Boom Trucks

Boom vehicle are often used by phone, cable and utilities firms as they have extended folded arms which are generally folded over the roofs of business vans. On the end of the extension of extendable arms more often than not sits a bucket-like apparatus. When a bucket vehicle has an extendable boom mounted the roof this is often known as an "aerial boom truck" or a "cherry picker". It can transport workers to the peak of a telephone or electrical pole. Bucket boom vans have a hauling capacity of around 350 lbs to 1500 lbs or 158 kg to 680 kg and are capable of extending the bucket up to 34 feet or just over 10 meters into the air.

Heavy equipment boom vehicles or construction boom vehicles can have a crane attached to the rear. These cranes known as knuckle booms might be short and compact or be of the trolley boom kind, where the hoist is able to extend the span of the truck bed. Hoist boom vehicles have a lifting capacity between 10 to 50 tons or about 9 to 45 metric tons.

Concrete boom trucks are another variation. The booms on these vehicles have a pipeline with a nozzle at the remote end and are used to pump concrete or other materials. The locations where these materials need to be deposited is commonly inaccessible to the vehicle or is found at a substantial height, therefore, the boom of a bigger concrete boom vehicle might be extended 230 feet or just about 71 meters. The truck then pumps the material through the boom precisely depositing it into the space where it is required.

Fire engines are often equipped with a boom bucket able to elevate firefighters up to the higher floors of structures. Moreover, this boom will permit firefighters to direct the flow of water or to engage or rescue trapped victims. Many of the older hook and ladder trucks have been displaced by contemporary boom vehicles.

Self propelled booms are very similar to forklifts. These little boom trucks can lift staff to lofty storage space or to the ceiling of large warehouses and storage facilities. They are more secure and as a result much safer than using extension ladders for the same application.

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