About Forestry Bucket Trucks
Forestry bucket trucks—also known as “forestry trucks,” “tree service trucks,” and “tree service bucket trucks”—are versatile vehicles equipped with a vehicle-mounted articulating, telescopic boom with an attached bucket. The boom’s extended vertical and horizontal reach and ability to reposition the bucket quickly add up to valuable safety, efficiency, and productivity benefits for the forestry professionals, tree care workers, landscaping businesses, and others who use them.
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Forestry bucket trucks based on popular chassis like the GMC Topkick C7500 or the Freightliner Business Class M2 106 give workers easy access to hard-to-reach branches, limbs, shrubs, and other vegetation for pruning, trimming, and removal. They do this much more quickly, easily, and safely than heavy ladders, scaffolding, or other labor-intensive solutions.
Forestry Bucket Truck Characteristics & Features
Buckets can typically elevate one or two workers, plus tools and materials, to heights of 60 feet (18.3 meters) or more. Most models also provide about 25 to 50 ft (7.6 to 15.2 m) of horizontal reach, further extending their utility. Additional features to keep in mind when shopping include:
- Insulated buckets provide protection for tree care professionals working near utility lines and other electrical hazards.
- Chipper boxes let you dispose of branches, limbs, and other debris on-site.
- Storage compartments including toolboxes and storage areas for chainsaws, pruners, ropes, ladders, and more.
- Safety equipment such as hydraulic outriggers for better stability and an over-the-cab steel structure to protect against falling limbs and other items.
How Arborists & Tree Care Pros Use Bucket Trucks
Trimming and removing limbs and branches near power and utility lines, and after storms and natural disasters, are among the most common applications for forestry bucket trucks. Tree service workers also use these versatile machines for tasks such as:
2025 Freightliner Business Class M2 106 Plus
- Assessment - Arborists and other tree care professionals use forestry trucks to quickly and easily inspect and treat trees for disease, pest infestation, and overgrowth.
- Removal - These stable work platforms make it significantly easier and safer for landscapers to remove limbs, branches, and overgrowth to improve the appearance of canopies.
- Reach - Forestry trucks help workers reach and work on trees in tight spaces, such as between houses in residential areas or near a building, fence, or other structure.
- Prevention - Many of these trucks’ functions can prove pivotal in preventing and mitigating fire damage, including keeping power lines clear and keeping tree stands clear of excessive dead foliage.
- Safety - Workers commonly use these vehicles to thin and remove overhanging branches and other growth along roadways to keep sightlines unobstructed.
- Installations - Many landscaping businesses rent or buy forestry trucks to install holiday lighting and decorations to generate extra revenue.
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