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Scissor lift rental

15K views 45 replies 15 participants last post by  Lightningboy65 
#1 ·
I need to rent a 19' scissor lift for a job. Can I get this in the bed of my truck with a ramp or something? Or does it need a trailer? Also, getting it in to the residence up over the front step/porch... any suggestions?
 
#2 ·
Isn't this something you should be asking the company you are renting the lift from. We have no idea how big your truck is nor do we have specifics on the lift. I know that I could never put a lift in my truck. It is a Tocoma. My local rental store does rent a scissor lift that can get up stairs and though doors.


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#21 ·
My local rental store does rent a scissor lift that can get up stairs and though doors.


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What kind of lift can go upstairs?

I rented a tracked lift and the rental store told me it could go upstairs. Unfortunately they didn't tell me if the arm hits the ground it will trip a safety switch and get stuck there. They tried to charge me $600 for a service call to get it off the stairs.
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Can you....yes (assuming you have an HD rated truck), it's possible. I wouldn't want to. With all the potential Murphy's law situations involved, I would rather pay the rental place to deliver or at least haul it on a trailer. Loading onto a truck has its own set of dangers and I'd hate to be rear ended with a 3,000 lb lift directly behind me.

I assume this house is on a slab...that lift is way too heavy for most residential floor truss systems.:surprise:
 
#7 ·
Yes,too heavy, use scaffolding.
Ok. Thanks for the input. I'm scrapping the scissor lift idea.

For 20' ceiling work, A frame ladder vs scaffolding... any thoughts? This is a horizontal ceiling with skylights that are about 2 feet deep. Also installing a ceiling fan.

Anyone ever use the little giant skyscraper? I've got to install some recessed lighting in a 20' ceiling above a stairwell
 
#8 ·
I would rent the scissor lift, whether you tow it, or have it delivered. There's nothing easier than accessing a high ceiling without have to continuously climb down to move scaffolding to the next location. Besides, the customer should incur all costs of rented access equipment.
 
#11 ·
We had a guy- Meth Mouth Mike- (try and say THAT 5 times fast) who refused to move me when I was up two sections of Waco scaffolding, even though he was right at the foot of it. Flat out refused and stalked out of the room. I was about to come down and move myself when some kid from another trade volunteered to move. Nice kid but he also wanted to find out what Meth Mouth Mike's problem was because refusing to do a simple task like that for a co-worker is aberrant behavior. Those things don't move themselves!
 
#17 ·
Are you painting the ceilings and walls or just the walls. If your painting both I would use a scaffold. If just the walls, I would use a extension ladder. You should have a helper for both. Scissor lift is way too heavy for that floor, plus you would need a forklift to get it in the building. They don't like steep ramps.
 
#37 ·
I used one of their lifts to do a job in a church. The job was detailed work on a gable end interior wall about 30' high. The lift was basically a vertically telescoping bucket with outriggers. No propulsion, you had to push it around. Which for this particular job was OK, as the lift only needed to be moved a couple of times a day due to the time consuming nature of the work. I don't think I would like it for production work. The lift would fit through a standard door opening. The job took about 3 weeks, so the lift was nice as it could be moved out of the way, allowing unobstructed use of the sanctuary.

I see on their website their 19' mini scissors lift has a weight of 1,260 pounds. I'd still be a little uneasy with that much weight running around on a residential floor, but might work. I'd just use scaffold.
 
#29 ·
Glad to hear the OP opted out of using the scissor lift. The concentrated loads @ the wheels on those 2700 # units exert quite a bit of force @ ~ 109 psi.

I’d be concerned with the point loads exceeding the capacities of the subflooring as well as the underlying joists or trusses. I’d suggest if anyone considers trying something like this to either perform a few calculations first or consult with an engineer.
 
#33 ·
Most codes call for a truss system to be able to carry 40 lbs per square foot. Of course a floor can carry more than 40 pounds on a one square foot area. Otherwise anybody other than a toddler would go crashing through the floor if standing with feet together. The rating is for the truss system, not the floor itself. The trusses work as a system, supporting the entire floor above. A 10' x 10' has an area of 100 sf.....100 x 40 = 4000. A 10 x 10 floor will safely support 4000 pounds of items on the floor if the truss system is designed to support 40 pounds per sf. That's the load the trusses are designed to bear over the entire 10' x 10' area. Other factors such as rating of floor deck and load concentration come into play. A concentrated load in the center of the room is more of a concern than on the perimeter. And a load concentrated in one area more of a concern than a load dispersed over a larger area. Take all of this with a grain of salt, I'm no structural engineer.

I remember once , in the 70's, seeing a ceiling in an older house sagging considerably. The culprit was the waterbed in the room above. The old ones could weigh close to a ton when filled.
 
#34 ·
There’s not only structural considerations with a 2700 # lift...just the truss or joist deflection based on a concentrated load with that type of weight can result in hardwood flooring separating from the subflooring creating a gap resulting in squeaky floor boards. The deflection alone could probably be enough to crack ceramic tile and mortar joints.
In my instance I think I recall the concentration load capacity at the center of the joist span being 318 #, although I could be mistaken.
 
#43 ·
Yup they will cash your check. Biggest problem I have with rental companies is they don't replace the operation /function decals on the control panel and they get impossible to read. It is ok if you get the same stuff.like genie all their stuff is the same and you are used to it but when you get something different it is harder to figure out.
 
#44 ·
I like Sunbelt Rentals. They have excellent equipment. I actually feel obligated to keep them clean they're so new.


I tried renting a dump truck and a Bobcat to remove a bunch of dirt from my house. I could have rented either separately with a Class C license. But together with the Bobcat in tow, I was told I needed a Class A license.
 
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