A boom truck is sometimes recognized by the cable and phone business vans that have the elongated arm folded over their roofs. Usually, a bucket-like apparatus sits at the extension of extendable arms. Sometimes known as a cherry picker, or an aerial boom vehicle, a bucket vehicle has an extendable boom installed on the roof or bed. It is capable of transporting workers to the peak of a telephone or electrical pole. Bucket boom vans have a lifting capacity of around 350 lbs to 1500 lbs or 158 kg to 680 kg plus they are able of extending the bucket up to 34 feet or just over 10 meters into the air.

Heavy equipment boom trucks or construction boom vehicles may have a crane attached to the back. These cranes often called knuckle booms can be short and compact or be of the trolley boom type, where the crane is capable of extending the span of the vehicle bed. Hoist boom vehicles possess a hauling capability between 10 to 50 tons or roughly 9 to 45 metric tons.

Concrete boom vehicles are a further variation. The booms on these lift trucks have a tube with a nozzle at the extreme end and are used to pump concrete or other resources. The places where these materials ought to be deposited is oftentimes inaccessible to the vehicle or is found at a substantial height, for that reason, the boom of a larger concrete boom vehicle may be extended 230 feet or approximately 71 meters. The truck then pumps the material through the boom directly depositing it into the space where it is required.

Fire departments are equipped with a lengthy container boom employed to elevate firefighters to the upper floors of a structure. Once in place, this boom enables them to direct water onto flames or to rescue trapped victims. Some of the older hook and ladder trucks have been displaced with up to date boom trucks.

Self propelled booms are relatively similar to forklifts. These little boom trucks may lift staff to lofty storage space or to the ceiling of large warehouses and stockroom facilities. They are more stable and therefore far safer than using extension ladders for the same application.

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