Towable boom lift

[plowhog]

Does anyone have experience with a towable boom lift? Good? Bad?

I've flirted on and off for years whether to buy one. I could use it for tree trimming (extensive), painting my barn and residence, for starters.

I would prefer towable since I could use it in more than one location. But that also limits the capacity somewhat. The non-towable lifts quickly get over 10,000 pounds so trailering that would be a problem for me.

My concerns are side reach, and ability to operate on a slope. Working on trees, whatever is often not on flat ground. And it seems the side reach is limited by height-- as you go higher the side reach understandably starts reducing.

Any experiences with using one? I have only found one person elsewhere who used a towable lift and he said he didn't care for it. But I think the one he was using was quite small and limited on reach.

One of these is on Craigslist out here right now:

TM50 | Towable Cherry Picker

Read more information on Niftylift’s TM50 - 49ft 6in platform height, 28ft 7in outreach, towable cherry picker.

www.niftylift.com

 

[ruffdog]

The guy that put a metal roof on the neighbor's big old barn used something like that. At my last job, I used vertilifts and big cherry pickers and I was amazed at how well a tow-able unit worked for him.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Can always rent one to see how you like it

 

[LouNY]

I've only used one towable unit and while it was better then a ladder, the short comings were it's size and the stability when working to the side. To be fair I am comparing it with much larger powered units and I'm a large 300 pound man which is getting towards the max on that small unit.

 

[riptides]

I have on that goes up to about 40 feet with around a 16 foot reach. A 360 degree coverage. Capacity is rated at around 500 pounds. My use is trees and roof work. I have flat ground but even then the stabilizers are used.
My only issue is it is not everyday use so it sits months on end. One tree though and it is paid for. That was 10 trees ago. LOL. I got a great deal on it.
I am not comfortable with heights though as time goes on.
On the property I move it around with the RTV. No issues.

 

[plowhog]

and the stability when working to the side.

What kind of stability issues did you run into? Wobbly at full extension or something like that? Did the outriggers seem to provide good stability even when working on some slope?

One of my concerns is trimming branches. If I were at full horizontal extension, I'm leery of having a falling/trimmed branch snag the platform on its way down, tugging it with added weight. I don't think it would be a fun day.

I'm sure I could do branch trimmings in small bits but that is certainly one of the concerns at full extension. My oak trees are about 120 feet tall so in my budget, at max, I'd be less than half way up and certainly tempted to do whatever trimming above that I could reach.

 

[oldnslo]

The one I rented around 14 years ago had automatic leveling stabilizers. You towed it into position, unhooked from tow vehicle, then lowered stabilizers. I believe was locked out from lifting without stabilizers diwn.
Don’t remember exactly but believe was around 35 ft lift with swivel and tilt basket Used for painting old two story house and shingling same house. Never had concern about stability with that unit.

 

[LouNY]

W

What kind of stability issues did you run into? Wobbly at full extension or something like that? Did the outriggers seem to provide good stability even when working on some slope?

One of my concerns is trimming branches. If I were at full horizontal extension, I'm leery of having a falling/trimmed branch snag the platform on its way down, tugging it with added weight. I don't think it would be a fun day.

I'm sure I could do branch trimmings in small bits but that is certainly one of the concerns at full extension. My oak trees are about 120 feet tall so in my budget, at max, I'd be less than half way up and certainly tempted to do whatever trimming above that I could reach.

I was painting out of it so reaching out as far as possible from the side of the basket while boomed out as far as possible sideways on uneven ground.A couple of times as I got down low to what I could reach from the ground easily I could actually lift it off the far side out rigger.

 

[zzvyb6]

I have a JLG T-350 battery powered towable lift. It certainly changes the way you work by giving you safe access to heights. I use mine for installing & servicing my collection of old farm windmills. Tree trimming, even to repair flags stuck up on a 30' pole. Painted the barn, etc.

Mine has auto leveling so it rocks & rolls until the pivot is vertical. It also has safeties which prevent you from unloading any outrigger. My bucket disconnects so I made up a jib crane boom that hooks onto it. It has ground station controls as well as a bucket control panel. It's pretty heavy and as such requires a title here in Michigan. Mine was a used one from Home Depot as a rental unit. I had used several other brands as well as the JLG and liked battery units because, in working with others on the ground, you can talk in a normal conversation voice. Plus it has surge brakes. Hook it up to any vehicle or tractor (don't use a golf cart, you can't steer it very well with the front wheels off the ground).

Be sure to carry a spare tire ! When it sits for a long time tires can get brittle and blow out. I found out on the expressway and was glad to have carried a spare tire for it, a jack, a battery impact AND the correct driver socket, AND a flashlight !

BTW: when your neighbors find out you have one, you'll be hanging Christmas lights for 2 weeks straight for them.

 

[notractoryet]

I bought a haulette 3522a after renting its big brother a couple of times. After renting I could not see using a ladder any more for painting 2 story house and gutter cleaning. Have used it quite a lot for tree trimming also. Have never felt unstable. It self levels every time you use it. I think it can level on a 15 % grade (from memory)?
My biggest issue is dealer said don't let the batteries freeze so I haul them in to the garage every winter.

Easy to move around the property with tractor or gator. It's nice to use the 3 point on the tractor if moving around frequently. You don't have to disconnect before leveling with the 3 point on the ground.

 

[ruffdog]

......also, get a harness to wear. I wear one when I'm in a work basket, work platform, carryall, etc.

 

[texas42]

I own a Nifty Lift TM34T. Honda power and telescoping boom. Very nice unit and fairly stable at max. height and/or reach. Does not have auto level but lets you know if not setup properly. Use it to trim trees, paint, change yard light bulbs and other misc stuff.
Tow it around my property with my compact tractor.

 

[riptides]

I had to laugh at hanging xMas lights. My house sits under some big maples. My neighbors house is clear. The one year he spies me maneuvering around stuff he asks if I can come over and help. I responded with do you have any obstacles? He says "no..?" questioning the response... I say good "then I can smash into your house more easily."

He has a wifi pole on the very top of his house. Out of reach for me.

For trimming, yes small bites, but also a clear drop path under and around the unit. It goes pretty fast once you get into a comfort zone.

 

[plastikosmd]

Had one


It was more useful than no lift but setup got old

Moved onto a self driven one. 100x more useful for me.

 

[dstig1]

I have used both towable and self-propelled ones, and hands down the SP ones are far easier to use. Biljax makes a great SP one that has outriggers that lift and level the machine and it isn't terribly heavy. Certainly not 10k - more like half that. I also used an SP one that was simply a crap ton of weight to keep it planted (no outriggers). Positioning the towable lift is a royal PITA. The one with outriggers was the easiest to use as it could make up for some decent out of level ground (there are limits, of course). The one with all the weight was less forgiving of even small slopes.

One other thing to be aware of is that there are different levels of features on these. Some lifts have more actions than others which makes them easier to use and allows you to reach more stuff with one setup which saves time. The ability to pivot and extend the platform separately from the main boom is a big help.

 

[bdhsfz6]

This isn't what you're looking for, but it's a compromise for my needs:

Aerial Work Platforms: Elevate Your Tasks

Work fast and easy with Genie aerial work platforms. Master your elevated construction and maintenance tasks effortlessly with our aerial platform lineup.

www.genielift.com

It's strictly up & down with no articulation. It loads in the bed of a pickup and I use it both indoors & out, around the property. When not in use, I store it under my deck and use it as an elevator.

Two or three times per year, I rent a Unilift 538 from a local rental yard.

https://champmfg.com/products/unilift-538/

I considered buying the Unilift, but storing it is an issue. It's too big to keep in the barn and the weather takes it's toll on the machine when stored outside.

I use the straight up & down Genie far more than an articulating model, and find it's cheaper & more convenient to rent one when needed.

Of course, this all depends on what you need to do and how often you need to do it.

 

[gstrom99]

I've rented them twice, and will need one again this year. Second story house painting, sealing the small leak cause (loose screws/nails) on my pole barn, tree trimming, etc... I love 'em. 500 pound capacity, which includes occupant and equipment. They're a little "bouncy", but you get used to that. The rentals come with the safety harness. Roof repair requires you to bend down and reach through the cage - that's the only sketchy part for me. I've been looking at buying one or a "bucket truck" but haven't found one I can consider affordable for the amount I need one. Rental place is 45 mins away and I get it for 24 hours, which works for me.

 

[ruffdog]

Here are ones that go on a 3pt or ssqa:

Tractor Scissor Lift Attachment - Skid-Lift

 

[plowhog]

Here are ones that go on a 3pt

Quite interesting, but I would need horizontal reach.

I found a 4wd "self drive" 50ft lift that I could trailer. Instead of a large amount of weight for stability, it uses outriggers like the towable version. So total weight is 6,000 or so. I could trailer that.

Of course that model is more expensive than I wanted to spend. Even used. Seems like everything I look at gets to this same result.

SD50 4x4 Self Drive Work Platform

Explore Niftylift’s tow-behind SD50 - 49ft 6in platform height, 28ft 7in outreach self-drive work platform. Find out more today.

www.niftylift.com

 

[caver]

Last fall I rented a Haulotte 45 (wasn't used much) and then a 35 which barely reached what I was doing on my cabin build. The annoying thing about the Haulotte was you had to press two buttons and pretty much can't combine functions. My experience has been with mostly Genie lifts in an industrial environment. We had a Genie 105 drivable boom lift. That's 105 for 105' height. With those and their scissor lifts you can usually combine functions like swing while raising boom etc. You have a foot dead-man for safety. It makes for much quicker work.

My property has quite a bit of 11% slope so the outrigger towable was a must. I did find on my very off-level terrain that if you put the outriggers almost down manually then switch to auto it would level ok. Full auto level often would have the low side and high side fighting each other until you ran out of cylinder travel. Hard to explain but it worked all the time except in one location.