Seeking Information on SCISSOR // BOOM LIFTS, towable by tractor.

[jeff9366]

I am not sure of my wife's reaction should a Boom Lift magically appear in the driveway.

A beat boom TRUCK appearing in the driveway would not be compatible with the marriage continuing.

 

[MossRoad]

A beat boom TRUCK appearing in the driveway would not be compatible with the marriage contiunig.

Funny, my wife says the same thing! :laughing:

 

[aczlan]

I would either get:
1. A towable boom lift made by a "name brand" (such as JLG)
2. An offroad self propelled boom lift such as Terex TB42 Man Lift, 4X4, Oscillating Axle, 12V Power to Platform, 42 HP Diesel | eBay

3. Or, a Toro Workman with a scissor lift such as 26 Toro Workman 42 Vertical Lift Dump Body 4 wheel drive 537 hrs. 7365 | eBay


With any of them, I would also get a pole saw and do my trimming with that to keep falling branches away from the lift.

Aaron Z

 

[jeff9366]

I would get a Toro Workman with a scissor lift.

I would get a pole saw and trim with that to keep falling branches away from the lift.

The Toro Workman has a reasonable scale and close to the lift height I need. Price seems a little high for a 10+ year old unit but the hours are low.

I have no idea where I would get a Daihatsu-Briggs engine serviced in my rural part of Florida.

I wonder how well the undercarriage is protected from brush.

This Toro Workman is just 200 miles from my place.

((I never knew a utility vehicle with a lift was manufactured. I learn something on TBN every day.))

 

[aczlan]

The Toro Workman has a reasonable scale and about all the lift height I need. Price seems a little high for its year, but the hours are low.
I have no idea where I would get a Daihatsu-Briggs engine serviced in my rural part of Florida.

This Toro Workman is just 200 miles from my place.

Look on the Toro site for a turf dealer (needs to be specifically a turf dealer). Or ask the mechanics at a golf course.

Aaron Z

 

[MossRoad]

The towable one would be the way to go.... why? Because its towable. You'd have to hire someone to haul in a self propelled boom lift. Those things are crazy heavy. You aren't going to transport it with a pickup truck. You need a heavy truck with heavy trailer. With the towable, you could not only tow it behind your truck or SUV, you could tow it behind your tractor around your property easily. Which brings up another negative about a self propelled boom lift. THEY ARE SLOW!!! So two negatives about them. Also, they are so heavy, they'll sink in mud rather easily. Strike 3 for rural use.

The little toro workman is interesting. Wonder how its stabilized and can you use it on anything but level ground? The towables have leveling legs that you could put on inconsistent level ground.

I'd still lean towards the towable if it were me.

And if it were me, I'd still give it up and just rent one for $235 a weekend. Hire a young guy to help. Trim everything up in 3-4 weekends and be done with it for 5 years.

 

[jeff9366]

Hiring out the work and renting a man lift for work and for experience are both still in consideration.


I have a frequently used Kubota RTV500 in the garage.

Were I to buy the Honda Workman, one or the other would have to be stored outside, which I am not too keen on. The Kubota is a 2012 and has been totally reliable.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've also thought about buying a lift, but after renting them, I've learned that I don't really care for heights, and I don't want to maintain it. Going to town to rent them is the biggest waste of time, but for the few times a year that I've needed one at my place, it's proven worthwhile. Home Depot rents a 35 foot towable lift 7 days a week, so when the other rental yards are closed, I go there.

Getting the towable unit into the "perfect" position usually takes me a few tries. Then setting it up, getting up there, and then coming back down and moving to the next place all takes time. If you only have a couple of hours a day to work, you will get very little done. So renting doesn't make a lot of sense. You'll be spending all your time going back and forth renting it.

Are you up to maintaining it and repairing it? The less you pay for one, the more hours it will have on it. Just like buying a used tractor. Buy cheap and spend all your time wrenching on it.

I've seen better deals on service trucks like what the power companies use. Not as much lift, but plenty for just one guy and a chainsaw. You have to maintain the lift and the truck, but if you are just driving it around your land, that shouldn't be too hard.

Do you really want to be up in the air, cutting branches off of trees with a chainsaw?

As a contractor that does everything myself, I have hired pros to come in to take out trees that scared me, and remove branches that I couldn't get to. Sometimes it's a lot cheaper to pay somebody else to do it then risk the medical injuries that you might receive doing it yourself.

 

[riptides]

Realistically how much of that mile and a half need trimming? Specifically areas you cannot reach?

Are you fond of hanging Christmas lighting? That could be an out for the wife.