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Feb

16

Southwest Equipment Is Going Green!

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : February 16, 2012

Category: Bucket Trucks

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Well, our paint shop is anyway..

Occasionally, we have requests for a paint job on a bucket truck or digger that is out of the normal realm for us. We will accommodate any of our clients with a custom paint job for the color of their choice, if they’d like. Recently, one of our clients decided they wanted to have their truck painted the same color as their business logo, which is green, silver and black. It’s been so fun watching this truck transform. Around the shop, we’ve been calling it “The Hulk”. We have been excited about this project around the office, because, as you can see, the green is certainly bright! It is definitely the first time we’ve used green in our paint shop! Check out these pictures… (apologies for the poor image quality)

Green Bucket Truck

The machine part of the truck, painted green.

 
It sure is bright, but it’s always exciting to change things up a bit. What do you think? Let us know by dropping us a comment below!
 
 

Green Bucket Truck

The other side of the truck bed painted green.


Green Bucket Truck Bed

The bed of the bucket truck painted green.




We’re almost finished with this awesome paint job and then it will be back to the regular white, black and yellow paint. Which brings me to my next thought:

Did you know that Southwest Equipment has a full service shop that includes a garage where we provide maintenance and repair of bucket trucks and additionally where we do all our refurbishing? We don’t stop our refurbishing process at the parts! Our shop is also equipped with our very own paint shop. We completely redo the body and paint work too! Because of our extensive knowledge about bucket trucks and our full service shop, we can offer you the lowest prices around!

If you own a bucket truck, you should definitely stop by one of our locations to check out the awesome work areas we have. Our mechanics are top notch and our painters won’t be outdone! If your truck is getting old and worn out, maybe it’s time for a refurbish. When you decide that is what you need, give us a call; we’ll be waiting.

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Jan

25

What Are Bucket Trucks?

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : January 25, 2012

Category: Bucket Trucks

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Picture of a Frestry Bucket Truck
Bucket Trucks are what you use to safely reach heights that you can’t get to with a ladder. That means all kinds of industries utilize bucket trucks in their everyday work. The most common industries you see using “cherry pickers” are electric co-ops, cable companies, sign repair, window washers, and forestry businesses.
Bucket trucks have different types of action for lifting. Some utilize a type of scissor lift where the bucket raises and lowers on a hinge. Other types of lifting action include a telescoping and articulating boom. The boom moves out and up from a single mount, sort of how the name implies.

Surely you’ve seen bucket trucks on the side of the road, working on telephone poles. They are much more common than you would think. These trucks allow much of the modern amenities we have to be installed and expanded at a fast rate. Services like telephones, electricity, cable, and internet are all widespread and available thanks to the use of bucket trucks.
Although they make higher jobs safer, bucket trucks actually are quite dangerous. Most accidents involve human error and can be avoided with the correct amount of caution. When operating a cherry picker, be sure you have the knowledge and training that is necessary. Being unprepared to operate an aerial lift can be extremely dangerous.
The next time you see a guy in a bucket working on a telephone pole, you will have a greater appreciation and understanding of what it is he is doing. People that work in bucket trucks are often called to restore power or cable during a storm or natural disaster. Keep that in mind during the next storm. Give linemen and bucket truck workers a big thanks for keeping life the way it is today… safer and more convenient.

If you need a bucket truck for sale in America, then visit our inventory page. You are sure to find exactly what you are looking for. Make sure you find a trusted dealer that has a good working history. Do you research about the company you choose. Check online to see if there have been any bad reviews about the company you are working with. Bucket Trucks Online is proud of the great feedback our customers provide…and keep providing!!

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Jan

23

Top Reasons You Need A Winch On Your Bucket Truck

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : January 23, 2012

Category: Bucket Trucks

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The Top 5 Reasons You Need a Winch on Your Bucket Trucks

Winches are nothing new for bucket trucks. In fact, winches have become practically imperative for some cherry pickers. If you are in forestry, line-work, or go off-road much, you should have a bucket truck with a winch.

Let’s talk about why you need a winch for your bucket truck:

1. Getting stuck in mud, high centered, or on ice. If you go offroad for work sites in your bucket truck, you should absolutely have a bucket truck with a winch. The winch will save you tons of time and money in order to get you unstuck and back to work.

2. Pulling. You may need to pull poles, other trucks, and random objects with your bucket truck. In order to do this, you’ll need a winch. It isn’t recommended you use a bucket truck for pulling but, it may be the only option you have. Keep in mind, bucket trucks and the parts for them aren’t cheap. Use extreme caution.

3. Short distance towing. Need to tow a load for a few feet but don’t have a trailer hitch? You can use your winch to tow it for a very short difference. It is a delicate process so, secure your load and be careful. Don’t tow for any considerable distance and definitely don’t tow on roads… don’t jeopardize other people’s safety.

4. Using a winch as a directional tool for hitching. If you have a very heavy load that you need to hitch to your truck, use a winch to guide the load onto the hitch securely. It’s much easier than navigating your bucket truck carefully or trying to shove the trailer under the hitch precisely.

5. Going on a steep incline / decline. If your driving on a steep grade, it’s suggested you use a winch to keep your bucket truck secure. Obviously, you’ll never work at a site like this but, in order to keep the truck stable, it is recommended you use your winch for added security. Some jobs are in the hardest to get to places, for those jobs, use your winch.

Picture of a Winch

In conclusion, having a winch on your bucket truck can be pretty handy in sticky situations. It may even enable you to help out a friend from time to time [if that's your thing]. As you know, we have several bucket trucks for sale and rent from Southwest Equipment. We also have our very own page dedicated to self recovery winches for bucket trucks that had a manual explaining how to use these safely. Check out our inventory and visit or call us today so we can answer any questions you have about our available inventory!

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Jan

06

Bucket Trucks in the News

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : January 6, 2012

Category: Bucket Trucks

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It seems like bucket trucks are always in the news. Whether it’s an accident involving a bucket truck or a story about bucket truck rides at the carnival, you can pretty much always find some news involving bucket trucks. The past few weeks, there have been several stories to break involving utility bucket trucks. Here’s more about those:

On December 30, a Pacific Power worker suffered serious injuries after “An agitated and incoherent woman approached his vehicle, entered the cab, and attempted to drive away” in the utility bucket truck the worker was in. The worker attempted several time to stop the woman from starting the utility bucket truck through a remote kill switch from the bucket, but the woman was finally successful in starting the vehicle and upon doing so, sped off it it. The bucket truck has since been found approximately 200 miles away from the scene in Happy Camp, CA., but the woman is still at large. She’s been described as a Native American woman missing two front teeth. There is currently a $10,000 reward for information regarding the woman’s whereabouts.

From earlier in December, another story involves two men employed by an Ohio Cable Company using their company’s bucket truck to steal copper wire from a power line. They managed to steal a copper wire that stretch to be 1/2 mile long and worth about eight grand. This just happened recently in a neighboring town and cause power outages.

Just yesterday, a utility bucket truck overturned near Chicago, in Oak Lawn, IL to be exact. There was a city worker using the bucket truck for Christmas decorations. It hasn’t been determined, the cause of the overturned truck, but sources reports that “The rear stabiliser spread certainly looks to be insufficient on their own for a boom of this size”, per Vertikal.net. You can view pictures at their website. The OSHA is still investigating.

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Jan

03

New Year, New Location

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : January 3, 2012

Category: Bucket Trucks

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Logo for Southwest Equipment

It’s 2012, a new year. And with that said, Southwest Equipment and Bucket Trucks Online are proud to announce the opening of a new location in Odessa, Texas. You can now rent or buy bucket trucks from one of our two locations; Lewisville or Odessa. We started business in Odessa, Texas back in 1995 and moved to Lewisville shortly thereafter. Business is doing well, so we’ve decided to head back home and open up another location in Odessa to rent and sell bucket trucks nationwide!

We are excited to have more yard room for our bucket truck rentals. Our new store should be opened by the end of January 2012. Until then, you can continue picking up your rental or purchase at our Lewisville location. Need directions? Here are some travel tips.

You will still be able to view all our bucket trucks for sale on our main website. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us by calling, stopping by, or with a shout out on one of our many social media pages.

We are committed to providing the best reconditioned bucket truck equipment and rentals in the industry. We sell and rent bucket trucks, digger derricks, pressure diggers and boom trucks. Check back often to view our regularly updated inventory.

Here’s to 2012!

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Nov

28

Bucket Truck of the Week: Chevrolet 42′ Altec Bucket Truck

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : November 28, 2011

Category: Bucket Trucks

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Hello Folks,

This week, we are featuring this reconditioned used Altec Bucket Truck For Sale:

Used Bucket Truck

Come See This Chevy Altec Bucket Truck!

You can call us, come by, or send us an email about this great bucket truck for sale. We hope to hear from you soon!

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Nov

14

Reminder About Bucket Trucks and Holiday Decorations.

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : November 14, 2011

Category: Bucket Trucks

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Holiday Bucket Truck

Decorate for the Holidays with a Bucket Truck

It’s the holiday season, so you better be prepared for decorating. Whether it’s Christmas Lights or New Years Decorations, if you want to go all out, you’ll need to get up high. With a bucket truck, you can basically get your lights as high as you want.

Now is the time to reserve your bucket truck rental reservation. You’d better hurry, because rentals are going fast and during this season the demand is normally high.

Your decorations for Christmas will look much more professional when you use professional equipment. To get the bucket truck that’s right for you, call Southwest Equipment today.

*If you’d like to read up on bucket truck safety and the industry standards for safe bucket truck use, visit the link.

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Nov

06

Bucket Truck of the Week: 2005 Chevy Altec Bucket Truck

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : November 6, 2011

Category: Bucket Trucks

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Chevy Altec 2005 Bucket Truck

Call us About this Bucket Truck!

Another featured bucket truck for this week after Halloween. Are you getting ready for Christmas or Thanksgiving decorations? Then you need a bucket truck! Don’t buy new, buy used instead! Southwest Equipment and Bucket Trucks Online bring you the highest quality reconditioned bucket trucks, boom trucks and digger trucks. We also provide free shipping to practically everywhere in the nation! Read more details about this week’s featured bucket truck below.

Bucket Truck Stock No. 3029 – 2005 Chevrolet 42′ Altec Bucket Truck
2005 Chevrolet 37′ Articulating & Telescopic Altec Bucket Truck, Under CDL, 42′ Working Height, 6.6L Duramax Diesel, Automatic Transmission, A/C, Under CDL

Truck: 2005 Chevrolet
VIN: 1GBE5C1205F533029
Engine: 6.6L Duramax
Transmission: Auto
Brakes: Hydraulic
Mileage: 140,435
GVW: 19,500
Tires: 245/70R/19.5
Equipment: Altec Bucket Truck
Model: AT37-G
Serial #: 0705DE6037
Working Height: 42′

Hurry up and call Southwest Equipment today before this great bucket truck is gone for good! We have great deals across the nation, so inquire about our shipping options and 2 year warranty!

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Oct

18

Employee in Bucket Truck Hit and Killed

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : October 18, 2011

Category: Bucket Trucks

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BREAKING NEWS: October, 18th 2011, 11:29 am CST

My Fox, located in Boston, just reported about a Quincy employee who was hit while working in a bucket truck by a tractor trailer. He was working on the street lights above in the bucket of his truck, when the tractor trailer came from behind. The man fell to the pavement after being struck by the tractor trailer and thrown from his bucket truck. Paramedics rushed the man to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Bucket Truck in Accident on October 18th

Bucket Truck was hit this morning

We will bring you more on this story as it unfolds.

Too often, we see deaths caused by improper utilization of bucket truck safety procedures. Accidents are always bad, but if they can be prevented, you should definitely take the steps to do so. Read our guideline to bucket truck safety in our directory of bucket truck articles. Also, if you still haven’t jumped on the social media bandwagon, start by liking Bucket Trucks Online at Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

UPDATE: October, 18th 2011, 1:21 pm CST

We’ve heard that it was a Bridgestone Tire Delivery Truck that ran into the back of the bucket truck while a Quincy Point worker was working on some street lights. It happened at the corner of Washington and Chubbuck Street in Quincy Point. The Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s office identified the victim as Robert DeCristofaro. Robert DeCristofaro was pronounced dead at 10:40. He was from Braintree and was 58. Our prayers and condolences go out to the family of Robert DeCristofaro.

It is unknown yet whether Robert was wearing a safety harness or if the OSHA will be investigating.

This story is still developing and we’ll continue to bring you updates as we receive them.

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Oct

14

Another Post About Bucket Truck Safety

Posted by : Bucket Trucks Blog | On : October 14, 2011

Category: Bucket Trucks

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About Bucket Truck Safety

Digger Derrick Image

Picture of Digger Derrick

Yesterday, a contractor died by electrocution while tree trimming. The man was employed by Vision Telecommunications and the OSHA is still investigating.

This brings up, again, the issue of bucket truck safety. There are several deaths each year related to bucket truck accidents. We cannot stress enough, the important of utilizing guidelines set forth by OSHA whenever you are working in a bucket truck.

Bucket Trucks Online takes bucket truck safety seriously. That’s why we’ve provided several detailed articles about safety for our industry. We have an articles about general OSHA Safety Guidelines, tree trimming safety, insulated bucket truck safety, as well as many other articles about bucket truck safety. We hope you’ll find them useful. We hate to hear stories about electrocution or falling form a bucket truck. Typically, these accidents can be avoided, so make sure you use caution when operating your bucket or digger truck.

So, have a great weekend, and if you’re working in a bucket truck, make sure you use your safety harness and any other necessary safety precautions! If you have any questions about bucket truck safety guidelines, feel free to ask below.

We have several resources about bucket trucks safety. For your convenience, feel free to start with our free bucket truck safety manual

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