A street-lighting contractor in Accra asks for a cherry picker. A power utility in Manila asks for a bucket truck. A warehouse builder asks for a boom lift. Two of these three are the same vehicle under different names, and the third is a different machine that is bought, moved and used in a different way. Knowing which is which saves a wasted enquiry.
Three names, two kinds of machine
| Name | Where it is used | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Cherry picker | UK, Africa, Australia; everyday speech almost everywhere | Any boom with a basket for people. Most often the truck-mounted kind |
| Bucket truck | North America, the Philippines, power and telecom utilities | A truck with a boom and a basket (the "bucket"), often insulated |
| Aerial work platform truck | Factory catalogues, tenders | The formal name for the same truck |
| Boom lift | Construction and equipment rental | A self-propelled machine on its own wheels, driven from the basket; not a road vehicle |
So the real choice is between two machines:
- Truck-mounted platform (cherry picker, bucket truck): drives on the road at truck speed, sets its outriggers, works, packs up and drives to the next job.
- Self-propelled boom lift: arrives on a trailer, then crawls around one site for days or weeks.
We build the first kind. Our aerial work platform trucks are all truck-mounted. We do not supply self-propelled boom lifts or scissor lifts, and the section on them below is there to help you decide, not to sell you one.
A warning about one more phrase: "telescopic boom truck" is used both for a platform truck with a straight boom and for a crane truck. Say whether the boom carries a basket or a hook.
Truck-mounted cherry pickers: working heights from 14 m to 65 m
Working height is measured to where a person's hands reach, about 2 m above the basket floor. These examples from our range show how the chassis grows with the height.
| Working height | Truck | Gross weight | Basket load | Typical work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 m | Chengli 4x2 telescopic platform | 4,495 kg | 200 kg | Street lights, signs, tree trimming |
| 18 m | CLW 4x2 insulated platform with tipping cargo bed | 11,995 kg | 280 kg | Distribution lines, pole work with materials on board |
| 21 m | Isuzu 4x2 insulated platform | 7,300 kg | 220 kg | Power utility maintenance |
| 28 m | Isuzu 4x2 telescopic platform with jib, 14 m radius | 7,200 kg | 200 kg | Building facades, billboards, stadium lights |
| 36 m | Dongfeng 4x2 telescopic platform | 13,495 kg | Confirm in quotation | High masts, bridges, industrial plants |
| 45 m | FAW or Isuzu 4x2 telescopic platform, 20 m radius | 18,000 kg | 200 kg | Towers, tall facades, wind and telecom work |
| 65 m | FAW 6x4 telescopic platform | 25,000 kg | Confirm in quotation | The tallest structures a road truck can reach |
Many of the 14 m to 24 m models sit on a chassis of 4,495 kg gross weight and about 2 m width. That keeps them in the light-truck class in many countries and lets them into narrow streets. Our aerial work platform truck guide goes further into working height, outreach and basket load.
Telescopic, knuckle and insulated booms
Telescopic (straight) boom
Sections slide out in a straight line. This gives the greatest height and the longest horizontal reach, which is why every platform above about 24 m in our range is telescopic, with up to seven boom sections. A short jib at the tip, as on the 28 m Isuzu, lets the basket move up and over an edge.
Knuckle (folding) boom
Two or three arms hinged like an elbow. The boom goes up first and then out, so it can reach over a wall, a parked car or a line of trees. It folds into a short package on a compact truck. Our 15 m to 20 m folding-boom models are of this type and suit town maintenance.
Insulated boom
For work near live power lines the upper boom and the basket are made of insulating material, so that the worker is not connected to earth through the truck. This is what a power utility means by a bucket truck. If you need one, state the line voltage, ask for the rated insulation voltage in writing, and ask how often the insulation must be tested. An ordinary steel-boom cherry picker must never be used as a substitute. Our article on utility bucket trucks covers street-light and power-line work.
When a self-propelled boom lift is the better tool
A truck-mounted platform is not always the right answer. Choose a self-propelled boom lift when:
- The work is inside one site for weeks, such as steel erection or cladding, and the machine never needs a public road.
- The operator must reposition every few minutes. A boom lift is driven from the basket with the boom raised; a truck must lower the boom and lift its outriggers before it moves.
- The ground is rough and unmade. Rough-terrain boom lifts have four-wheel drive and large tyres.
- The work is indoors, where an electric boom lift or scissor lift produces no exhaust.
Choose the truck when the jobs are spread across a town or a network: fifty street lights in a day, faults on a power line, signs along a highway. The truck is also registered and insured as a vehicle and needs no trailer and tow vehicle to move it.
Basket load, outreach and outrigger space
- Basket load. Most platforms in our range are rated at 200 kg, which is two people with hand tools. The 18 m insulated model carries 280 kg. Weigh the people, tools and materials you actually lift.
- Outreach falls as load rises. The 18 m model reaches an 11.6 m radius with 100 kg in the basket and 10.6 m with the full 280 kg. Check the working range diagram at your real load.
- Height at full outreach is lower than maximum height. The 28 m Isuzu reaches its 14 m radius at a working height of 17 m, not 28 m. If you must reach 12 m sideways at 25 m up, you need a taller machine than the headline figure suggests.
- Outriggers. The truck stands on four legs while it works. Ask for the outrigger spread and compare it with the lane or pavement you will work from.
- Controls and safety. Ask whether the boom can be operated from both the basket and the turntable, how the basket is lowered if the engine stops, and whether the boom is locked until the outriggers are down.
Common questions
Is a cherry picker the same as a bucket truck?
Yes, when both mean a truck with a boom and a basket. "Bucket truck" more often implies an insulated boom for power-line work.
What is the difference between a cherry picker and a boom lift?
In everyday use, a cherry picker is mounted on a truck and travels on the road, and a boom lift is a self-propelled site machine. Rental companies sometimes call both cherry pickers, so describe how the machine will be moved.
How high can a truck-mounted cherry picker reach?
Our range runs from 14 m to 65 m working height. Up to about 28 m the truck is a light or medium 4x2; at 45 m it is an 18,000 kg chassis and at 65 m a three-axle 6x4.
Can one truck carry materials as well as the platform?
Some can. We list double-cab models that carry a crew of five or six, a model with a cargo bed and an 18 m model with a tipping bed for pole and line work.
Do operators need training?
Yes. Work at height normally requires trained operators, harnesses attached inside the basket and, for insulated units, live-line training. Follow the rules of your own labour authority.
