Thread: Man they cost a lot to rent

I went to look at 3 big trees to take down. The biggest was a cotton wood tree. It is 7ft DBH. I checked into renting a 100ft man lift. One place wanted $1275 for the day. Another wants $1075. That is dropped off and picked up. I had no idea they were so much to rent. I'm glad I didn't bid the job before I called. I was thinking they would be around $700 at the most. Is this price inline with other areas.

Thanks Scott

that sounds high. We got a 100ft lift for 650 a day, and hauled both ways(35miles). It was a life saver though.

If your picking it up and dropping it off it'll be much cheaper, that way they don't have to pay a guy to drive it out, waste fuel, put wear and tear on the vehicle, and so on. That alone would probably chop off at least $200, probably closer to $350.

Be really careful. It still takes quite a bit of tree removal knowledge to safely remove such large trees. You can easily damage a lift and just being in a lift doesn't eliminate the possibility of personal injury.

I have never done a tree that big. I won't be the one working the boom. The person I hire has been doing it for years. I won't take on work I don;t feel comfortable with. I am actually meting with another tree company to try and sub the take down to them. By the time I rent a boom and pay my contract climber it might be cheaper to hire them. Main problem is if I misjudge the time it takes and have to pay for another day of boom lift it's $850. That's a big misjudgement.

Scott

STL,
I too am amazed at the prices to rent these suckers. I was looking at renting one to redo the crown on my chimney. I use the battery/hydro one to clean my chimney. It's a $170 for 4 hours. I trimmed some trees also when I had it.

Originally Posted by STLfirewood

I checked into renting a 100ft man lift. One place wanted $1275 for the day. Another wants $1075. That is dropped off and picked up.

Do you think a crane could get 60-75 feet from it? It may pay to have a company look at it if your climber has worked with them.

Good question Jps, a crane and climber sounds safer to me, I could'nt immagine being up a hundred feet in one of those contraptions-F that I'd rather climb it with a crane.

That is a GINORMOUS tree - be careful! A man lift goes for $650/day here in VA, but I forgot to ask my buddy what size...

Sounds about the same here..

Called them once to see what it cost for reference...

Takes some special equipment to deal with a 7 ft DBH...no 441 of mine will be going through that successfully.

Originally Posted by tree MDS

Good question Jps, a crane and climber sounds safer to me, I could'nt immagine being up a hundred feet in one of those contraptions-F that I'd rather climb it with a crane.

We do it with a climber and a crane. We just priced an oak at the same height .

Our crane goes 75'. We figured riding the crane and climbing the rest. Rigging the limbs down to where the crane could reach them.

I'd rather be hanging from a rope that high also. Just something that I am more comfortable with.

Fred

Originally Posted by Wolfking42084

that sounds high. We got a 100ft lift for 650 a day, and hauled both ways(35miles). It was a life saver though.

Originally Posted by motoroilmccall

If your picking it up and dropping it off it'll be much cheaper, that way they don't have to pay a guy to drive it out, waste fuel, put wear and tear on the vehicle, and so on. That alone would probably chop off at least $200, probably closer to $350.

not for nothing,, a 80 FT genie lift comes in at about 39,000 pounds.. a 100 FT one , comes in at 44,000 pounds...i don't know how you just go to the rental yard and pick it up..... unless you have a SEMI ....

for some reason the boss rented a 50 FT lift on a trailer,,, thats as big as they come... $350/day ,,, you pick it up...

Yea, you gotta big one. Those cottonwoods branches have the nasty habit of breaking quick rather than easing down like a mulberry.

Good luck, be careful

de

Well I found out this week that I got the job. I'm hiring another company to put it on the ground for me. Kind of pricey but worth it not to have to worry about bringing them down. I also had to get a performance bond for he job. Man the bond company wants everything but your first born. So monster cotton wood here I come. The best thing about the job is that all the material goes to their tub grinder 100 yards away. Make for a cheap fuel bill hauling that much material.

Scott

Big jobs like that we hire in a crane. My boss has been climbing with this particular crane guy for a while. man they are smooth together. The crane and operator is something like $1300 for the day. It reaches up about 145' and when you pick a piece, it gets lowered right to the back of the chipper. But you better have a big chipper and bring your A game as a ground guy if you want to keep up with a crane.