Buying My First Bucke Ttruck

[nolanola]

Hello.
At the ISA 2017 trade show, I learned that sign service is an interesting field.
We have a cutter and a printer.
I want to buy a used bucket truck now.
I would like to use it for sign installations and sign repair.
The budget is $10.000.

What should I look for?
- height
- type of the bucket
- miles on the engine
- generator
- air compressor
- should I look for it locally or on ebay?

Thank you.

 

[Signchief]

Look for commercial auctions in ur area and sit through a couple to see what they go for. That's your best bet. Once u see a truck u like watch wut it sells for. Don't rush into buying something, see what they go for in ur area so u know wutz a good deal. U can add a conpressor or generator allot easier than pneumatics. Electric boom is nice.

 

[visual800]

let me tell you now about owning a bucket truck....PITA!. Ive owned 2 and the best day was getting one and then gettting rid of it.

If you do get one make damn sure you charge people for you having to use it. We now rent from a local guy that owns one and every time i take it back to him, I smile. I never would have imagined how much maintenance these damn these damn things are. Just something for you to think about.

 

[hcardwell93]

Some require CDL licenses and some don't. Big diesels are expensive to maintain. Make sure there is a reputable mechanic nearby to keep a 10K truck alive.

Ford 7.3L diesels up to 2003 are good, stay away from their 6.0 and 6.4 diesels though.

Some trucks from utility companies like AT&T are used hard, abused some more and not maintained properly. Those will cost you tons of money and trouble.

While they give you extra reach an extendable boom has expensive cables inside to make it go in and out.

The big Kodiak truck like you posted will get about 6-8 mpg. Make sure that factors into job pricing.

 

[ams]

I know quite a bit about bucket trucks, I've owned two and have done a ton of research. The one you have shown in the photo is worthless for the most part, it's generally 29 - 32' and is a single arm with an inner boom. That was my first truck and I hated it. It has push buttons on it which is annoying because you have to hold a master button to operate causing you to use both hands to operate the controls. It's short and limited for the reach, they are usually run by generators and when it breaks your out of luck. It cost me over $2,000 to repair my generator when it broke down.

I recommend getting a double knuckle boom, they are mostly 42' except the bigger trucks are 45'. You do get more reach, but also more height and the ability to move at different angles. They have a pistol grab control which you can operate everything with one hand and it has a tension so the harder you squeeze the grip, the faster it moves and the less that you squeeze the slower. So if you want to be really careful to touch an awning or something you can move at a snails pace. With the straight booms you get speed, fast and it jerks you around.

Pay attention to rust, if the underbody is coated in thick rust, you will have major issues and repairs will cost more. I got mine from Florida and it's very clean under it.

By the way you will need an inverter so you can have 110v for drills and stuff, go with a PTO diesel if you can. Better mileage, less headaches and less noisy.

CDL is required if the truck weights more than 26,000 lbs (Class 7) As long as your truck is under that or Class 6 and below, you don't need a CDL.

As for your other questions,

- height = 42' if possible
- type of the bucket = single man is a good starter, but two man is better.
- miles on the engine = under 200,000
- generator = no
- air compressor = doesn't matter I never used mine
- should I look for it locally or on ebay? = Either is fine, just check the condition.

 

[ams]

let me tell you now about owning a bucket truck....PITA!. Ive owned 2 and the best day was getting one and then gettting rid of it.

If you do get one make damn sure you charge people for you having to use it. We now rent from a local guy that owns one and every time i take it back to him, I smile. I never would have imagined how much maintenance these damn these damn things are. Just something for you to think about.

That is probably because you bought a lemon. The only maintenance I do is oil changes and yearly inspection. I've only had a truck break down for 2 issues over the course of 3 1/2 years. If you buy one in good condition, you shouldn't have any issues.

EDIT: BTW my first truck was a 2000 and my second is a 2005, so not new by any means.

 

[visual800]

That is probably because you bought a lemon. The only maintenance I do is oil changes and yearly inspection. I've only had a truck break down for 2 issues over the course of 3 1/2 years. If you buy one in good condition, you shouldn't have any issues.

EDIT: BTW my first truck was a 2000 and my second is a 2005, so not new by any means.

Naw no lemons, just run of the mill PITA crap. 96 ford busted hydraulic hose, Which I fixed myself but hose kept leaking, it seems new hoses did not have same fittings as the truck (of course)....so i spliced the hose. Yes I know you are not supposed to do this BUT I did what I had to. Sold that truck and got an 05 F550. Used it for 6 months and it busted damn hose up inside the arm. They were going to have to remove boom and replace that one. Right before that the positive going to alternator burned up the alternator and the starter......that did it for me.

 

[GaSouthpaw]

Personally, I think you might want to up your budget a bit before you buy someone else's problems.

 

[equippaint]

Id recommend an articulated boom over a straight. The pistol grip handle is nicer too. If you can find one with an aluminum platform, they are nice too. There's not much room in a bucket and it sucks when you drop something in it. They're supposed to receive an annual inspection every year and be re-hosed at proper intervals also so that you don't have hoses blowing inside the boom stranding you somewhere (and safety of course). Engine wise I dont think it matters that much, I've had 3 6.0 fords, last one I just sold with 260k on it and I had no more or no less problems with them than any other trucks Ive owned. We've had the 6.5L gm diesels which are considered garbage and we're fine. Really I'd prefer gas for something that wasnt going to be used much. Just dont let the fuel go stale, diesel or gas. We've spent thousands of dollars fixing trucks here that sat and the fuel gums up injectors, lift pumps etc, had to cut the tanks open to clean all the varnish out of them more than once. You have to drive them regularly or you will have a major POS pretty quickly. Brakes start hanging up, seals rot out etc.

 

[equippaint]

Personally, I think you might want to up your budget a bit before you buy someone else's problems.

Agreed. 10k will get you something but its on the low end.

 

[CanuckSigns]

What are your reasons for wanting to get into sign maintenance? Do you have experience in the field?

We don't have a bucket truck, when we need one we farm the install out to someone who has one. Most of these guys worked for a large sign company doing installs before they branched out on their own, some of them have gotten rid of their bucket trucks because people wouldn't pay enough to make it worth their while, these guys now just work off ladders or rent lifts when needed, you can rent a tow behind 35' articulated boom from home depot for less than $200/day.

 

[bannertime]

We've never had many issues with bucket trucks. However, our last truck lost functioning controls in the bucket so it had to be operated from the bed. That was a PITA and required a minimum, two people per job. Our current truck is a 32' automatic diesel. It does exactly what we need it to do. Some times we will rent a pull behind articulating basket lift which is absolutely amazing. If you get a chance to get a truck with the articulating basket setup, then do it. Having a second person in the basket is great. No, you can't put a basket on a simple bucket truck. If you can't afford over 10k, then you should probably rent lifts for awhile until you know exactly what you need.

You definitely want a PTO system. Preferably a stick shift, but the automatic trans/PTO combo has worked fine for us. Keep it diesel, under 200k. Minimal rust. Stay away from "eco diesel" type models.

 

[ams]

Naw no lemons, just run of the mill PITA crap. 96 ford busted hydraulic hose, Which I fixed myself but hose kept leaking, it seems new hoses did not have same fittings as the truck (of course)....so i spliced the hose. Yes I know you are not supposed to do this BUT I did what I had to. Sold that truck and got an 05 F550. Used it for 6 months and it busted damn hose up inside the arm. They were going to have to remove boom and replace that one. Right before that the positive going to alternator burned up the alternator and the starter......that did it for me.

You have had some bad luck, but not all trucks are that way. A 96 is going to have some pretty serious issues and you can't find parts for them anymore other than a junk yard. Even my 05 I am having a hard time getting parts for it, but it's a tank.

 

[Gino]

Ours is a 1989 Ford. Runs great, drinks gasoline, but we did some preliminary work on it when we first bought it, but our first job more than paid for the truck and the extra money we put into it. Someone on this site knows as he was with me, when I picked it up about 4 years ago.... yikes, almost 5 years ago.. Other than normal maintenance, it's served us well. Nothing major, except a transmission line broke and I hadda pay for towing. That was more than the mechanics bill. Just got back from a job. Put 2 3' x 8' faces in the top portion of a small pylon sign and put new trim plates on the four sides. Did it all by myself. Got $1,900.00 CASH for it and only have $75. in materials invested. Took me about an hour from start to finish and it was a nice drive to boot. $1,900 in my pocket, wife went away for the weekend and I'm gonna get into some trouble tonight.

Not to mention, I use it to clean the gutters around my house, do maintenance around the house, trim out my trees, put up and take down Christmas decorations and my neighbors get to use if for free. I usually get a bottle of Bushmill on the front seat in return with a full tank of gas.

I charge out at $185. an hour. Don't have too much trouble getting it, either. Ours only goes 28' and is an enclosed van with a Telsta, running off the generator on the back gate. I have air lines running through it and when needed, I have a gas powered compressor for my pneumatic tools. I love it and wish I had bought one years ago.

Don't be afraid to get one and don't worry if it has some flaws. The stuff you can do with it, you'll work around some minor flaws.

 

[equippaint]

We've never had many issues with bucket trucks. However, our last truck lost functioning controls in the bucket so it had to be operated from the bed. That was a PITA and required a minimum, two people per job. Our current truck is a 32' automatic diesel. It does exactly what we need it to do. Some times we will rent a pull behind articulating basket lift which is absolutely amazing. If you get a chance to get a truck with the articulating basket setup, then do it. Having a second person in the basket is great. No, you can't put a basket on a simple bucket truck. If you can't afford over 10k, then you should probably rent lifts for awhile until you know exactly what you need.

You definitely want a PTO system. Preferably a stick shift, but the automatic trans/PTO combo has worked fine for us. Keep it diesel, under 200k. Minimal rust. Stay away from "eco diesel" type models.

They do put baskets/work platforms on bucket trucks. There's a company we work for that does it and it is factory approved. Versalift also offers one now as a factory option. Articulating refers to the boom style and has nothing to do with the bucket or platform. Not sure why you would recommend a manual transmission. The automatics today are great and its the way everyone is moving. Most new OTR trucks are auto now as well as garbage trucks, concrete mixers, many dump trucks etc. I dont think Ford is even offering manuals in their vocational line anymore either. If you want a truck to get tore up, then get a manual and stick an employee in it, otherwise get an auto.
There is no such thing as an "eco diesel" in a medium duty chassis. If youre looking 550 and under, you get what you get, there were not options. Ford had Navistar (Ford diesels now), Dodge Cummins, Chevy is a GM motor for diesels. In the larger trucks, there were various engines but none were any sort of economy engine, it was just preference and geared more towards fleet owners to keep their fleets uniform across brands. We've seen many large fleets go back to gas also due to the headaches and expense of diesels so I wouldn't be too quick to discount a gas truck. Id stay away from the GMC/Chevy like in the first posting. They havent made them since 04 and it can be hard to get parts.

 

[bannertime]

They do put baskets/work platforms on bucket trucks. There's a company we work for that does it and it is factory approved. Versalift also offers one now as a factory option. Articulating refers to the boom style and has nothing to do with the bucket or platform.

Older bucket lifts, potentially, can't handle the weight of the new baskets plus people. Additionally, I was talking about if he could find an articulating basket lift, then do it over any other model. It's why I specified basket instead of just articulating.

Not sure why you would recommend a manual transmission. The automatics today are great and its the way everyone is moving. Most new OTR trucks are auto now as well as garbage trucks, concrete mixers, many dump trucks etc. I dont think Ford is even offering manuals in their vocational line anymore either. If you want a truck to get tore up, then get a manual and stick an employee in it, otherwise get an auto.

Again, we're talking 10k trucks. In the older models the PTO is superior with manual trans. At least that's always been my understanding. This comes from reading about the differences and personal experience. Our current truck is our first auto with PTO. So that theory is slowly dying.

There is no such thing as an "eco diesel" in a medium duty chassis. If youre looking 550 and under, you get what you get, there were not options. Ford had Navistar (Ford diesels now), Dodge Cummins, Chevy is a GM motor for diesels. In the larger trucks, there were various engines but none were any sort of economy engine, it was just preference and geared more towards fleet owners to keep their fleets uniform across brands. We've seen many large fleets go back to gas also due to the headaches and expense of diesels so I wouldn't be too quick to discount a gas truck. Id stay away from the GMC/Chevy like in the first posting. They havent made them since 04 and it can be hard to get parts.

When I say eco models, I'm talking the about engines like the 6.0 from Ford. Hadn't cared much to see what Chevy and Dodge were doing when EGRs came into play.

 

[hcardwell93]

I got my truck about a year ago and love it. Its a 1998 Chevy with a 350CI motor. I keep the gears greased and havent had a problem with the boom at all.

 

[nolanola]

I love the 350!
How is that type of the bucket is called?
Did you buy it locally or on ebay?

 

[hcardwell93]

I got it from I80 equipment on the Illinois/Iowa border. The lift is an electric over hydraulic system.

 

[nolanola]

Thank you for the replies!
I would prefer keeping it simple: a flatbed truck with the boom.

What is your opinion on this one:
'02 GMC ALTEC 45' ARTICULATED TELESCOPIC BUCKET BOOM TRUCK NO CDL 25900GVW