A spider crane, the tracked mini crane that walks through a doorway and then spreads four outriggers, rents for roughly $600 to $1,500 a day and $2,500 to $6,000 a week depending on capacity. It is hired when the alternative is worse: a street closure for a mobile crane, a scaffold and a gantry, or eight people carrying something they should not be carrying.
What it is being hired instead of
Price it against the other ways the load gets placed. A mobile crane on the street needs a permit, a lane closure and enough reach to get over the building. A scaffold and chain hoist need days of build. Hand handling needs a crew and creates the injury. A spider crane often wins on the total, not on the day rate.
Glass, stone and the attachments beside it
Vacuum lifters for glazing, stone clamps, jib extensions, fly jibs and searcher hooks are what turn the crane into the tool for the actual job, and every one of them is a separate line on the quote with its own daily rate. Say what the load is when you book, not when the crane arrives.
Power indoors, and why it is asked first
Most machines run a diesel engine for travel and an electric motor for lifting, so inside a finished building the question is what supply exists. Single phase, three phase and battery variants all exist and they are not interchangeable. Confirm the plug, the amperage and the run of cable before the delivery is booked.
How the day is quoted and what stops the clock
Expect a half day and a full day rate, plus mobilization each way, plus standby if the site is not ready. Many yards supply an operator with the machine as standard. Out of hours work, a night lift or a weekend shutdown are priced differently again, so give the yard the working window with the enquiry.
Questions people ask about spider cranes for rent
How heavy is the crane itself?
The small machines are around 2,500 to 6,000 pounds and the larger ones far more. That figure matters when the crane has to cross a finished floor, go up in a goods lift or work on a suspended slab, so ask for it early rather than on the morning of the lift.
Can it fit through a standard doorway?
The compact models are built to pass an opening of roughly 30 to 36 inches with the tracks in and the boom stowed, which is the point of the design. Measure the doorway, the corridor turns and any threshold, because the corner is what stops these machines rather than the door.
Do I get an operator with it?
On most hires, yes, and on many yards it is not optional. These cranes are hired for awkward lifts in occupied buildings, and the operator arriving with it is usually the reason the day goes smoothly. Confirm whether the rate you were quoted includes that person.
How does it get to site?
The smaller machines travel on a plant trailer and the larger ones on a truck, and unloading needs a firm level spot near the entrance. Where the only access is a loading bay or a lift, tell the yard at enquiry stage so they send a machine that fits the route.