While there are a range of specialized tools and vehicles used in power line construction, a derrick digger rental often forms the cornerstone of such a project. Because it is responsible for doing the important work of creating mounting holes for the poles in question, a digger will often control the flow of the project as a whole. Those who look into such power line rental equipment, then, typically do well to understand the characteristics of the equipment in question.

Rental providers like knuckle boom trucks for sale generally strive to make this as easy as possible. Many today, in fact, detail their offerings on websites that can make it simple to do research even while sitting at home. Still, becoming familiar with the peculiarities of this kind of power line rental equipment is necessary to understand the figures and facts that might be found there.

For example, every derrick digger has a particular sheave height, and this figure often helps to determine the range of purposes and projects the equipment can be put to. The sheave height is a measure of the distance between the far tip of the digger's boom, or sheave, and the ground when the former is at full extension. The sheave height will impact a number of things, from the length of the digging implement that can be fitted on the digger to the equipment's ability to work in places where ground cover is tight.

Just as significant is the working radius of a particular unit. This figure describes the size of the circle within which a particular derrick digger can be used to dig a hole, and it is invariably something that will become important in the field. A derrick digger with a larger working radius can often be used to dig in places where a unit with a smaller one cannot, simply because a more generous measure means not having to move the whole piece of equipment to gain access.

A final figure that is invariably of interest is the load or lifting capacity of the derrick. This figure will once again influence the range of digging implements that can be fitted, but it also affects the kind of ground a particular unit can dig in, along with how quickly it can proceed. The smallest derrick diggers might only be rated for a thousand pounds or so of duty of this kind, while the largest and most stoutly built can top 20,000 pounds of rating. As with the other major considerations, understanding the likely impact of a particular unit's rating is important to making an appropriate choice.