Pulling Cable in Ditch Along Road

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Barbich

Member
Location
United States
I have a project where I will be trenching about a half mile then running cable in the trench. Is it a violation of safety procedures to install the wire from a reel mounted to a motorized vehicle, like the bed of a truck?

Anyone have experience with the most efficient way to install something like this without hand pulling it.
 

xformer

Senior Member
Location
Dallas, Tx
Occupation
Master Electrician
I have a project where I will be trenching about a half mile then running cable in the trench. Is it a violation of safety procedures to install the wire from a reel mounted to a motorized vehicle, like the bed of a truck?

Anyone have experience with the most efficient way to install something like this without hand pulling it.

What type of cable?
 

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
I would have to beleieve that pulling from a truck would be the least of your concerns,
fine other than wieght and balancing that much weight!

With the distance and weight, I'd have believe a trailer spool would be better. You in that
big a town to rent one?

You'd still be required to get "no cuts" out there, you will find things that you don't expect
and that are not documented!

Good Luck!
 

WorkSafe

Senior Member
Location
Moore, OK
Only thing I'll mention is that if you are close to the road, your crew should wear reflective vests. Make sure your "ditch" does not become a "trench" because that opens up a whole other set of requirements.
 

Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
Are you planning on tieing the wire off to something and driving with the spool spinning in the back of the truck? Or leaving the truck stationary with the spool and dragging it down the ditch with another vehicle?

How good is your ditch? Is it good soft soil or rocky and jagged?
 

Barbich

Member
Location
United States
Thanks for the replies.

My thought was to mount the reel on a truck bed and slowly go down the road. Guys would pull off the reel from the ground laying it in the ditch.

Note that the truck would not be the force turning the wheel. Meaning, they would not tie off then run 10MPH down the road as the reel furiously tries to keep up.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Thanks for the replies.

My thought was to mount the reel on a truck bed and slowly go down the road. Guys would pull off the reel from the ground laying it in the ditch.

Note that the truck would not be the force turning the wheel. Meaning, they would not tie off then run 10MPH down the road as the reel furiously tries to keep up.
With a 1/2 mile of cable that reel may pull kind of hard - depending some on what kind of "bearing surfaces" it is turning on.
 

mgookin

Senior Member
Location
Fort Myers, FL
I'd still look at using a vibratory plow first.
I wish they had them back when I did underground!

A plow will trench & bury your cable and there's no backfill or sod work to do.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I'd still look at using a vibratory plow first.
I wish they had them back when I did underground!

A plow will trench & bury your cable and there's no backfill or sod work to do.
Not the kind of thing you typically rent, you either have one or you contract someone that has one.
 

Ragin Cajun

Senior Member
Location
Upstate S.C.
If you have never done this type of work before . . . step back a bit.

Screwing up a 1/2 mile of 2300V cable will cost a fortune, plus possibly your job.

Hire it out to someone who knows what they are doing and have the equipment to do it.

Some things simply aren't "do-it-yourself". Been there, done that!


RC
 
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