Aerial lift Q&A
Published in: Arbor Age
Date: 9/1/2006
TO GET AN IDEA OF RECENT TRENDS IN AERIAL LIFTS for the arborist market, Arbor Age magazine recently spoke with Tommy Nix, vice president of strategic accounts for Terex Utilities, Inc., a Watertown, S.D., designer and manufacturer of aerial devices and digger derricks for the tree trimming, utility and telecommunication industries.
AA: Have there been any shifts in the arborist market in recent years in terms of what the user is looking for in an aerial lift, and how are those needs being addressed?
Nix: During the past few years, we have noticed that arborists have an abundant amount of interest in side-reach, which is the measure of how far an aerial device can reach off the side of the truck. Theoretically, this feature gives the operator further penetration into his work area without moving the truck.
The way it works is pretty simple; side-reach is measured from the centerline of the rotation bearing to the edge of the bucket while the aerial device is extended the furthest from the truck.
For a telescopic aerial device, for example, the attitude of the booms would be straight out, fully extended. That would give you the maximum amount of side-reach, but not a very good working height. As you raise the fully extended booms you, in effect, reduce the side reach dimension the higher you raise the booms.
For articulated aerial devices, side-reach is measured from the centerline of rotation to the edge of the bucket with the lower boom raised as straight up as possible and the upper boom parallel to the ground. This would put the booms in a position of giving you the maximum amount of side-reach at a height greater than that of a telescopic unit, which is definitely more functional for arborists. The most important factor in side-reach in an articulated aerial device is the maximum angle of the lower boom. Logically, if an aerial device’s lower boom can only travel to a 90-degree position, the side-reach would be less than if the lower boom could travel to a 120- to 135-degree angle.
We’ve also seen an increased interest in putting larger aerial devices on smaller chassis for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, the laws of physics and the ANSI standards dictate to what degree this can be accomplished. For example, logic tells you that you can’t put a 100-foot aerial device on a 3/4-ton pickup. The weight of the aerial device, the stability of the set-up, ANSI standard requirements and the allowable gross vehicle weight of the complete unit all figure into what’s allowed and what isn’t. However, that isn’t to say that we’ve not seen aerial devices “growing” taller when matched with the proper chassis specification.
The fact remains that to get the maximum amount of aerial device on a chassis, please use the expertise of the equipment manufacturers. We are well versed in working with the customer to mount our equipment in a functional manner on a multitude of chassis to achieve the level of satisfaction that arborists look for.
In line with the above point, we’ve also seen an increased interest in putting aerial devices on non-CDL chassis due to the maneuverability of a smaller truck, the opportunity to have a unit that can be driven by most licensed individuals in your crew, and the fact that the GVW of the unit is less makes it easier to stay within weight restrictions for today’s roads and bridges.
Another piece of equipment that has been generating a lot of interest is an aerial device designed to work in very small areas like backyards with the need to go through small gates. These types of units can generally do the work needed without causing lawn damage that you normally see if you used a much larger truck.
One of the things that we have been able to do is to develop a hydraulic lift that is capable of a multitude of things. This lift can be mounted in either an over-the-rear axle configuration with a flatbed body or behind the cab which still allows for a chipper box. It gives the aerial device an additional 10 feet of overall vertical reach and maintains the shorter boom length for maneuverability of the aerial device which is a major benefit for line clearance work.