A portable light tower is the towable mast with four heads and its own diesel generator, hired for night work, storm response and any shift that outlasts the daylight. Day rates commonly run about $80 to $140 and weeks about $250 to $450. It tows behind a pickup rather than arriving on a truck, which keeps the transport line small.
Metal halide or LED, and what changes
Older metal halide towers throw hard white light from four 1,000 watt heads and take several minutes to restrike after a stop. LED towers give comparable useful light on a fraction of the fuel, run far longer between refills and switch instantly. Where a branch offers both at a similar rate, take the LED for the fuel bill alone.
Run time is the figure that matters overnight
A full tank on a diesel tower typically covers a long shift and often two, and LED units stretch that further still. Ask for run hours at full load rather than tank size, because run hours decide whether somebody has to drive to the site at three in the morning carrying a fuel can.
Setting one up so it does not blind the job
Level the tower on its outriggers, raise the mast only when the ground is firm and the wind is inside the machine's rating, and aim the heads across the work rather than straight into it. Glare from a badly aimed tower is worse than no tower, and lighting the neighbours is how a night job gets stopped.
Powering other things from the tower
Most towers carry a small generator with spare sockets, usually enough for hand tools, a pump or a site cabin, but not for a welder or a large compressor. Check the spare capacity when you book if you were hoping to save a separate generator hire, because the lights always get first call on it.
Questions people ask about portable light tower
How much area does one light tower cover?
Manufacturers quote coverage in acres at very low light levels, which flatters the machine. For work people can actually do, plan on one tower per work area and expect shadows behind anything solid. Two modest towers placed apart light a site better than one tall one in the middle of it.
Can a light tower be towed behind a pickup?
Yes, and that is how most of them travel. They are small trailers with a standard ball or pintle hitch and road lights, well inside the towing capacity of a half ton truck. Check the hitch type when you book, and make sure the mast is fully lowered and pinned before moving it.
Who refuels a hired light tower?
On a day or week hire, you do. Yards send them out full and expect them back full, or charge a refuel fee at their own rate. On longer contracts many branches sell a fuel service, which is worth taking where the site has nowhere safe to store cans.