A mobile fall protection cart is a wheeled, counterweighted anchor that gives one or two workers a tie off point where no structure offers one: on a trailer roof, a rail car, a tank or an open dock. Hire runs roughly $250 to $500 a week and $700 to $1,500 a month, because the units are heavy, specialised and slow moving stock.
It is an anchor first and a cart second
The wheels exist so the unit can be repositioned between vehicles, not so it can be moved with someone attached. The counterweight and the base geometry are what hold a fall, and the maker states the number of users, the arrest distance and the clearance required below. Read that plate before anyone clips onto it.
Fall clearance is the figure people miss
A lanyard arresting a fall needs room underneath to do it, and standing on a trailer roof rarely leaves much. Add the free fall, the deceleration distance, harness stretch and a margin, then compare that with your working height. Where the sum does not fit, the answer is a self retracting lifeline, never a longer lanyard.
Which branches keep one in stock
Demand comes from loading docks, tanker and rail loading, aircraft servicing and maintenance crews who work on vehicle tops a few days a year. Stock is therefore thin, held by larger safety and industrial branches rather than every counter, and often booked ahead. Give the yard your working height and user count when enquiring.
Harnesses and lanyards are separate lines
The cart is the anchor and little else. Harnesses, lanyards, a self retracting lifeline and any guard rail extension are separate lines, and sometimes not stocked at all. Harnesses are personal protective equipment carrying inspection records, so ask whether the yard hires them and whether hired ones suit your own procedures.
Questions people ask about mobile fall protection cart rental
Can two people tie off to one cart?
Only where the maker's plate says so. Many units are rated for a single user, some for two, and the rating changes the counterweight needed. Nothing about adding a second worker is a judgement call at site level.
Does it work on a slope or on gravel?
The rating assumes a firm level surface, and most makers say so plainly. On a slope or on loose ground, the geometry that keeps it from tipping is no longer the one that was tested. Level the ground or choose a different anchor.
Is a cart cheaper than building a rail?
For a few days on a few vehicles, yes, and it leaves the site when you are done. For continuous dock work a fixed guard rail or an overhead track is the better answer, and months of hire on a cart makes that obvious on its own.