets that hook onto trailer hitch for 65.00 at 4pm have back at 8 am,take the money i save and buy a new tool i don't need-aww priceless! i still have a dumptruck and a bobcat if you want to hear those stories? lol larry
There's some great truth to your post. Co-worker asked if I wanted to go in on a bobcat. (Neither of us are in the trades, it would be just for "round the house and cabin" stuff.) I told him that I could rent one 5-6 times for the cost of half the bobcat (I think they wanted 6k) - I'd be lucky if I need one 5-6 times in the next 3 years. . .not to mention that the rental place delivers for a small fee and my truck couldn't pull the bobcat trailer. . .
But man are those bucket and boom trucks SWEET!
I purchased a JLG 42' manlift last year for use around the house, it cost $3,500. This machine is about 1975 vintage with an 8' basket. I don't enjoy ladders anymore either , this thing is a life saver when it feels like working. I think it has some stuck relays or solenoids. The last few weeks it has been working real good with no problems. I also looked at bucket trucks that were in the same price range or a little less, the trucks had a smaller basket, I can put alot of tools and materials in my lift and still have room to move around. Any machine in the low price ranges will need some tlc, and parts for older equipment can be costly. A high pressure fluid filter for my machine cost $380., I cleaned the old one. My lift weighs 16,500# so transporting it is another issue, at least a bucket truck could be driven down th road. Even with the maintenance and repair issues I have the lift when I need it. At the speed I move if I rented a lift it would cost 10x what I paid for mine. I feel more secure standing in that basket with a sheet of plywood over my head and a nail gun between my knees, than trying that on ladders or scaffolding.
I'll have to watch for one of those also - have a 20,000# trailer so moving would be no problem.
You can load one of those on a hi-boy trailer it's a challenge, a low boy is easier. I bought my lift from a steel fabricator / erector he mostly uses scissor lifts, this lift was sitting for a long time and would pass osha. Check auctions and contractors that may have an old one sitting around.
I also have an old JLG 40' manlift. I only paid $1000 for mine, but I need to replace the chains that extend the boom. Any suggestions on the task are appreciated. It is not a minor undertaking.
I have seen a number of used boom trucks for sale, but anything that looked like it wouldn't take several thousand dollars to get/keep running was more like $4K-$5k. I was thinking of bidding on a truck with an insulated boom at an auction of surplus boom trucks from the local electrical utility, but they required a minimum of $1million in liability insurance to buy one, which I could not get in time.
I have not had any problems with the extension chains. I have a service manual for mine . I could look to see what information it has about them, it seems to cover mostly hydraulics and valves. My repair plan with my lift is if it is working don't mess with it. I found out it is easy to have spare parts left over after taking something apart.
There is a place that stocks parts in Pennsylvania for old lifts, they ship them out promptly, and so far had what I needed.