I am considering buying a lift to use on large buildings. I find you can buy a used lift that reaches 45-70 feet in the 20-30,000 dollar range. I figure if I own it I can rent it out to keep it profitable when not using it for myself.
Anyone else own or use a lift? I would want to use it for mid-rise hotels and buildings. The people who do the mid rise buildings around my area are pretty lazy about it and I think I can sell on being regular and quality work. A lift is my preferred way to clean, but I honestly have no experience with them.
I have worked in a company that owned thier own lift its a good little earner. its also hand to sub contract out with. the main problems is safety certifcation. repairs and the dreaded moveing it from a to b. you should look at a trailer to move it as well. if you can afford it its worth doing
Why not look for a bucket truck? No need for a trailer and if you get a 4x4 you’ll be able to go most places the lift will go. I have used lifts before and the stright booms suck. You are limited in your placement. Articulated is the way to go. a 65 will get you up most 3 and 4 story mid rise buildings. The main reason artics are great is because they can get you around things that the stright boom will not. Like a large tree. Or if you need to run it from a parking lot it’s easier because you can go stright up and then over any cars. With a stright boom you have to be a certain distance from a parked car/van/truck or you can run into it with the arm. I only use them when really needed. My preferred method of cleaning is WFP. Also keep in mind those things use about 100 gals of diesel fuel and it will last you about 1 week if you don’t know what you are doing. Many people keep the lift runing while they are up so they can move it around. But there is no need. The lifts can be started and stopped from the basket and that will save you some gas. But with prices at roughly $3.00 per gal your looking at an overhead of $300.00 just to turn it on. Not to mention the gas in towing it. You need a big rig and trailer to tow those things. They weigh tons. Also the upkeep on them is not the greatest. You just cant pull that thing into a backyard mechanic, you need to have a guy who knows how to maintain the hydrolics. Blow a hose and that can be a pretty penny. I would stick with renting them. Most rental companys will work with you on price. During windy days (25 mph) you can’t go up and if you get the right rental company they will not charge you for the day you can’t use it.
I like lifts for bigger mid-rise jobs. Hotels, hospitals, and college campus buildings are great. In fact, I’m working today at the local university on a three story monster. Funny things is, I’ve been on the lift all day until I decided to move it around to the opposite side of the building. Unfortunately for me, I got the damn thing stuck when the right side jumped off the sidewalk I was driving down. I spent an hour attempting to get it out. Now I’ve got to go back tonight when no one is parked near and pull it out with my truck.
I think that it is incredibly funny that Chris Lamb…(sp?) commented on my facebook post. Its only been like four months since I posted here. It’s karma, I tell you.
But back to the question: I do like man lifts. My thought on them is its better to rent than to buy. Main reason being, aside from getting it stuck, if it becomes in-operable at any time, for any reason, you can get it fixed or replaced with one phone call. The upkeep is null, no storage costs, no sitting-still run-down problems. Very easy to call and reserve them.
I’d stay away from bucket trucks because of gas, up-keep, insurance, accessibility issues, etc. And, they just don’t do as well in my opinion. You have to crank it up to move it or leave it running all day.
Sounds to me like you might consider a big WFP if you’re ready to spend all that dough on a lift. I know that they aren’t the end all be all of reaching high places, but most bigger buildings can be accessed with one. I’ve got one, but it wouldn’t work for my current job because of a void space below the windows. I am having to reach up as well as out 20 feet to get to the glass on this building.
Good luck. Sorry to ramble. It’s been a while since I’ve posted.
I have to agree with both previous posts about owning a large lift. The transport and storage costs are indeed something to consider, as well as upkeep on the machine. For renting one out I would also say that is harder than it seems. Besides the maintenance, transport, and training required to maintain one and be able to provide service on it if it breaks down there is also an enormous insurance expense for covering that in your general liability and umbrella insurance as the risk of getting sued is much larger.
However, if you do consider buying one, maybe look into a tow behind lift or a tracked atrium style lift. The reason being that they are light weight enough to be towed behind the average vehicle and also leave less of an impact on the job site where you are working, i.e. less ruts, broken landscape tiles, etc.
The biggest disadvantage to any of these I have to say is that although the cost of purchasing used aerial lifts has roughly remained the same, the cost of renting one is nearly half what it used to be. (At least in Chicagoland)
If you have any questions about a lift you are looking to buy I can help answer any of those, we rent, sell and service any and all types of aerial lifts and I am always willing to help someone else, even if they aren’t a customer.
thanks for the info on the lifts. Sounds like a better idea to rent one. they are not too expensive around here, and easy to get a hold of, I suppose I could try that route first.
Someone beat me to the whole insurance aspect of renting out a lift. why don’t you hang? much rather trust my ropes than a whole ****load of unsupervised hydraulics
some building are just not rapelable and a lift can be good alternative. I have used them for 25 years now and spend about $10,000 to $20,000 a year in rentals. It would cost me much more to buy and maintain a lift. Just to replace a single hydrolic hose is a fortune and you have to have a flat bead semi to move it. I add the cost of a lift to my priceing and charge it to the customer so I realy have no out of pocket on lift rentals. I would rather use a lift in some cases over a water fed pole just because you cant beat the quality of getting hands on the window. I have seen some pretty poor water fed pole jobs in my time and they dont clean frames and ledges very will. I would rent over buying but just my opinion.
I know it was almost 5 years ago you posted this but have you been checking around lately? We offer a conmpact Easy Lift 70-36AJ unit for less than 105K and can be carried by a tilt trailer with a regular pickup. The repairs on our series of compact tracked spider lift is very easy. Simple logic circuits composed of fuses, relays and switches, all available locally in any electric outlet. As for hydraulics, all components outside of booms, and all with BSP fittings carried by all hydraulic service companies. As long as someone is there who knows the machine and can perform the movements for the hydraulic guy, he’ll have in his service truck all what is required to fix any hose.
I will be glad to provide answers if you have questions. Here are a few pics.
Jesse,
We do Nationwide rentals with our units since it is a very niche product and rare. The fact our units are simple to use allow us to confidently send them far away from our Montreal location without any problems. Please send me a private message, or give me your email and I will be able to send you a formal rental quote.
THank you
Liteguy,
We sent a unit in Calgary for a 9 month period during the structural construction on the roof of Calgary university. We also sent another unit to Suncore, in Fort MacMurray for a 4 months period. We do North American wide rentals with our units because they are rare and even major rental houses only carry a few.
What it means for you is you caould line-up jobs and get a medium term rental with our units. We have 59’, 70’, 100’ and 116’ available for rental. Would you like a formal quote? Please let me know and also how I can reach you. My email direct is: [email protected]
Regards.
@ Looking at your website, it looks like you do not carry atrium tracked spider lifts? Would you like to talk? We are the exclusive distributor for Easy Lift series, the widest in the market ranging from 40 to 135 feet. All our units are free of fancy electronics, temperamental and climate sensitive components. You can find most parts on local market and they are easy to operate, maintain and repair.
Please advise.
[MENTION=915]ShinyWindowz[/MENTION] Please allow me to provide you with some other options if you haven’t yet made the move: UP Equip - Atrium Compact Tracked Crawler Lifts, Sales and Rental - Accueil
You will find there the widest range of atrium compact tracked spider lift series available in North America from Easy Lift. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you and best regards.
Alain
Toll free: 844-873-7847
