What Is a Boom Truck?
To recover heavy items or to move supplies to places and areas that are not normally accessible, boom trucks would use a winch. For example, they are usually used maneuvering supplies over a ditch or to a hillside or to reach the top of a building.
Larger trucks are outfitted with a boom winch that is mounted in the truck's bed. It is capable of moving construction items and other equipment from the side of the street to a certain location. There is a different boom truck design which is outfitted with a cherry picker. This version allows arborists to access treetops easily.
The Vehicle
Terex's Stinger BT 3063 model has a reach of 113-feet and is equipped with both stabilizers and outriggers. A boom truck could range from an aerial work platform that is moved by a hydraulic lifting mechanism which is mounted on the bed, up to a Class 8 tractor-trailer rig with a bucket. It is also possible to have a modified boom lift made to suit the particular needs of the buyer.
Cherry Picker
Cherry pickers are bucket trucks which can raise employees to great heights. Typically, cherry pickers or buckets move workers from the ground up to high areas like for example treetops, the sides of a building, up utility poles or for fire department rescue and firefighting.
Location
The boom platform can be operated from the truck's cab by remote. Either the boom is mounted on the bed of a large truck or on a separate trailer. Larger booms require outriggers that horizontally extend from the truck so as to level out and stabilize the crane during its operation.
Controls
This type of boom truck has a cab-over-engine which has a control cluster that can move the boom from inside the cab. It is normally a panel in the boom itself on the side of the bed.