Nailed a tricky blind pick on a residential build in Charlotte today

Had to lift an AC unit over a finished roof with zero visibility from my cab. I tried using a spotter mirror setup my old mentor showed me and it worked way smoother than I expected. Anyone else have a go-to trick for blind picks that doesn't involve a second radio guy?

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robin6583mo ago

That mirror thing got my buddy too, his glass slid right off mid lift and almost hit a brand new Tesla.

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the_mia3mo ago

That mirror trick works but you're asking for trouble if the glass gets knocked out of alignment midway through the lift. Had a guy on a crew years ago try that setup and the mirror slipped while he was swinging a unit over a garage. Damn near took out a skylight. You're better off marking the ground with spray paint lines before you start, lining up your outriggers to those marks, and then using a fixed point on the building like a corner or vent pipe as your reference. That way you're not relying on a moving piece of equipment to tell you where you're at. If you really want a spotter without a second guy, get one of those magnetic boom cameras and mount it on the fly jib, feed the screen into your cab. Costs maybe a couple hundred bucks and saves you a headache when the mirror decides to betray you.

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