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  1. #1
    Jman32 Guest

    Default Bucket Truck Boom

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    Has anyone ever had the boom of their truck leave the cradle while traveling down the road?

  2. #2

    Default

    Another crew working for the same contractor I do, had the boom on there digger swing loose. The mechanic said the gears that rotate the boom and also keep it in place, sheared off. Luckly they were on a back road and there was no other traffic. The boom was stowed manualy and had to be strapped down.

  3. #3
    Jman32 Guest

    Default Bucket Truck Boom

    Unfortunately the boom came out of the cradle on my truck, swung out 90 degrees, and of all things hit a pole. My partner and I know for sure that we properly stored it into the cradle after we finished the job. They are investigating it and say that there is no way that it could have come out and swung around like that. It was very windy that day. If anyone else has heard of this happening, please tell me about it.

  4. Default Just wondering

    I am just wondering what those tie down straps and ratchets are for.
    I must have missed something. We call them tie down straps for travel.
    Just wondering!
    The Old Lineman

  5. #5
    Jman32 Guest

    Default Bucket Truck Boom

    There not on our trucks!

  6. #6

    Default

    What model and length of boom was this??
    When was the last time the boom was inspected mechanically??

    Anything is possible, but I have yet to see a boom that did not have some sort of cradle to sit in (and or) a tie down.
    You had to have noticed the truck leaning.

    Insurance company will have fun with that one.
    Good luck.

  7. #7
    hotwiretamer Guest

    Thumbs down International's rubber

    We have a new Bucket sitting on an International Tandem chassis.
    It has rubber pads that the axles sit on in the back instead of leafs!
    When you head down the hwy and go over a culvert or bad bridge, the truck bounces so bad that all the tools in the bucket end up either in the bottom of the bucket, or worse~ out in the road! We ratchet out boom down tightly, but still launch tools out of it!
    Make sure your transportation dept. don't let the vendors sell you on this cheap`ass spec!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    N.E. Mass.
    Posts
    2,030

    Default

    Did you leave the PTO in gear? I've also seen a boom creep up when the oil gets warmer and expands. But only about an inch. I've never seen a boom cradle without a tie down! The trucks we have, have alarms when the boom is up and the truck is put into gear.
    National Grid = Retired! US Army vet. 68 - 70
    As of April of 2010 I quit smoking! It's been hard but so far no butts! I am now an X smoker!

  9. Default

    Quote Originally Posted by hotwiretamer View Post
    We have a new Bucket sitting on an International Tandem chassis.
    It has rubber pads that the axles sit on in the back instead of leafs!
    When you head down the hwy and go over a culvert or bad bridge, the truck bounces so bad that all the tools in the bucket end up either in the bottom of the bucket, or worse~ out in the road! We ratchet out boom down tightly, but still launch tools out of it!
    Make sure your transportation dept. don't let the vendors sell you on this cheap`ass spec!

    When this truck was spected out the final decision about the type of suspension that would be one the rear tandem axles was dead wrong.
    What the comapny selected was the type of suspension used for tandem axle gravel trucks and the like. In reality there is no suspension, just the rubber pads that prevent any compression.
    The end result is that the rear wheels transmit every little bump in the road directly to everything above.
    It is absolutely critical that the boom is securely tied down otherwise it will bounce in the cradle and end up destroying the structural integrity of the boom quickly.
    This will happen because of the cantilever forces exerted either side of the boom rests. It's like breaking a stick over you knee.
    The next thing that will happen is that the bins will start breaking down as the tools bounce up and down while driving down the road pounding the bottoms out of the bins.
    This suspension should never have been selected in the first place. It likely was done for economics. Bad choice.
    What to do now?
    It'll cost you, but the truck can be retrofitted with air suspension. The proper suspension that should have been specified it in the first place.
    At this point a choice has to be made. Either leave it alone and destroy the body (likely fiberglass and expensive to repair) and eventually damage the boom or lay the truck up and have it retrofitted. Also expensive.
    Consider this cost as the price of education.
    Get more knowledgeable people involved when specing out trucks. Suggest that they ask the end users, the linemen.
    The Old Lineman

  10. #10

    Default

    Featured Sponsorr

    Some of the newer bucket trucks have a hydraulically actuated latch on the boom, with no other means of securing the boom. Is that what your truck has? Possibly the boom didn't have enough down pressure applied when it was cradled, or the latch mechanism may have failed. A mechanical boom tie down is definitely a better choice, that way you know for sure that the boom won't drift up.
    Living my life and loving it!!!

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