This is your Ford bucket trucks overview. It will help you understand what a bucket truck is. This overview will also tell you how they are built and what bucket trucks are used for, now and in the past.

Picture a bucket on the end of a stick. Simplistic, but this is a rough visual of what a bucket on a bucket truck looks like. The bucket is where a man or woman resides while working from a bucket truck. The bucket allows workers to work off of the ground safely, fast, and efficiently. In addition to controls on the truck itself, most modern bucket trucks have a duplicate set of hydraulic controls in the bucket so the person working can maneuver him/herself without having to depend on another person on the ground.

Bucket trucks originally were called “cherry pickers” because some of the first bucket trucks were made to help pick cherries and other fruit like oranges, apples, plums, and pears, as well as nuts. Bucket trucks allowed people to pick fruit from high up in trees. Today bucket trucks are still used for picking fruit and nuts. However, they are also used to help repair and installation crews in the electrical power line business install and repair lines; for cable television installation and repair; for telephone wiring and repair; and sometimes for window cleaning. People also use them for hanging holiday decorations, for climbing otherwise unclimbable trees, for mining applications, for exterior painting jobs, and in construction, for example, for window installation. Fire trucks equipped with a bucket are known as “snorkels” and are used to help fight fires on the upper floors of buildings – some as high as five or six stories. An unusual use for bucket trucks is in the entertainment industry where people jump or glide, as in acrobatics.

Most modern bucket trucks have telescoping arms. This allows the bucket to move in and out, enabling the worker to position him/herself closer or farther away from the task at hand. Of course, the bucket also moves up and down vertically for nearly-complete versatility. The arm/bucket combination has a safety device to halt operation automatically if the bucket truck would begin to tip over. And the rubber tires on bucket trucks prevent electrical current from making a connection with the ground, thus making working around electric power lines safer.

Many bucket trucks in the 1980’s and 90’s were mounted on Ford 8000 trucks, as well as Ford 800 and 900 trucks. The 1990’s and 2000’s saw F600, F650, F700, and F750 Ford trucks used as base trucks.

In addition to new Ford bucket trucks, there are many fine used Ford bucket trucks on the market. Whatever your off-the-ground need, you can usually find a Ford bucket truck at a reasonable price. So do an Internet search for Ford bucket truck today and you will find many good new and used Ford vehicles for purchase, for rent or for lease. Or contact your local Ford truck dealer.