My first job in the sign business included servicing out of a 45' Skyhook very similar to this Radocy, by myself. Load tools and parts in the basket, point the basket where I thought I needed it and climb that ladder. In 8 hours time I would climb that ladder dozens and dozens of times. The crawl from the ladder to the bucket and back again took about all the nerve I had in me. I also worked Skyhook 65' & 85', though always two men. The 85 footer with a 25' jib put you up there at 110'. There was bounce! The rotator gear was worn and it would swing 8-10 feet left or right at the slightest nudge of the switch. Just hold on til it stops rockin'. We would try to point it where it needed to go before we extended.
A good friend of mine swears when he started out, the old man would swing him up in a 55 gallon drum, have him weld it to the pole just below the match plate. He'd unhook the load line and wait in the drum while the old man would lift the head section in place and then he would weld. When the head was set, he would again tie the load line to the drum and cut it loose with a grinder and come home. Ah, the good ole days my arsss!
Enough with the nostalgia. Think of this truck as a crane, that will do service in a pinch. It will lift most poles and head sections in it's height range, which I'm guessing is close to 80'. If your in a locale without a good crane service company, you can also set AC units or even trusses for a builder, whose a good client, once in a while, if need be. This truck will also allow you to reach parking lot lights over 35' that the Altec A200 or similar 'Cable Truck' will not get to. Some Hi-Rise structures you be able to reach also. If the cabinet is big enough to climb in and service from the inside then this trucks great for you. Remember, It's still a two man operation though.
This truck is not an efficient rig to do routine lighting service of smaller cabinet signs. Again, it requires two men. Unless you employ a highly gung-ho 25 year old who Crossfits in their spare time and has no fear of heights. As far as wall installs, consider this: a 35' square tube cable truck can be eased up, down, in, out, or rotated as little as 1/2" - 3/4" when you need to be just right there. More matter how talented the operator on his rig is, with it's age he's gonna move yo around in 2"-5" increments, much more fully extended.
Seriously consider what yo want to use it for. If it's lifting and service over 35', then good deal. This would be a super great truck to have as a second, behind something like an Altec AT37 (42') fore everyday service and wall installs. As TexasSignmaker said, it usually takes two trucks for a head section.
Hope my ramblings helped and Aahh for Nostalgia's sake buy this rig so it will stay on the road and in the air!
