Jib work

[Old Line Dog]

When I retired in 2010 I was running a 2003 Holan 805b with levers as compared to pistol grip, very steady when landing trans. or conductor, liked it a lot better than the altec they were like a fishing rod lot of bounce and /or deflection when doing delicate maneuvers. Liked the levers compared to pistol grip easier on the wrist when wearing gloves and sleeves even had a study done on the ergonomics but the company went ahead and the next generation of trucks has pistol grips, cheaper you know.

Really interesting.
I ran a single bucket Hi Ranger, with a Pistol Grip for about 4 years, Startin back in 74. On an IH Truck.

Finest Bucket I EVER was in. I could make that bucket "Dance on water". That Bucket was just an extension of my hand. It was really amazing, but it was also..."back in the day"...

She was a 55 foot Hi Ranger, on an International Truck Body.

I honestly can't count how many transformers I hung with that bucket....
I had a strap with a "D ring" attached, right behind the bucket knuckle. The poles on our system were 45 ft.

"Back in the Day"....

Use to drop down, set the rope to about 7 ft...pick up the transformer with the rope attached to the D Ring...up to 25 KVA, take that dman thing up...over the primary....drop it down...between the phases....without the phases bein gutted....and land that puppy slicker than siht for the lineman on the pole landin it.

Yeah...I know...Crazy Siht!

Back in the day...we just thought it was Linework.

[joe b]

Nice looking truck, mine is 2wd with a front mounted winch and the tire boss system on the rear axle. I've seen the Altec literature on the 2 foot bucket lift.........gotta ask is it really worth the extra $$$.

Those that have the 270 degree jib rotation...........why would you need that much? Just wondering is all, I like to learn new things. Post some pics like LNF said of the truck, especially doing whatever type of work that the 270 degrees rotaion makes possible. Thanks ahead of time!

To answer ur question on the lift bucket I would say yes it is worth the money cause all of y'all know that sometimes the jib can be in the way, the lift bucket comes in real handy our system is 4 ft spread on the neutral so yes u can bug in under the neutral and lift ur self up 2 ft to do what u need to do instead of flying through the tight construction

They are slowly starting to drop neutrals I know some companies I've seen go as far as 81" primary to neutral spacing I think that would be a lot easier to work on in my opinion

[joe b]

Joe B 1 question and 1 observation, Is the jib on your truck in-line or side mounted? The reason I ask is we were told that we couldn't get a 55E with an in-line jib and a 2 man bucket, story was you could only get the in-line jib with a 1 man bucket on that model. Observation, we had a line truck about 20 years ago with the water keg right over the front stiff leg, 2 different lineman got a foot crushed getting a drink of water before they moved the keg, not trying to be the safety police just giving you a heads up on what happened on a similar setup.

Yes I have seen 55e buckets with both and with a 2 man bucket
It is a side mounted jib
I don't know why they would tell y'all that seems crazy


I really appreciate your eye on the keg and yes when we first got the truck I seen that first thing but I can honestly say all of our guys are very responsible at watching every leg go down!!!!!

This is still a concern I really appreciate u pointing that out man!!!!!!!


On another note I think I seen one guy say something about when he first got in to an altec th thought the jib was broke the way it acted, I can honestly say that I have been flying terex/hi ranger for a pretty good while and I like how the hydros are very responsive compared to my truck it is a little slower as far as jib controls and I think it has a lot to do with safety plus I don't really care for the one operation at a time

U can't operate the jib while the boom is in motion I really dislike that but it is for safety and I don't have a problem at all with that at all

My biggest negative about my truck is the bucket is hard as hell to keep level even if my truck is level both ways can y'all give me y'all's experiences on this one problem, I know the older altecs I operated when I worked construction didn't do this I'm just curious??????.


Thanks for any input

Also post some pics if y'all have any

[reppy007]

Good observation LNF....that water keg being where it is ,wouldnt fly here.

[rob8210]

Well I am no fan of an Altec bucket. I have worked on Posi-plus , Hi-Ranger, Pitman , Amador, Holan, Simon-Telect, etc. The Amador was the best , live jib that could rotate almost 360 degrees. The big rotation is very handy on pole change outs . We have a habit of moving the center phase to make it easier to set the new pole. Using a truck with big rotation allows you to go over top of the existing , reach down under your bucket, untie with a hot stick, then rotate the center phase up and back out . We also install most new poles framed, or at least the top pin insulator is on the pole. Once the pole is in its a very simple job to land the center phase and carry on. We limit ourselves to lifting no more than 1000 pounds with our jibs, but you gotta follow the lifting charts, because it certain positions it can only lift 200 pounds safely!

[lewy]

We once installed a vertical load break switch it weighed 1600lbs. It was with an Amador, it's too bad they don't make them anymore, the best booms in my opinion.

[psu927]

We tend you use our jibs for everything,. (altec) they have a 2000lb capacity at the right angle and extension. Also you can use 80% of the unused bucket capacity (which is 800lbs) and add that to the jib capacity. We have hung 167's, and 50 kva 3 phase banks with our jibs.

[lewy]

Post a picture of the bucket and jib when you get a chance so we can see what we are missing. 2000lbs is pretty strong, our hi-line trucks will do 1500lbs in any position but that's as stout as we have on our buckets.

This is 2 pics I have taken. The jib is fully hydraulic and will rotate almost completely around the upper boom irregardless of the position of the upper boom.

[loodvig]

Lewy
Can you run that jib from either bucket?

[lewy]

Lewy
Can you run that jib from either bucket?

No only the driver bucket has controls, the only thing the other bucket controls is bucket rotation. We only have 1 bucket with dual controls, but I would think if you wanted to spend the money it could have dual controls.