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1996 jlg 45e

Joined
Dec 6, 2019
Hi everyone!

I've seen posts about boom lifts on here before, and am not sure in what section, so please forgive me if I'm in the wrong place!

But I run this lift at work, and am wondering, is there a limit to how far out you can extend the boom when high up in the air? Everyone I ask has a different answer. Seems to me like it would put a lot of leverage on the base of the machine. But I'm no engineer. Some people have said it won't let you do anything unsafe, but it is just an old machine after all. Others have said they wouldn't because the boom is too small for their weight. I've never had formal training, but also don't want to tip over from 45' in the air either! If anyone has experience with these and could share some knowledge/wisdom with me, that would be great!

Thanks!
 
My experience with boom and scissor lifts is that they won't let you do anything unsafe. The new ones are ridiculous. In fact, that's why I went out and bought my own 10 year old one because I couldn't rent one that would work without driving my nuts with the safety crap.

I find the easiest way to get into trouble with people lifts is overloading them. Usually they have a 500-700 lb payload and that goes down if you are working over the side or have the slide outs fully extended. So, my recommendation is to be aware of the weight you are loading it with and use common sense. I know my JLG scissor lift only senses the load in the first 2 feet of lift. So if I use the forklift to get it started I can lift, say, 2 tons instead of the recommended 500 lb max.

Looking up your model # that looks like the cheap charley sort of articulating thing. I really wouldn't expect to get 20+ years out of one of those for commercial use. The shooting boom types are a lot beefier and better built than those ones.
 
Thanks for the reply! And yeah idk about this one, all I know for sure is my company won't be getting anything newer until I die in this! Lol! Just trying to learn as much as I can about this thing to prolong that as long as possible!

So the weight limit on this is 500LBS. I'm 210. So basically I should be able to boom out all the way at any height and not tip over?
 
Want to get into trouble....use the boomlift to load 2 ton bulker bags of sandblasting grit up onto a boat....on top of the wheelhouse ,I might add,must have made the boat unstable too.We had a JLG about 1996,too ,got the manuals somewhere.Ill check the model... .Nope..Model 80HX.
 
Thanks for the reply! And yeah idk about this one, all I know for sure is my company won't be getting anything newer until I die in this! Lol! Just trying to learn as much as I can about this thing to prolong that as long as possible!

So the weight limit on this is 500LBS. I'm 210. So basically I should be able to boom out all the way at any height and not tip over?

Put 500 on it boom all the way out near the ground. See what happens. It's not like they move at rocket speed. If it starts getting tippy, well, there you go, better stop there. If it don't tip at the ground level it can't tip up in the air.
 
Okay, thank you!

Iv'e just been under the impression that the higher up the boom is, the more leverage there will be on it when extended out. But that explanation makes sense, thank you!
 
You can extend the wheels out to improve stability.....about the biggest risk of tipping is when the bucket is caught under a tank coaming or a fascia beam,and lifting actually tips the machine ...Ours weighed 24 tons in quite a small package,so there is plenty of weight keeping it stable.
 
You can extend the wheels out to improve stability.....about the biggest risk of tipping is when the bucket is caught under a tank coaming or a fascia beam,and lifting actually tips the machine ...Ours weighed 24 tons in quite a small package,so there is plenty of weight keeping it stable.

No sorry man, this is a totally different type of machine. There's no extending wheels. This is for personnel lift only.
 
Some people have said it won't let you do anything unsafe,

I've never had formal training, but also don't want to tip over from 45' in the air either! If anyone has experience with these and could share some knowledge/wisdom with me, that would be great!


Where the heck are you working that has you running a 45' aerial boom with no training? Seek a better employer who will care if you die or worse kill someone else.

Yes most boom lifts are indeed designed to prevent obviously reckless use from being possible. Yet it is still a piece of equipment responsible for dozens of deaths every year in construction. Seek appropriate training before running equipment you are not comfortable using please. Not advice on an internet forum. If you understandably feel stuck in need of a job, but with a company who doesn't give a damn about safety...OSHA is always a phone call away.

Many good people unwillingly gave their lives for safety rules to be written.
 
Ive got a state govt issued operators ticket for unlimited boom length ,and also a endorsement on a trainers ticket,and I ve never had a lesson.....its just a matter of ...there is the machine,there is the job,do it.As has been mentioned ,its pretty hard to go wrong,provided you keep clear of HV wires ,and keep your safety harness on...what could possibly go wrong?....Long before EPV s,I was climbing crane booms for the same result.
 
...there is the machine,there is the job,do it

Said many of the people who died last year in a construction accident, or more likely their bosses said it.

...what could possibly go wrong?..

Enough for 20 something people a year to die in the US, so clearly some things can go wrong.

I'll add that short of mechanical failure a boom lift should never tip over when used on a flat solid surface, in a clear open space. If OP has confidence in all other aspects of operating the lift, but has just developed a recurring fear of spontaneously tipping I would say you will quickly learn to feel comfortable the more you use it.

My initial post just hit a nerve about too many people feeling forced into positions of operating machines they should not be operating, with inadequate training, and feeling like they can not ask to receive such. Which I stand by the original sentiment of my first post.
 
Thing is, at my last job, they at least had nice modern lifts. You really couldn't mess up unless you're hot rodding across slopes and potholes. I know the basics, but really would like in depth knowledge on this old thing I'm running now...

Two of the tires have sidewall damage, and the inspector said they should be foam filled for obvious safety reasons. So I'm getting the company to have that done for sure as well.
 
Thing is, at my last job, they at least had nice modern lifts. You really couldn't mess up unless you're hot rodding across slopes and potholes. I know the basics, but really would like in depth knowledge on this old thing I'm running now...

Two of the tires have sidewall damage, and the inspector said they should be foam filled for obvious safety reasons. So I'm getting the company to have that done for sure as well.

Has anyone inspected the hydraulic hoses? Wear at critical points? 23 year old lift could have plenty of problems.
 
Has anyone inspected the hydraulic hoses? Wear at critical points? 23 year old lift could have plenty of problems.

x2

It sounds like you are comfortable using a boom lift..just not this one. There is no amount of knowledge to keep you safe in an unsafe piece of old equipment if that is the issue you are concerned with.
 
Just about every(non electric) fatal Ive noted was a safety harness either not worn ,or disconnected for a bit more reach.....hose burst cannot affect the machine,as all the cylinders have burst valves incorporated...the machine is designed so that with the rated load ,it is stable in all positions when correctly set up.......every non fall fatal Ive noted (excluding power lines) has involved machine tipping over due to outrigger failure.....very often collapse of a roadway or footpath that was only inches thick over utility cavity.
 
It is important to wear the harness in these boom lifts, especially when driving them. A good pothole at some speed and you are the projectile from the catapult.

Dont be this guy:
YouTube

These guys did a little better:
YouTube

You won't catch me in it without my harness. I love safety. I just had our ordering guy order a new harness, as this one is as old as the machine itself! Don't want to find out if it works or not...

I've seen those videos. Scares the heck out of me!
 
You want scary ,get in a bucket 200feet up with a guy starting to panic,and running side to side in the bucket and rocking it violently.....Then wanting to take his harness off,cause he was afraid it was choking him......guy was an ice addict,and the labourers got me to take him up as a joke......When I got down,the boss says ....did ya get the welding done?....he was in on the joke.he assigned the dope head as my "safety man" which you have to have when welding.
 








 
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