Bucket truck body on a trailer?

davejo · May 3, 2018

Is this a feasible project or are the physics too hairy to overcome?

Available unit is a 37 foot Altec bucket mounted on an 11 foot service body, taken off an F550. I was thinking of mounting it on my 16 foot tandem equipment trailer that has a 7 ton GVWR. The body has one set of outriggers to deploy towards the back. I have to figure out how to run the hydraulic pump and I could build some downriggers for the front.

Could the trailer attached to a truck make a stable enough base to resist the tipping forces? Altec L37m

lumberjack · May 3, 2018

You’d likely want the trailer to be self supporting without depending on the truck. All the towable lifts I’ve dealt with say to unhook the truck from the lift before leveling (probably to keep from picking up on the truck with the connection).

Delmer · May 3, 2018

A 7 ton trailer is lighter by weight and construction than a truck. I'd want more weight at the base, and/or more radius on the outriggers. And this will always be a backyard/farm type machine. There's no way you'd be allowed to bring this out in public. Lifts get cheap at ten years old because they need to be recertified, if it's cheaper to buy a new one than recertify them, how do you think this will fare if it ever had to pass scrutiny?

davejo · May 3, 2018

Yes farm use so i'm on a budget. The lift and body would be $1000. I wonder how much ballast the thing needs for stability. I'm guessing the f550 weighed 12000#?

Other options would be to put it on a cheep 2 ton truck. Or, I have an F450 already but it has a handy dump bed so any solution would have to be swappable on that chassis.

Delmer · May 3, 2018

Yeah, I'd guess 12k is about right. With a big enough tractor to pull it, I'd think some beams and water tanks would add up to a solid structure easy enough. I've seen bus frames for sale that would work for something like that.

How maneuverable does it need to be? and how close do you want it to get to the side of a building for instance? If you're mostly dealing with open spaces, a big frame isn't much of a drawback, and makes things feel a lot safer when you're swinging the lift around from the weight of the paintbrush.

Does the lift have an "emergency" 12V backup pump? that's what I use.

DIYDAVE · May 3, 2018

You might try it on a farm hay wagon frame. I've seen several, through out the years, in Farm show magazine, Can't find the latest one, where a farmer had mounted a scissor lift airport truck body, to a wagon, and then powered the hyds from a tractor. Maybe you can find it, if you want to spend the time looking...

Anyway, here's a link to the older article:

https://www.farmshow.com/a_article....ext=1622&page_num=1&nav_previous=1&nav_next=1

By the way, Farmshow is the only magazine I still subscribe to, worth every penny, IMHO!

td25c · May 3, 2018

davejo said:
Other options would be to put it on a cheep 2 ton truck. Or, I have an F450 already but it has a handy dump bed so any solution would have to be swappable on that chassis.

I like that idea the best . Just mount it on another truck .

davejo · May 13, 2018

Well now I have a little buyers remorse. I ended up with the whole truck and the thing is a bit bigger than I expected. The truck is missing the engine and front clip. Its a F550 4x4 7.3 truck

Current thought is to get the hydro system up and running to see what works and what doesn't. There is a large and complex electrical system but I think it is all about turning on the PTO and going between idle and high idle speed. If I bypass the "start/stop box" I think everything will still work hydraulically but I'd be responsible for all the safety features like "tranny in park, E brake applied, downriggers down, etc etc"

The pto pump is there and is a 4 GPM @1000 rpm unit, 3600psi max. Regular splined input shaft. I could just couple the pump to a small engine like a logsplitter setup. Or I could plumb the hydro lines into my current logsplitter on hand if the pump specs are similar.

If everything seems functional I can then figure out how to make it mobile...

DIYDAVE · May 14, 2018

Might be easier, just to pop in a junkyard motor, that bolts up to the tranny....

Delmer · May 14, 2018

Are you sure you don't have a 12V "emergency" backup pump? that would make things a lot easier.

Otherwise, you're on the right track.

davejo · May 16, 2018

I got things up and running with my log splitter but it was underpowered at 5hp! Wasn't happy running the bigger cylinders and kept stalling out. Of course I sold a 22hp hydro unit a few months ago that would probably work perfectly.

Still debating what to do, neighbor offered me a 71 IH Loadstar 1700 but it too has been sitting for years and doesn't have a pto

Unfortunately, this unit has no backup emergency system for the hydraulics....

Delmer · May 16, 2018

I'll bet a two stage log splitter pump would work fine with 5hp. I run a smaller bucket truck off only the emergency backup, for twelve years now, every couple months now, not day to day. And I don't do tree trimming where you're constantly moving. I mostly use it for construction where you're there sitting a while. I just didn't trust the rats nest of wiring to start the engine from way up there.

davejo · May 17, 2018

I had a telelect unit with a 12v backup but never used it. Does yours stay running in use or does it only energize when you move the controls? I have a 12v liftgate hydro unit laying around that I can try but not sure how that would work.

DMiller · May 18, 2018

ALTEC units have connections for another truck to supply when the original dies. They also had at one time relief fittings to drive in and drop pressure to allow a dead boom lower. They are not for the faint hearted to work on and do not go cheap on any repairs unless you enjoy being laid up when things fail EVEN as is only a farm unit.

Delmer · May 18, 2018

davejo said:
I had a telelect unit with a 12v backup but never used it. Does yours stay running in use or does it only energize when you move the controls? I have a 12v liftgate hydro unit laying around that I can try but not sure how that would work.

The bucket controls are nice in that they only turn the pump on when the function is activated, three switches at once, not as bad as it sounds. The lower controls will turn the pump on with two of the controls and then the function just activates that solenoid, so you have to release the pump, turn on the function, and then back on with the other two for it to only turn on when operating. Not that big a deal really.

I don't know how the liftgate would do, it might not have enough cooling for the duty? A small engine might be the simplest if you don't already have a battery back up. I'm surprised the log splitter wouldn't do it. Must not be a two stage pump on the log splitter, and the relief is set too high for the engine, or the carb is full of ethanol junk? How does the log splitter handle stalling in a tough piece of wood?

davejo · May 19, 2018

This unit doesn't have the ports to plug it into another bucket truck in case of emergency.

I think the logsplitter is a dual stage but not sure of that or what the pressures are. Its possible that the carb is dirty and I think you are saying the engine shouldn't die even as the pump reaches deadhead pressure?

At first I was just nudging the spool valves to check operation but I now realize that creates a deadhead situation as the return port isn't opening up to complete the circuit. It would kill the engine and I did blow a hose to one outrigger. Things worked better when I used the spools "all or nothing" but the engine would lose steam as it struggled to push the larger boom cylinders

hosspuller · May 19, 2018

Instead of a two wheel trailer, just tow the whole unit where you want it. Disconnect the steering box. Alternately Make a tongue like a farm wagon that steers the front wheels.

DMiller · May 19, 2018

ALTEC uses ported flow control, one side upsets a relief to allow the other side of a hydraulic cylinder to go to tank, takes a reasonably HIGH pressure to offset the control. Locks a position for safe operation by doing it this way. Most systems used a belt driven pump on the truck engine, will find these take closer to 20hp to drive the hydraulics.

Delmer · May 19, 2018

yes, I thought a two stage log splitter pump should handle any lift, unless the splitter pump has been messed with. Maybe a possibility as I wouldn't have thought you'd blow a hose, that's a little bit scary, not knowing exactly what's going on with something like a bucket truck. I would have guessed that the log splitter would have a relief valve, and the truck would have multiple relief valves. You never know though, especially with something salvage, anybody could have screwed it up and junked it. A two stage log splitter pump will usually have one regular section, and one much smaller section, so you might be able to tell by looking at it, or get the model number and look it up. IF it is a two stage pump, and you put a piece of wood in that it won't split, you should hear and see the ram slow down as it gets tough, then squeal if the ram stops, but not stall the engine. If it doesn't, then a carb cleaning, and hydraulic pressure monitoring of that stalling cycle is in order, then go back to the bucket truck.

Or try a different known hydraulic source.

DIYDAVE · May 19, 2018

I'd hook to a tractor, its gotta bigger Hydraulic sump... Also you should look up system operating pressure, and GPM, to make sure the tractor's pump is compatible with the truck's system...

Bucket truck body on a trailer?

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