Digger Derricks

Digger Derricks and Derrick Trucks

Digger derricks and derrick trucks are increasingly used in the utility, electrical, oil, and telecommunications industries and Schmidy’s Machinery is a leading provider of digger derrick trucks.  Equipped with augers, pole clamps, position materials, and various apparatus, we have the machinery you need to dig holes, and lift and set poles.  Our digger derricks are the highest quality from the best brands like Altec, Hi-Ranger, and Terex and we stand behind our work.

We carry derrick trucks of various dimensions and capacities to suit every need in every industry and we have the widest inventory available.  Visit Schmidy’s Machinery today or call us to find out what we can do to help you with your digger derrick needs.
 

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What Are Our Digger Derricks Used For?

Digger derricks are some of the most versatile tools available for utility workers, oil workers, and construction workers. Our trucks equip workers with the ability to dig holes, hoist and set utility poles, and lift other materials.  Choose from sheave heights up to 100 ft and winch capacities of up to 50,000 lbs, mounted on your specified chassis platform.

The digger derricks we have available feature stout, reliable design. They were made to make a number of tasks simpler, ranging from digging holes and lifting and setting poles to turning in screw anchors, putting linemen in the air and setting transformers. Utility workers, oil workers and construction workers alike turn to digger derricks to get jobs completed. Digger derricks are also commonly used by electric, telecommunications and construction industries.

  1. Telephone Pole Installation- A digger derrick can dig a hole up to 18 inches round and 10 feet deep. It can dig the hole for the telephone pole as well as lift and place the pole in the ground.

  2. Electrical Pole Installation- Much like the telephone pole installation, digger derricks are also used to install electrical poles and wiring.

  3. Electrical Work-Digger derricks can be used to fix electrical wires that have been damaged due to storms or other natural disasters.

  4. Trimming Tree branches- Because of the ability to reach heights, digger derricks can be used to transport workers to trim tree branches so they won’t get in the way of the electrical wires and cause unnecessary power outages or wire damage.

  5. Road work-Digger derricks can be used to take personnel below ground to make underground repairs to things as well as fixing potholes in the road.


Digger Derrick Safety

With all kinds of heavy machinery, there is safety procedure workers must follow. That's no different with digger derricks. First and foremost, workers should be sure to invest in a reliable truck that has the proper specifications for a given job. A quality digger derrick will have lower and intermediate booms made from high-strength steel, as well as a system to protect the hydraulic system from overload. Some trucks include gauges such as a digger / winch pressure gauge which monitors the pressure that is generated while the digger and / or the winch is in use, as well as others that monitor boom pressure while in use.

Safety Tips:

  • Structural limits: plain and simple, you should know your truck’s structural limits. 

  • Check range of motion: Before every shift, workers must perform a test of all of the range of motion functions, according to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI A10.31).

  • Travel height: Before workers head out to a job or back to the shop, they should verify that the boom is properly stored so that the truck is not higher than its posted travel height.

  • Sufficient winch line: Workers should be sure to keep at least five wraps of line on the drum. This ensures that the drum unit will safely handle the load.

Digger Derricks VS Bucket Trucks & Other Trucks

A digger derrick's components and intended use set it apart from bucket trucks and forestry trucks. Used primarily to dig holes and set poles, these utility trucks are in a class all their own. The main components of a digger derrick are the pedestal, the turntable, the booms, the cylinders for boom control, the outriggers or stabilizers, the digger motor, the auger and auger teeth, and the controls. From digging to lifting, these trucks are designed to literally do everything.

Schmidy's Machinery sells machinery and equipment from only the industry’s best brands, including:

  • Altec

  • Terex

  • Telelect

  • MTI

  • Pitman

With sheave heights up to 79.8 ft and winch capacities up to 30,000 lbs, Altec has digger derricks for sale in a multitude of configurations. Versalift derricks are designed to be the highest quality, safest and most reliable utility vehicles that do the demanding work of digging, setting, rigging and removing utility poles. All brands of digger derricks can be mounted on a customer’s specified chassis and have sheave heights up to 100 feet and winch capacities of 50,000 pounds.
 

DIGGER DERRICK - HIGHLIGHTS

  • Booms made from high-strength steel & upper boom made from high-strength fiberglass

  • Insulation in accordance with ANSI A10.31 dielectric rating requirements

  • Two double-acting hydraulic cylinders for the boom lift

  • Features like a rotation drive, turntable winch, HOP, unrestricted continuous rotation

  • 40-gallon per minute hydraulic system for the digger and winch circuits, a 15-gallon per minute hydraulic system for the boom function

  • Lower panel control gauges

  • Engine stop/start control operated by a toggle switch.

If you want a like new digger derrick at a reasonable price then look at some of our reconditioned units. We go over reconditioned units replacing hoses and anything else we see that could be a future problem, as well as go through several rounds of testing to ensure everything performs well. 

Digger Derricks For Sale by Schmidy's Machinery