Digger Derricks: The Hole-y Grail of Digging and Lifting Equipment

Any industrial job that requires holes to be dug into the ground calls for a digger derrick – a crane-mounted truck with a large boom and an auger (a drilling device).

Depending on how big the auger is, a digger derrick (some call them auger cranes) can dig holes that are 18 inches in diameter and 10 ft deep. They also lift and shift heavy materials, like poles, and hoist personnel to perform aerial tasks.

The utility sector is where digger derricks find the most use, in power distribution and power transmission applications, but they’re also used by telecom, construction, forestry, and other industries.

THE HISTORY OF DIGGER DERRICKS

Like so many industrial solutions that evolved in the post-World War II climate of retooling and reinventing engineered products, the digger derrick was designed in the 1940s to modernize electricity.

 

 

Until then, electric pole installation was a slow and labor-intensive process with work crews digging holes using shovels and hand-augers.

 

 

Leroy C. Lindquist, owner of an equipment manufacturing company in Minnesota, came up with the idea of a machine run by power take-off on a truck’s transmission in order to speed up the digging process. By the 1950s, mass production of digger derrick trucks was well underway.

 

 

A hydraulic version of digger derricks was introduced in the 1960s. As the years went on, more innovations were introduced. These include fiberglass components to improve insulation and radio controls for remote operation. From digging to lifting heavy materials, these trucks could perform a multitude of tasks that simplified operations in a variety of jobsites.

DIGGER DERRICK TERMINOLOGY YOU MUST KNOW

DIGGER DERRICKS ON TRACKS

An alternative to digger derricks on wheeled chassis is an auger crane on tracks. Sometimes, they are better suited for terrains with less than optimal conditions, like grounds with inclines.

Waterlogged, sandy, swampy or snowy grounds may also be hard for truck wheels to negotiate. The continuous band of track treads has superior traction and covers a larger surface area, which better distributes the weight of the truck on uneven ground.

Looking for new/used track digger derricks on sale? Check out Custom Truck’s inventory, on the ground and ready to go, by clicking HERE.

MAIN DIGGER DERRICK SAFETY CONCERNS

• Instability during operation is a primary safety concern when working with any digger derrick. Instability can be caused by a variety of circumstances, such as improper set-up of the unit or uneven, soft, or inclined ground conditions.

 

• Accidental contact with energized electric lines or gas/electric/water lines buried underground during the hole-digging process.

BUYING GUIDE: 6 TIPS ON CHOOSING THE RIGHT DIGGER DERRICK FOR YOUR NEEDS

• How much weight do you need to pick up? Match this need with how much the unit you are considering will pick up at 10 feet from the centerline of the truck. If the digger derrick is too small for the job, it may dig a hole from a certain position but not be able to lift the pole. In such a scenario, the truck will have to be moved from its current position to get the right boom angle. This wastes a lot of time and effort on the job.

 

• Select a sheave height that’s about two-thirds of the length of the pole you intend to lift and set.

 

• What kind of terrain will you be working in? In extreme circumstances, a tracked unit may be better suited for your application than a wheeled one.

 

• What size of auger will you need? Auger size depends on the size of the hole you have to dig. You don’t want to buy a digger derrick with a capacity that doesn’t allow it to lift an auger full of material out of the hole.

 

• Do you need radio controls?

 

• Do you need insulation? You may if you are working near power lines.

Custom Truck One Source has you covered with the industry’s most respected brand names in our inventory like Terex and Elliott.

CHECK OUT OUR INVENTORY OF DIGGER DERRICKS FOR SALE OR RENT BY CLICKING HERE.

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