I operate a HIAB on a 3.5 tonner and sometimes the same on a rigid for a builder’s merchant. I am asked to unload stuff in the tightest of spots etc etc Fair enough but what I am a little unhappy about is that often these places are on steep gradients. Where do I stand in terms of what is a reasonable gradient to unload from? I did the course a few months back but I don’t have any manual to view when needed and I cant’ remember covering this on the course which was really a rush job. Could somebody also give me a link regarding distances etc from overhead lines…not just power lines? I feel at the moment that I am pleasing everybody and not looking after my own and others safety. I have to really argue my case when I feel someting is not safe but I would like to be able to know things for sure…Thanks very much.
can’t help with the HIAB Ader1 but feel the same as you having recently started as a tipper driver. I do my best to please everyone but some of the gradients and the soft ground, nearby power lines/telephone cables etc make me feel uneasy at times i’ve put my foot down and said " no, you can’t have it there" or " i can put it there" 
the thing is no one can really say what is safe, each delivery is taken on its own merits and you have to weigh it all up on arrival. i’m just doing what i feel comfortable with, it’s my licence, i trained damned hard for it and it’s my job on the line if i screw up, most of the customers have never driven a tipper or operated a HIAB so they just push their luck and ask for what they like, but the bottom line is it’s down to you…sorry i can’t be of better help but i kinda know how you’re feeling… safety first!!! …best of luck 
The thing to remember is if something goes wrong, the first person to cop the blame will be you. No one is going to say “It’s my fault I thought it would be OK”
Just remember that you are the driver and they just want it a bit closer so they have got to do less.
By all means be helpfull and put things where you can, but do it safely.
Just did my first job on a HIAB on monday, thoroughly enjoyed it although the day was not without its drama.
1st drop was a garden shed and 2 pallets of slabs which the customer asked to be dropped over a 6’ fence. Hut went in OK but 1st lot of slabs brought in the high load alarm and the gear wouldn’t lift, only lower, the fence got a bit of dunt before I got the load down safely and some hammer work was required to get it back together, luckily the customer stayed indoors and missed it all.
Another drop came unstuck when a dodgy pallet came to bits and a load of slabs nearly fell off the truck, managed to get them back on by grabbing the slabs on their own. Lessons were being learned very quickly!
The last drop was fencing and cement bags, and the very nice lady customer gave me a chilled Irn Bru, all in all a good 1st day, but no dodgy pallets will be accepted in future and weights will be checked.
a HIAB on a 3.5 tonner
Surely it cant carry much with a hiab on it? I mean even a small one is pretty heavy?
a dodgy pallet came to bits
A word of warning,
full pallets of cement will often snap if you try and lift them with narrow slings this at best will give you a lot of cement bags to restack but most likely will leave a big heap of cement all over the floor and possibly you. If you have to use slings try and get some wide ones to spread the weight more evenly, or a couple of short sections of scaffold tube can help to stop the slings cutting into the pallet.
Make sure that you keep a good distance between you and the suspended load in case something does slip or break. It sounds obvious but sometimes you need to think about the consequences of what would happen.
Still they are excellent bits of kit and once you have mastered them, it is very satisfying to put something exactly on the spot first time.
Another handy thing to remember is when you unstow the crane, don’t stand underneath it. They fill up with rainwater and give you a soaking.
You only forget once though.
Good tips for newbie hiabers coming in on this thread 
I found myself driving around with the boom up high because I didn’t want to stow the grab on top of fragile looking larchlap fencing, next time I’ll get it loaded at the back. Any dodgy pallets will be refused or requested to be put on good ones. It’s the old story of the newbies trying to please and not look too gormless. I did have some successes on the first day at it though, one customer asked if I could get gravel out of the bags so I grabbed them slightly of centre at the bottom and hey ho out it came, quite chuffed with that. 
Oh yes, brick grabs have a habit of cracking cement pallets too. The only good thing is that you get a bit of warning, when you hear Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack its gonna go.
Thanks for all of your replies…It’s good to know that the dilemmas that I have aren’t unique. The one thing I would like to add if you operate a hiab is that you make sure that the ‘legs’ are properly stowed away after use. These could be absolutely lethal if one drove off with one sticking out. I have a warnig light which tells me if they are not stowed away properly but for some reason, this warning light sometimes doesn’t go off even though they are stowed away properly. I have to switch off ignition and then back on…usually does the trick. But I make sure that the light does go off and I check in the mirrors. All of this after I am certain that I have locked them in place etc I have to come clean. You see, I did once drive off with the warning light on thinking again that it was a fault but on this occasion I had forgotten to stow away one of the legs after my mind was taken with chatting to a customer. Thank God I noticed pretty soon. So make sure your warning system does go off or whatever.
Somebody questioned the weight of the vehicle…It is 7.5 maximum laden and carries 3.5 tonnes. I could find the laden weight insribed in the cab but coudn’t find unladen. I am told by the other drivers that it can carry 3.5. It should be made clearer…
There is no harm in double checking, I am always getting in the cab ready to go, and then just getting out to check the ramps are secure or is that strap tight enough. Seeing bits of your load disappearing into the distance is no way to go.
As for the warning light / buzzer mine will not go out until the crane and legs are stowed perfectly, sometimes i even have to unfold the flippin thing and re-stow it, however if you put the hook on the floor of the body dead centre it stops, and once I noticed that it had stopped when it was at about right angles to the vehicle.
When I have finished I fold it up, raise the jacks, stow each leg and lock it, open the drivers door to make sure the warning is quiet, switch the crane off and then disengage the PTO. It sounds obvious but it is handy to do everything in order so you do not miss something
Ader, try and get it onto a weighbridge somewhere when it’s empty then you’ll know for sure what it will carry. I drive a 7.5t curtainsider with a sleeper cab and a tail lift and it surprised my boss quite a bit to find it could only carry 2 tons.
Remember it will be down to you if you get pulled overweight.
Oh, and don’t forget the max laden weight includes a full tank and you.
Did my course a couple of years ago, was told that the distance from power lines MUST be at least 10 meters. As for the slope, its what you feel comfortable with, our trucks are fitted with cranes that wont slew if the slope is too much, so as the crane cant be damaged. Remember the ground should be firm also, there is nothing worse than the legs sinking slowly into the mud as you crane over some blocks or timber.
Dont be taken in by the builders who say “aye the last guy put the bricks up here/in there/over that” remember if it all hits the fan, your the guy who takes the rap.
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I’m going to a scaffolding firm where I’ve done work before but this time I’ll be using their HIAB. My mate has just done some similar work and is amazed that I’ll be doing this single handed. He was out on a HIAB which he hasn’t got a ticket for so another HIAB trained guy came with him. He reckons it will be very difficult to get stillages stacked working solo.
Any comments, tips?
Much of my Hiab work is loading and off loading stillages approx 1m x 1m x 1m it is almost always just me doing it, it takes a little while longer but it can be done. Take it steady so that they don’t spin or rock, and if necessary nudge them against another to line them up, or just wander over and try and turn it. But it’ll probably just spin back once you are at the levers. Getting them back on the vehicle is the worst thing especially when you are loading them right to the back, as it is difficult to see what they are doing.
If you do get help, make sure that your chains or slings are put on the way that you would do it. I have a way of doing it that works fine, if someone else helps I make sure that they do it my way.
Also be extra cautious when you are moving loads when someone is helping, a jerky movement or wrong lever could cause a big accident.
Best of luck.
Somebody questioned the weight of the vehicle…It is 7.5 maximum laden and carries 3.5 tonnes. I could find the laden weight insribed in the cab but coudn’t find unladen. I am told by the other drivers that it can carry 3.5. It should be made clearer…
Generally when you say 3.5tonner it means the gross weight, a 3.5tonner is normally a transit sized vehicle. Quoting the payload is an Army method.
Only reason i mentioned it, is that if you had a 3.5 ton sprinter/■■■■■■ whatever, that weighs 1.5t unladen, and you put a Hiab weighing about a ton on the back it only leaves room for a 1 ton load, 1 pallet of bricks would hardly seem worth it
Most 7.5 tonners will carry 3 or 4 ton legally.
It’s 6m from power lines but I would probably give 10m to be sure. Make sure you carry a foot to put under the leg at all times. The proper plastic crane feet are the best and should be supplied under HSE rules and regs. But if they aren’t nail a few thick pieces of timber together with a 2’ square piece of 1’’ plywood on the top and bottom, that will do for most lifts.
Remember the HPLS button is to get you out of trouble not into it 
8wheels:
Much of my Hiab work is loading and off loading stillages approx 1m x 1m x 1m it is almost always just me doing it, it takes a little while longer but it can be done. Take it steady so that they don’t spin or rock, and if necessary nudge them against another to line them up, or just wander over and try and turn it. But it’ll probably just spin back once you are at the levers. Getting them back on the vehicle is the worst thing especially when you are loading them right to the back, as it is difficult to see what they are doing.If you do get help, make sure that your chains or slings are put on the way that you would do it. I have a way of doing it that works fine, if someone else helps I make sure that they do it my way.
Also be extra cautious when you are moving loads when someone is helping, a jerky movement or wrong lever could cause a big accident.
Best of luck.
Cheers 8wh,
Looks like 1st day is going to be a slow one, I did a rigging and slinging course when I was offshore, so hopefully that should help. The firm I’ll be working for have been pretty good so far so I don’t feel under too much pressure. One bonus is that I won’t have to wait on prima donna forkies on building sites!