Fred Bunjes spent several years looking for a RUTHMANN V80 cherry picker before he finally found one in 2018: The STEIGER® V80 was originally in service with the German Federal Railways in Regensburg, then with a painting company, before he discovered it at an agricultural machinery dealer near Nuremberg.
Inspired by our last report in the Experience about Carsten Schiedrum’s V80, which was on display at the VW Commercial Vehicle Center in Hanover, Fred Bunjes shared his “major inspection” of the V80 on a 1966 VW T1 with us.
After the purchase, he dismantled the entire cherry picker and disassembled it into all its individual parts. The hydraulic cylinders, valves, lines and pump were overhauled and repaired. Other parts such as bushes, bolts, switches and cables were replaced. Fred Bunjes even went one step further with the rotary gearbox, which was also to be replaced, and simply milled it out of solid material. The VW T1 platform truck was also completely overhauled.
In spring 2022, after around 1500 hours of work, the time had finally come and Fred Bunjes was able to drive the V80 for the first time in almost new condition.
“You can hardly add up the parts and expenses, you might as well buy a new one,” Fred Bunjes reflects. “But it was a great project and I would do it again!”
