Service poles

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elvis_931

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Tennessee
Can anyone let me know of a good way to set 25' service poles in the ground without breaking my back. I do not have a boom truck either. (Would be nice!). I am sure someone out there does this a lot and has a pretty good method for doing it with relative ease; if so, I would appreciate any suggestions(besides buying a boom truck).

Thanks in advance.
 
By service poles do you mean PT 6x6? I have used a Lull or big forklift to some and I have also had them set on ladder racks on top of the van and slid them off into a hole! I choose a lull! :smile:
 
Pike poles. I've (unfortuneately) piked up to 40 footers in the past. It's a 3 or 4 man job for a 25 footer. Put a 2x6, standing up, along the back side of the hole to allow the pole butt to slide down in without gouging out the side of the hole and getting stuck. I have some illustrations someplace. Check back in a few minutes....
 
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Instruction for piking a pole, from a text who's copyright has expired (pre-1923):
pikingapole.jpg
 
I've heard of using a backhoe. Never seen it done but it seems like a pretty good way to go. Dig, hole with on side verticle and the opposite side sloped. Use the backhoe and a timber hitch to drag the pole butt above the hole then use the backoe and timber hitch to lift the pole. The butt end should drop to the bottom of the hole. Tie it off and backfill/compact
 
LarryFine said:
Sounds like the building of Stonehenge.
Click to expand...
No kidding. If you're setting poles in this day and age, you either need to sub that part out or get the right stuff. You can get a junky digger derrick easily for 10-12K and junky bucket trucks for 8-10K. Naturally, you can spend much more on such equipment, but the cost to enter this sort of equipment can be quite reasonable if it's going to be seldom used stuff and you don't care much about what it looks like.
 
mkgrady said:
I've heard of using a backhoe. Never seen it done but it seems like a pretty good way to go. Dig, hole with on side verticle and the opposite side sloped. Use the backhoe and a timber hitch to drag the pole butt above the hole then use the backoe and timber hitch to lift the pole. The butt end should drop to the bottom of the hole. Tie it off and backfill/compact
Click to expand...

Worked well for me, piking a pole, can be dangerous if just one man slips off the pole.
 
When I started contracting on my own 30 years ago I provided temp power poles on the projects I wired. I was young and didn't mind digging holes in rock and setting the poles by hand. As time went on my business grew, I have been renting TPPs to others for over 20 years and currently have over 50 of em out there. I'm older and my back can't do it anymore so 2 years ago I bought a used digger derrick w/bucket and crane. Best purchase I've made in recent years. It's safer for my crew and does a better job in almost any site conditions. On the rare occasions when we need to do one by hand now I can hardly believe how much work it is.
 
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