South Canterbury’s electricity network runs from Timaru’s suburban streets inland as far as Mount Cook, and the trucks that look after it need to handle both. Alpine Energy’s newest Waimea-built addition, a Linelift® DHT150AS on Isuzu FTS800 4x4, is set up to work live lines wherever the job takes it.
" We're pleased to work with Waimea Group to bring this new Linelift® truck into service. It's an investment in the safety of our people and supports our long-term strategy of maintaining a resilient and reliable electricity network."
– John Campbell, Chief Network Delivery Officer at Alpine Energy
On suburban streets, the truck often sets up on a grass berm beside the kerb. The FTS800 4x4’s diff locks and Allison automatic handle soft ground, and the same traction gets the crew to the pole when a job heads out of town.
The straight telescopic boom and wrap-around end-mount bucket let the operator work around a pole structure, not just from one side. A 600mm bucket lift slide and 180° hydraulic bucket rotation fine-tune the position from there. A hydraulic jib arm with a 500kg winch lets the crew lift crossarms or insulators into place during the same job, without waiting on extra gear.
With 16.5m of working height and a 300kg bucket on a fully insulated 46kV Category C boom, the DHT150AS covers most distribution work. Auto-levelling outriggers and collision protection keep set-up quick and safe on sloping streets or uneven ground.
It’s a perfect example of a live line truck matched to its network and the crew who run it!
