Renting an engine hoist gets you a folding A frame shop crane on castors, almost always rated two tons at the pin, for roughly $40 to $75 a day or about $150 across a weekend. The rate is the easy part. What catches people out is transport, because the machine that folds flat in the showroom weighs more than one person should lift, and the counter hands over a bare frame unless you ask for the rest.
The counter hands you a frame and nothing else
A hoist goes out as legs, mast, boom and ram, sometimes already pinned together on castors. Chains, a load leveller, lifting plates and bolts are separate items that many yards stock and none of them assume you want. Say what engine is coming out when you book, and the counter can put the leveller on the same ticket.
It travels in pieces, not on a trailer
Four pins and the whole thing comes apart, and the heaviest single piece is the base with its castors. Two people load it in a few minutes; one person and a tailgate is how backs get hurt. Take a socket set, lay the legs first and strap the ram separately so the rod is not resting on a steel bed for the drive.
Ask what the boom position does to the rating
The number on the leg belongs to the shortest boom setting. Pull the boom out to clear a wing or a bumper and the safe load falls away with every hole you pass. Work out the reach you need before collection, because a hoist that will not reach across the fender is a wasted trip and a wasted day rate.
A weekend is often one charge, not three
Counters that close on Sunday commonly write a Friday afternoon collection returned Monday morning as a single day, or as a weekend rate a little above one. That convention is worth a question at the desk, because it decides whether a two evening job is priced at one day or at three, and nobody volunteers it.
Questions people ask about rent engine hoist
Will an engine hoist fit in a car or a small van?
Dismantled, yes, in most estate cars and any van. The base with the castors is the awkward piece and wants to go in first. Bring straps: an unrestrained mast slides forward under braking and will go through a seat back.
Does the yard include chains and a load leveller?
Usually not. Chains and a leveller are hired or bought separately, and the leveller is the piece that makes an angled lift out of a bay controllable. Ask for both when you reserve rather than when you collect.
Is a two ton hoist enough for a V8?
For a bare engine, comfortably. With the gearbox attached and the boom extended to clear the front of the car you are much closer to the limit than the sticker suggests, so work at the shortest boom setting the reach allows.
Can I keep it standing loaded overnight?
Leaving a load hanging on a hydraulic ram is how a seal weep becomes a dropped engine. Land the engine on a stand or on blocks before you finish for the night, and the hoist can go back to the wall empty.