1997 f super duty bucket truck

[isaacvent]

1997 f super duty bucket truck

So I have an opportunity to pick up a f super duty with 40 foot boom. The truck is in good shape with a fiberglass body, 7.3 diesel, rebuilt auto trans, air compressor and a Honda generator. It is owned by a sign company so the boom has been inspected regularly. Overall, its a nice truck. I just have a few questions and I am having no luck with my searches. This will be my first bucket truck, to this point i have used a 40 foot tow behind unit. Has anyone used one of these for tree work? What are some pros and cons? Anything I should be looking at specifically? It has 100,000 miles and the price is $7000. Is this a good idea?

 

[2treeornot2tree]

You can get a truck like that, but you are always gonna need more height. If you look, you can pickup a forestry bucket truck for about double that. The problem is with telephone bucket trucks is that there only 40' high, and you then have to another truck to tow a trailer and a chipper, unless your just gonna haul out branches. My opionion would be save the $7000 and get a old Aslplaud forestry bucket truck. You can chip into it, so you only have to take one truck and a chipper.

 

[lone wolf]

Is the boom insulated from power lines?

 

[isaacvent]

Is the boom insulated from power lines?

Yes, its insulated.

 

[mattfr12]

thats 7.3 in that truck is gonna kill you. we had what they call the 444 in an older bucket we used and it left real fast. it will not pull a full load of chips and a decent sized chipper. and if you get it moving its gonna be in first gear.

the guy i sold it to doesn't chip or haul the chipper with it it was an automatic also the manual trans might be a little better but thats a pickup motor. take it for a ride empty up hill it will crawl.

7 grand is probably right for that age motor and boom height your gonna be better off with a 55-60. i would save my pennies and get a more practical tree boom with a truck motor.

but if you really like it go for it.

 

[isaacvent]

thats 7.3 in that truck is gonna kill you. we had what they call the 444 in an older bucket we used and it left real fast. it will not pull a full load of chips and a decent sized chipper. and if you get it moving its gonna be in first gear.

the guy i sold it to doesn't chip or haul the chipper with it it was an automatic also the manual trans might be a little better but thats a pickup motor. take it for a ride empty up hill it will crawl.

7 grand is probably right for that age motor and boom height your gonna be better off with a 55-60. i would save my pennies and get a more practical tree boom with a truck motor.

but if you really like it go for it.

This has a 7.3 powerstroke Turbo diesel, could you be thinking of the 7.3 non turbo?
I have never heard of people complaining about the powerstroke. They are used in up to 60,000
pound gross trucks. The 7.3 non turbo had alot less power. They are all 444 cid.
The reach is my main concern. I have done alot with a 40ft tow behind, and for the most. part it worked well. There were a couple times it would have come in handy to have more reach. for sure. In my list of pros vs. con's the pros outweigh the cons. The cons being, the limited. reach and not being 4 wheel drive.

 

[chief116]

This has a 7.3 powerstroke Turbo diesel, could you be thinking of the 7.3 non turbo?
I have never heard of people complaining about the powerstroke. They are used in up to 60,000
pound gross trucks. The 7.3 non turbo had alot less power. They are all 444 cid.
The reach is my main concern. I have done alot with a 40ft tow behind, and for the most. part it worked well. There were a couple times it would have come in handy to have more reach. for sure. In my list of pros vs. con's the pros outweigh the cons. The cons being, the limited. reach and not being 4 wheel drive.

Unless you work in an orchard pruning apple trees all day, a 40 ft bucket is uselss. If its a midmount, and you are climbing out of it on a daily basis, then you better put a cage on the front or you are going to be replacing windshields weekly.

THe 7.3l is a nice engine in a pickup truck, but i'd laugh and walk away from any company that thinks its got enough balls to pull 60k up a hill. I drive either a 68k log truck or a 64k crane with 400+ hp cat engines and still wish i had more for the jokes we call hills around here.

If you are going to make a large purchase to further your business, get the 55-65 ft forestry units that guys that have been in your position (and succeded) are recommending you buy, instead of wasting 7k on a truck that won't suit your needs. Why take the word of a guy that hangs signs about how great it will be for tree work?

 

[mattfr12]

This has a 7.3 powerstroke Turbo diesel, could you be thinking of the 7.3 non turbo?
I have never heard of people complaining about the powerstroke. They are used in up to 60,000
pound gross trucks. The 7.3 non turbo had alot less power. They are all 444 cid.
The reach is my main concern. I have done alot with a 40ft tow behind, and for the most. part it worked well. There were a couple times it would have come in handy to have more reach. for sure. In my list of pros vs. con's the pros outweigh the cons. The cons being, the limited. reach and not being 4 wheel drive.

ya the 7.3 power stroke the one in my pickup was weak sauce i dunno what i was thinking when i bought one for a bucket. but i ended up selling it and yes it had a turbo. drive one in a pickup i mean their not crazy powerful. then imagine it turning a lot larger drivetrain and more weight 25mph up hill top speed. take it for a test drive and shoot video if it does over 30 ill be impressed.

 

[mattfr12]

Unless you work in an orchard pruning apple trees all day, a 40 ft bucket is uselss. If its a midmount, and you are climbing out of it on a daily basis, then you better put a cage on the front or you are going to be replacing windshields weekly.

THe 7.3l is a nice engine in a pickup truck, but i'd laugh and walk away from any company that thinks its got enough balls to pull 60k up a hill. I drive either a 68k log truck or a 64k crane with 400+ hp cat engines and still wish i had more for the jokes we call hills around here.

If you are going to make a large purchase to further your business, get the 55-65 ft forestry units that guys that have been in your position (and succeded) are recommending you buy, instead of wasting 7k on a truck that won't suit your needs. Why take the word of a guy that hangs signs about how great it will be for tree work?

exactly its a pickup motor if you think it will pull 60k your dreaming it won't move 30k with rocket fuel in it. I've had one in a pickup and in a bucket not a strong motor. my c7 cat has tear a 7.3 power stroke in half and that thing only does 35mph up hill loaded with the chipper 30mph if you get a run at it. and the tourqe is almost double what a 7.3 is putting out. its an 8 cylinder also all your high torque pulling motors like the cats detroits and internationals are gonna be six cylinder

 

[lone wolf]

Is the maker of the lift part still in business?How hard is it to get a guy to come out to work on it ?Where would the nearest repair shop be these are all good questions you should answer before you buy make some phone calls!I went through this with my Aerial Lift of Conn.

 

[mic687]

This has a 7.3 powerstroke Turbo diesel, could you be thinking of the 7.3 non turbo?
I have never heard of people complaining about the powerstroke. They are used in up to 60,000
pound gross trucks. The 7.3 non turbo had alot less power. They are all 444 cid.
The reach is my main concern. I have done alot with a 40ft tow behind, and for the most. part it worked well. There were a couple times it would have come in handy to have more reach. for sure. In my list of pros vs. con's the pros outweigh the cons. The cons being, the limited. reach and not being 4 wheel drive.

I had a 7.3 non turbo and it pulled a 3550 ford backhoe on a 5000lb trailer just fine now you don't want to head to the mountains with that load but the truck is rated with a gcvwr of 17,500. Now as far as 40' reach you will be disappionted with how much you can't reach with that, I have used 50' buckets and was still climbing to finish the tree.

 

[mic687]

exactly its a pickup motor if you think it will pull 60k your dreaming it won't move 30k with rocket fuel in it. I've had one in a pickup and in a bucket not a strong motor. my c7 cat has tear a 7.3 power stroke in half and that thing only does 35mph up hill loaded with the chipper 30mph if you get a run at it. and the tourqe is almost double what a 7.3 is putting out. its an 8 cylinder also all your high torque pulling motors like the cats detroits and internationals are gonna be six cylinder

You can get the juice out of the v8 but it will cost you a bunch and reliablity can suffer. There is something to be said about the right equipment for the job, pulling 60,000lbs with a 7.3 it was never made to pull that. It is true there is no replacement for displacement and 900 cubic inches of six cylinder turbo charged cummins, detroit or cat hp is hard to beat.