A portable gantry crane hires for about $150 to $400 a week, with 1, 2, 3 and 5 ton frames the sizes yards actually stock. It is a rolling A frame with a beam across the top, hired when a load needs lifting a few feet in a shop, a plant room or a yard and there is nothing overhead to hang a hoist from.
Span and height are chosen before capacity
The beam has to clear whatever the load sits on, and the legs have to straddle it, so the span between legs and the height under the beam decide the frame long before the tonnage does. Adjustable models pin at several heights, which lowers them enough to get through a roller door and raises them again inside.
Aluminium or steel is a handling decision
An aluminium frame is light enough for two people to wheel and to strip down into a van, which is why it dominates short hires and service work. A steel frame is heavier, cheaper per ton of capacity, and stays where it is put. If the crane has to move between bays every hour, weight matters more than the price difference.
The hoist and trolley are usually extra
A bare gantry lifts nothing on its own. A trolley to run along the beam and a chain hoist or electric hoist to raise the load are separate lines on the quote, and the hoist rating has to match or beat the frame. Confirm both are in the price before you compare one yard's number with another.
Rolling under load is the rule people break
Casters are for repositioning the empty frame, not for carrying a suspended load across a floor, and a swinging load on a raised gantry is how these tip. Keep the lift short, the load low and the floor flat, and move the load along the beam with the trolley rather than pushing the frame.
Questions people ask about gantry crane rental
What capacity do I actually need?
Weigh or look up the heaviest item, then add the weight of the hoist, slings and any lifting frame hanging under the beam. Choose the next rating up. Ratings are for a vertical lift at the centre of the beam, so an off centre pick eats into the margin.
Can one person set up a gantry crane?
An aluminium frame in the 1 to 2 ton range is assembled by two people in about half an hour without tools. Steel frames and anything over 3 tons realistically need three sets of hands and often a forklift to stand the legs up.
Do I need a level floor?
Yes, and it matters more than most people expect. These frames are rated on a firm, level surface with the casters locked. On a sloped yard or over a drainage channel, the load swings toward the low side and the legs are loaded unevenly, which is outside what the rating assumes.