A micro crane is the smallest class of tracked, outrigger mounted crane, narrow enough to pass a standard doorway and light enough to work on a finished floor. Yards quote them at roughly $600 to $1,200 a day, usually operated, for capacities around one to three tons at short radius. They exist for one reason: a pick that has to happen somewhere a truck cannot go.
What a counter hears when you say micro
The word is not standardised. Some yards file every compact tracked crane under it, others reserve it for the machines under a ton that go through a doorway. Give the counter the weight of the object, the distance from the machine to where it lands, and the width of the tightest gap on the route in, and the class picks itself.
Indoors it wants a plug, not a fuel can
Most of these machines run either a small diesel for travel outside or an electric pack for work inside, and the electric option is what makes them usable in an occupied building. Confirm the supply the machine expects, and whether a site transformer or a dedicated circuit has to be there before the crane arrives.
The picks that justify the rate
Glazing units into a lobby, plant onto a mezzanine, a rooftop condenser through a stair core, headstones, tank sections in a plant room. Each is a lift a lorry mounted crane cannot reach and a team of people should not carry. Priced against a day of manual handling and a shut floor, the machine is usually the cheap half.
Getting it in is its own piece of planning
The machine has to reach the room: through the doors, along the corridor, into the goods lift within its rated load, and onto a floor that carries four outrigger pads. Spreader mats are standard, not optional, and the building manager will want the pad loads in writing before the day.
Questions people ask about micro crane rental
Can I hire a micro crane without an operator?
Sometimes, but many yards release these only operated, because the setup and the load chart are where the risk sits. An operated day removes the training question entirely and often costs less than the delay of getting your own crew signed off.
Will it fit through a standard door?
The smallest classes are built to, with the boom stowed and the tracks retracted. Measure the narrowest point on the whole route rather than the front door, since a fire door frame or a turn in a corridor is usually the real limit.
How much floor loading does one need?
The figure to ask the yard for is the load per leg at the radius you intend to work, which is a very different number from the machine's own weight. Hand that to whoever is responsible for the structure. Whether mats, boards or a spreader arrangement are needed follows from their answer.