Digger Derrick – What is it used for?

While driving down a highway or interstate, have you ever wondered how telephone poles or large electrical poles get there? How about when passing road work and seeing a large truck drilling in the ground? The truck is known as a Digger Derrick. A Digger Derrick is a large, crane-like truck with an attachment called an auger. The auger looks like a giant corkscrew and is used for drilling in the ground. The Digger Derrick is an essential piece of equipment in the utility trucking world. In fact, here are five ways a digger derrick is used:

1. Telephone Pole Installation – A digger derrick can dig a hole up to 18 inches round and 10 feet deep. It can dig the hole for the telephone pole as well as lift and place the pole in the ground.
2. Electrical Pole Installation – Much like the telephone pole installation, digger derricks are also used to install electrical poles and wiring.
3. Electrical Work – Digger derricks can be used to fix electrical wires that have been damaged due to storms or other natural disasters.
4. Trimming Tree branches – Because of the ability to reach heights, digger derricks can be used to transport workers to trim tree branches so they won’t get in the way of the electrical wires and cause unnecessary power outages or wire damage.
5. Road work – Digger derricks can be used to take personnel below ground to make underground repairs to things as well as fixing potholes in the road.

The digger derrick is an extremely useful truck in the utility world. If you are interested in more information or interested in becoming a digger derrick operator, sign up for more information on digger derrick training classes.