Boom rental usually means an aerial boom lift, and the price follows the reach: a 45-foot machine commonly runs about $250 to $400 a day, a 60-foot one about $350 to $550, with weekly rates near three times the day. Choose on horizontal outreach and ground conditions before you choose on height.
Articulating or telescopic
An articulating boom, the knuckle boom, bends in the middle and gets up and over obstacles, which is what you want for building faces, steelwork and anything with something in the way. A telescopic straight boom trades that for much greater horizontal outreach at height. Ask yourself what is between the wheels and the work.
Outreach is the number people forget
Every boom has a working envelope, and horizontal reach shrinks as you go higher and as the platform load increases. A 60-foot machine does not give 60 feet sideways. Get the load chart or reach diagram from the yard and check the point you actually need to touch, with the weight you are putting in the basket.
Electric, diesel and the ground under it
Electric booms with non-marking tires belong on finished floors indoors. Diesel rough terrain machines, usually four-wheel drive, are for dirt, gravel and grades, and they are heavy: a 60-foot unit can pass 20,000 lb. Confirm the slab, deck or ground can take it, and check the access route width before delivery day.
What the ticket includes
Delivery and collection are separate charges, and a boom takes a large truck. Expect a fuel or environmental recovery line, an optional damage waiver, and refuelling charges if it comes back low. A towable boom is the cheaper family if you have a suitable vehicle and only need thirty to fifty feet.
Questions people ask about boom rental
Is a boom lift the same as a cherry picker?
In everyday use, yes. Cherry picker is the informal name for a boom-mounted work platform. The rental trade splits them into articulating and telescopic booms, and prices them by platform height and drive type.
Do I need a harness in a boom lift?
Yes. Unlike a scissor lift, a boom platform can throw an occupant out under a catapult effect, so a full body harness with a lanyard attached to the manufacturer's anchor point is standard practice and is required by the machine's own manual.
How much does boom delivery cost?
It varies with distance and machine size, and it is charged in both directions. For a large diesel boom it is often the single biggest line beside the rate itself, so on short hires ask for the delivered total before comparing two yards.