Boom lifts are priced by reach and by drive type, and the two together set the number. A 34 to 45 ft articulating electric or hybrid unit commonly rents for about $300 to $450 a day and $900 to $1,400 a week. A 60 to 80 ft rough terrain telescopic machine is a tier of its own and arrives on a lowboy with a transport charge to match.
Articulating or telescopic matters more than height
A telescopic boom, the straight stick, buys the most horizontal reach for the money and is the choice on open ground. An articulating boom bends, so it goes up and over an obstruction and back down to the work: steelwork, ceilings, plant rooms. Renters who order by height alone often find the machine cannot get to the spot at all.
What the day rate leaves out
Transport is quoted each way and climbs sharply once the machine needs a lowboy rather than a tag trailer. Fuel or charging is yours. The damage waiver appears as its own line, and so does an environmental or recovery fee at many branches. Ask for a delivered weekly total instead of a day rate, because that is the number you pay.
Ground conditions decide half the choice
An electric boom on solid tyres wants a slab. Soft fill, slopes and rutted ground need a rough terrain machine with four wheel drive and often outriggers. Yards ask about the surface for good reason: the wrong machine arrives, cannot be used, and is still billed for the day plus the haul in both directions.
Booked long and returned early
Week rates run near three to four day rates and month rates near three weeks, so a job that might slip is cheaper on a weekly ticket than on a run of extended days. Confirm the early return policy in writing first, because some yards rebill at the day rate for days used rather than refunding the balance of the week.
Questions people ask about rent boom lifts
How high a boom lift do I need for a two storey building?
Working height on a boom is roughly platform height plus six feet, so a 34 to 45 ft machine reaches a two storey eave comfortably. Measure to the work rather than to the ridge, and add for anything the basket must clear on the way in. If in doubt the next size up costs less than a second delivery.
Can one person rent a boom lift?
Yes. Yards hire to individuals as well as contractors, subject to a card, a deposit and in many cases proof of insurance. The operator has to be trained and authorised on the machine, and the handover at delivery is a familiarisation on that unit rather than a qualification of any kind.
How far ahead should a boom lift be booked?
A week is comfortable for the common sizes, and longer through spring and summer when everyone is working outside. Tall rough terrain machines are thin on the ground, so an 80 ft unit in a small market may travel from another branch, which turns up as a much larger transport line on the quote.