Bucket truck donation
Donate a bucket truck that has come off its inspection cycle
Bucket trucks come out of service on a schedule rather than a breakdown. The boom needs dielectric testing, the annual inspection comes due, and a tree service or sign company decides to buy newer rather than certify older. The truck still works, and there is a real market for it.
Where donated bucket trucks come from
Tree services, sign companies, electrical contractors and telecom outfits. The truck has passed its certification window and recertifying an older unit is a judgment call that often goes the other way.
Utilities and municipalities send fleet units. A public works bucket truck replaced on a capital cycle is often the best condition unit we see, because it was maintained on a schedule and stored inside.
Small contractors send single trucks bought for one job. A sign shop that stops doing high work has a valuable truck and no channel to sell it.
Driven when possible, hauled when not
A registered, running bucket truck is driven. Boom stowed, outriggers up, and it moves like any other truck. That is the cheapest option and it keeps more of the sale with the cause.
If it will not run, or if the boom is stuck out of its cradle, tell us. A boom that cannot be stowed changes the height and may require a permit, and it needs to be secured before the truck moves at all.
We do not require current certification to accept the truck, and we do not require you to have the boom tested. We arrange transport either way.
What decides what a bucket truck brings
- Working height and boom maker. The two specs that define the truck. A 55-foot material-handling Altec is a different product than a 37-foot non-insulated unit.
- Insulated or not. An insulated boom with dielectric test history sells to utility and electrical buyers. A non-insulated boom sells to tree and sign work.
- Certification and inspection records. Not required, but a current annual and a dielectric test on file move the truck out of the unknown pile and into a higher price band.
- Chassis, mileage and PTO hours. Both matter. Boom hours tell a buyer how hard the aerial unit actually worked.
- Body and extras. A utility body with compartments, a material handler jib, a chip box or a winch all add.
Makes and bodies we accept
Buyers search the aerial maker first, then the chassis.
- Aerial units: Altec AT, AA and LR series, Versalift TEL and VST, Terex Hi-Ranger and XT, Elliott, Dur-A-Lift, Posi-Plus, Aspen, Teco, Lift-All, HiLine.
- Chassis: Ford F-350 through F-750, Chevrolet and GMC 3500HD through 5500HD, Ram 4500 and 5500, International 4300 and MV, Freightliner M2, Hino, Isuzu, Kenworth T270, Peterbilt 337.
- Related bodies: Knapheide, Reading and Stahl utility bodies, chip boxes from Southco and Arbortech, digger derricks from Altec and Terex.
Manufacturer names appear here so you can find your own vehicle. No manufacturer sponsors, endorses or is affiliated with this program.
The paperwork, and what you can deduct
A truck is a titled vehicle, so the title has to transfer. If it is lost, most states have a duplicate process and the state title rules page walks through yours. If the truck was financed, we need the lien release. Company-owned trucks also need whoever signs to have authority to sign for the entity.
Giving Center sells the truck and your deduction is the gross sale proceeds, reported on Form 1098-C. A working bucket truck almost always clears $5,000, so plan on a qualified appraisal and Form 8283 Section B. The appraisal is your expense and your choice, and the appraiser has to be independent of us.
Keep any inspection and dielectric test records you have and hand them over with the truck. On an aerial unit, documentation is part of the asset and it shows up in the sale price.
Bucket truck donation questions
Do I need current certification to donate it?
No. Expired annual inspection or an out-of-date dielectric test is common on a parked truck. It affects the sale price, not whether we accept it.
Will you take one where the boom does not work?
Often yes. The chassis and the body still have value and the aerial unit has parts value. Tell us what the boom does when you engage the PTO.
What if the boom is stuck extended?
Say so on the form. It has to be secured before the truck moves and it may change the route and the permit, so we need to know in advance.
Do you take digger derricks and chip trucks?
Yes, both. Same form, and the body type belongs in the description.
Should I include the records?
Yes. Inspection history and dielectric test documents are worth having and they tend to raise what the truck brings.
Giving Center does not provide tax, legal or financial advice. Donations are deductible to the extent allowed by law. See IRS Publication 526, Publication 561 and Publication 4303, and consult a tax professional.