An impact gun is the tool counter's name for an impact wrench, and it hires for roughly $15 to $60 a day depending on drive size and power source. The number that matters is the square drive: 1/2 in for wheel nuts and light assembly, 3/4 in and 1 in for structural steel, trailer hubs and seized plant fasteners.
Drive size is the first question
A 1/2 in gun handles lug nuts, small bolts and general assembly. A 3/4 in gun steps up to suspension work and larger flange bolts. A 1 in gun is for structural steel, heavy plant fasteners and anything rust has welded shut. Sockets are sized to the drive, so hire the sockets with the gun rather than adapting down.
Air, cordless or hydraulic
Air guns are cheapest to hire and need a compressor, a hose and a receiver big enough to keep up. Cordless guns cost more per day and go anywhere, which is why counters keep them for mobile work. Hydraulic torque tools are a separate category, hired for bolted joints with a specified figure, and they come with a pump.
What the compressor adds
Hiring an air gun usually means hiring a compressor as well, and that is the larger of the two charges. A small tow behind unit rents from around $60 to $120 a day. Check the tool's air consumption against the compressor's output, because an undersized machine turns a fast job into a slow one.
Torque on the box is not working torque
Makers quote a maximum breakaway figure reached in short bursts on a fastener that is already moving. Steady tightening torque is lower. Where a joint has a specified value, an impact gun is the wrong tool: it loosens well and tightens approximately, and the final setting belongs to a torque wrench.
Questions people ask about impact gun rental
What is the difference between an impact gun and an impact wrench?
Nothing at all. Impact gun is trade shorthand and rental counters catalogue the same tool as an impact wrench. Ask by drive size and power source and the name stops mattering to either of you.
Can I rent just the gun and use my own compressor?
Yes, and it is common. Check the air requirement first, in cubic feet per minute at the tool's working pressure. A compressor that cannot supply it will run the gun in short bursts and never break the fastener you hired it for.
Do sockets come with it?
Impact rated sockets are usually a separate hire item and they are not optional. Chrome hand sockets shatter under hammering. Tell the counter the fastener sizes you expect and take one size either side of them.
Is a single day enough?
For a wheel or a set of hubs, easily. For a steel frame or a machine strip down, ask for the week: most counters price it at about three to four day rates and you stop watching the clock while you work.