What Linemen Like to Have In Their Bucket Trucks

When linemen are on the job, one of their most important tools is the bucket truck. It enables them to work on power lines with efficiency and productivity. Bucket trucks have become indispensable to the utility industry as a whole. They are used to convey workers to the job sites and let them do their jobs, and they also make it a lot easier for linemen to use the various tools of their trade. On any given day, linemen need to consider what kinds of equipment they want to carry in their bucket trucks.

Weight Limits

The Department of Transportation sets weight limits on bucket trucks which must be heeded by utility fleets, so electrical workers need to decide what equipment to use that won't exceed the limits. Linemen carry toolboxes filled with an assortment of items like bolts and fasteners, tools for climbing, inverters, and steel grips.

The trucks themselves carry equipment such as jumpers, insulators, hoists, and rubber blankets to cover various electrical components. Sometimes utilities purchase bucket trucks which have bodies made of fiberglass instead of metal to lessen the weight of the vehicles themselves. Other times, utility fleets allow trailers to be attached to the trucks to help haul equipment.

Organizational Capability

In the past, bucket trucks did not have storage bins, but today's bucket trucks offer linemen more flexible organizational capability. They have compartments in which linemen can store their tools or other items they might need while on the job for a day's work. Linemen also use bins that feature individual compartments, which are great for storing tools that they need either in the vehicles themselves or while they're in the buckets.

Some bucket trucks have compartments that are lined with plywood in order to keep tools dry and clean. Other favorite organizational tools of linemen include holsters for hydraulic tools and fiberglass boards that have individual storage slots for tools. Some utility companies encourage their linemen to store different kinds of tools in different areas of a bucket truck, which can translate into extra swiftness and efficiency since they can quickly get to what they need with a lot less hassle.

Linemen have to be very mindful of what they need to do their jobs on a day-to-day basis and the best ways to organize that equipment and still stay within weight limits. The manufacturers of bucket trucks endeavor to keep uppermost in mind the needs of the workers who will use these vehicles, and they continue to innovate new improvements in utility vehicles to help linemen do their jobs.