General rentals is the trade name for the counter that hires out a bit of everything by the day: tools, garden machines, floor equipment, small compaction and lifting gear. The Census Bureau counts these separately from the heavy yards, at 1,707 general rental centers against 4,123 construction and mining machinery yards, 5,830 establishments in total.
Two different businesses share the word rental
A general rental center is a shop with a counter, a yard behind it and a fleet you can carry or tow. A machinery yard hires excavators, lifts and rollers, delivers them on a truck and quotes by the week. Knowing which one you are calling saves a wasted trip, because neither stocks much of the other one.
What sits on the counter side
Breakers and rotary hammers, saws and grinders, floor sanders and carpet machines, pressure washers, pumps, small generators, plate compactors, tile cutters, augers, appliance dollies, ladders and scaffold towers, plus the lawn and garden fleet. Most of it is priced by the four hour block, the day and the week.
How the counts break down
The two figures come from County Business Patterns, which reports establishments per county at NAICS 532310 for general rental centers and 532412 for construction and mining machinery rental. Between them they cover 544 counties. It is a count of how many are there, in a place, not a list of which ones.
What to ask when you call
Whether the item is on the shelf today rather than in the catalogue, what the deposit and identification requirements are, whether the rate is four hours or twenty four, and what happens if you keep it over a weekend. Availability is the answer that varies most between two counters in the same town.
Questions people ask about general rentals
Do general rental centers deliver?
Some do, for the heavier items like compactors, scaffold towers and tow behind machines, and the fee is quoted each way. Most of the counter fleet is designed to go in a truck bed or on a trailer, and the pricing assumes you collect. Ask when you book rather than on the day.
What do I need to bring to hire from a counter?
A photo identification and a card in the same name is the usual minimum, with a deposit or a hold placed on the card. Trade accounts skip the deposit. For towed equipment the yard will also want to see a suitable hitch and working lights before it releases the machine.
Is a general rental center cheaper than a machinery yard?
For small items, yes, and its four hour rate has no equivalent at a heavy yard. For anything that needs delivering on a truck the machinery yard is usually better priced, because it owns the transport and runs the route anyway.