cherry picker: Definition and Much More from Answers.com

This article is about a vehicle. For the historical British regiment, see 11th Hussars.

A cherry picker (also known as a boom lift or, rarely, as basket crane or hydraladder), is a device that consists of a platform or bucket at the end of a hydraulic lifting system.

It is often mounted on the back of a large vehicle such as a truck (in which case it may also called a bucket truck), or sometimes on a stand-alone trailer or self-moving platform. The bucket is designed for a person to stand in and work from. Often a duplicate set of controls that are used to manipulate the position of the bucket will be available to the person in the bucket, allowing the operator to position himself. The lifting arms of some cherry pickers are capable of telescoping to adjust the reach of the device.

Cherry pickers were originally designed for use in orchards (though not just cherry orchards). It lets the picker pick fruit high in a tree with relative ease. Similar devices, also known as 'cherry pickers' are also used to service telephone, cable television and electrical equipment on utility poles. Some fire trucks have a cherry picker (known as a snorkel) instead of a ladder and some window cleaners may also use them. Cherry pickers are also used in mining, construction, and sometimes by arborists to work safely in otherwise unclimbable trees.

See also

• Aerial work platform (about the general category of similar work equipment)

References