Is a 'Man with a Cherry picker a.k.a bucket truck' a good business to start?

[yearning4yeshua]

I've been thinking about buying a small truck or van with a crane on the back that's lets the operator go up and access a roof for repair , or to prune trees, etc.

In the UK these vehicles are called Cherry pickers and in the US I think they're called bucket trucks.

Having a bucket truck would let me offer services direct and also offer my services to arborists and roofers as plant for hire that comes with or without the operator.

Has anyone got any experience operating such a business. I've searched this sub reddit for any mentions of similar ideas but found nothing. Why?

 

[jmhagman]

@yearning4yeshua Man you could get a nice return with a bucket truck/ cherry picker. There’s always residential work. You could get contracts from other companies and the city. Tree work is abundant, always. And the best part is these are all super high ticket services. Don’t forget to look into any licensing and insurances you may need to operate as well.

 

[yearning4yeshua]

@jmhagman I hadn't thought about licensing.... thanks

 

[jmhagman]

@yearning4yeshua Anytime! I see dollar signs when I think of a cherry picker. I think you could make it work.

 

[ricwil]

@yearning4yeshua Insurance is specialized for bucket trucks.

 

[gorgeousguy1976]

@jmhagman As a l certified arborist, I’d also add that tree work is low barrier to entry, but to do it right (what’s healthy for the tree) takes training & experience. To do it safely requires a lot of training & experience. Tree work has some of the highest insurance premiums because of the accidents that happen. That said, you can make a lot of money with a bucket truck. Make sure you plan on material handling of the removed branches!

 

[birdyluv0]

@gorgeousguy1976 OP will set branches on curb for trash day

 

[tamirem]

@gorgeousguy1976 My local town has cut nearly all the city jobs one sided it's crazy to me the guy has a job. My neighbors tree had branches near a power line and same thing power company cut off every limb on one side and days later its leaned touching their roof lol.

My dad was an arborist, grew up in the redwoods watching him do tons of crazy jobs, he'd roll in his grave seeing this place

 

[whitab]

@yearning4yeshua Dunno where you live but maybe you could also have getting ppls cats down from a tree for a fee? Firemen don't actually do this anymore and I would have definitely paid when my cat decided to get stuck on top of a bar lol

 

[joelmatho]

@whitab I honestly wonder how long they'll stay up there before figuring out how to get down on their own?

I got stuck in a tree as a kid and my mom told me to aim for the woodchip pile if I got the courage to jump, or climb down, dinner will be at 5, bye.

 

[brokenwings88]

@joelmatho Yep. Cat gets hungry, guess what? They’ll find their way down.

 

[joelmatho]

@brokenwings88 So, what you're saying is that my mom should have put a nice lunch plate out for me and I'd figure out how to get down

It's true!

 

[yearning4yeshua]

@whitab Ha! Definitely one to consider.

 

[sarahs_]

@whitab When my grandfather was an active firefighter an older woman called the fire department and asked him to get her cat out of the tree.

"lady, I ain't ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree." *CLICK*

Turns out that lady was friends with the mayor.

Anyway, I still think Papa was in the right.

 

[curtiscurrier]

@yearning4yeshua We bought a bucket truck in June and it’s been non stop since. However, my husband is a red seal journeyman lineman with 20 years of experience. He also has had utility arborist certifications. We have gotten contracts for emergency storm restorations, and private lines around windmills. It would be hard without industry certifications. With that being said we do know a company that does well installing Christmas lights too.

 

[neo_ocelot]

@curtiscurrier I couldn’t believe the pricing on Christmas light installation. The houses near me are large, but not mansions. When I called, the companies either said, we start at $750 or $1500….and I know several people who use them each year. You could pay a nice hourly rate to employees and still have very large margins….you could also hire college kids to take the lights down over winter break.

It might take a couple of years to have enough clients for employees and to feel comfortable spending on marketing, but every job seems like it would be very profitable

 

[crystalnicole]

@yearning4yeshua You could call local tree removal companies and other potential customers to see if they even outsource this typically. I’m sure they do, but nice to double check to see who’d be interested before moving too much ahead.

 

[yearning4yeshua]

@crystalnicole Yes, good call.

 

[coffee777]

@yearning4yeshua Landscaping companies frequently get requests from thier customers to do work on the high canopies of trees, and most of those landscape companies don't own a bucket truck.

 

[genarro46]

@yearning4yeshua I always called them cherry pickers, I live in the US.