
A boom truck is sometimes recognized by the cable and telephone company vans that have the elongated arm folded over their roofs. Usually, a bucket-like apparatus sits at the extension of extendable arms. Sometimes known as a cherry picker, or an aerial boom vehicle, a bucket truck has an extendable boom installed on the roof or bed. It is able to transport employees to the top of a telephone or utility pole. Bucket boom vehicles have a lifting capacity of roughly 350 lbs to 1500 lbs or 158 kg to 680 kg plus they are able of extending the bucket up to 34 feet or to around 10 meters into the air.
Building boom trucks or heavy duty boom trucks will regularly have a crane attachment on the rear. Often called knuckle booms, these cranes may be shorter and more compact than the trolley boom, which has a boom able to extend the length of the vehicle. Crane boom trucks include a lifting capability between 10 to 50 tons or just about 9 to 45 metric tons.
An alternate adaptation of boom truck is the concrete boom, which have a pipeline with a nozzle at the end of the truck to pump concrete and other materials. The areas where these materials have to be deposited is usually inaccessible to the vehicle or is stationed at a substantial height, therefore, the boom of a larger concrete boom vehicle may well 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 needed.
Fire engines are frequently equipped with a boom container able to lift firefighters up to the upper floors of buildings. In addition, this boom will permit firefighters to aim the flow of water or to engage or rescue ensnared victims. Some of the older hook and ladder lift trucks have been replaced by current boom vehicles.
There is also a small self-propelled boom truck, similar to a forklift that is offered on the market for huge warehouses or manufacturing facilities. These mini boom vehicles can lift staff to upper storage areas or to the ceiling of the building. They are far safer and more stable than using an extension ladder for the same function.