# Towable Boom lift



## preach it (Feb 6, 2004)

I am looking for a towable boom lift. I have seen and used (rented) some but I am looking for one that goes up higher than 50'. A 60' height would be best. Please name a website or a manufactuer. There are a lot out there that are not towable (you have to use a trailer to haul), but I am need one that is towable itself. Thanks



"Swearing is the effort of a limited mind to express itself."


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## Lumberjack (Feb 6, 2004)

NiftyLift inc. offers trailer mounted units up to 64'

Alastir Robertson, Sales Manager
573 Summerdale Ave.
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-5726
1800-643-8954 and their fax is: 632-858-0520


Carl


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## topnotchtree (Feb 6, 2004)

Just wondering why you don't want to trailer one? We have just got one from woodchuck. It is only about a 40 footer or so but it is self propelled and works great. Mind you this is doing line clearance, but you can never have enough reach! It will go thru places a big bucket cannot go. Lighter too, no worry of cracking concrete driveways.


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## Lumberjack (Feb 6, 2004)

That is why I would like them. Smaller cheaper, covered under vehicles insurance (in MS anyways). I like the spider lifts also... those outriggers are wild!!! Have you seen/ considered those? They are self propelled and some 60+'ers can go through a 36" gate. They are new to the US, but are the norm in Europe.


Carl


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## Lumberjack (Feb 6, 2004)

Here is their website. They have an 83' that is 67"s wide and weighs 6000lbs. Check em out.


They offer heights up to 198'!!



Carl


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## preach it (Feb 6, 2004)

Thanks for the info and website. I like the whole idea of it. I will have to check on the cost. The trailered ones tend to be kind of heavy. Towable ones are usually lighter and less costly. Most of the work I do is residential. I climb most everything except the broken in half, rotting ones. Also cottonwoods scare me as they tend to drop good sized limbs with no warning (that has been discussed on another thread.) Those are my reasons for a towable lift. Thanks again for the info.


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## Koa Man (Feb 7, 2004)

I would love to have a spider type lift, except for the fact that when I checked on prices a few months ago, they were like $100K to $150K, depending on height. The most popular size (for tree services) in Germany was a 100 or 110 footer.


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## Lumberjack (Feb 7, 2004)

I sent them an email asking the price for their 83'er. Would you happen to know the price of it? I'm just curious.



Carl


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## Koa Man (Feb 7, 2004)

I did not check with American Spider Lifts. If you get a reply, please post their price. A 80 ft'r would be plenty for me, especially if you can get all around the tree like these units can. I have a hospital and a hotel that would rent it from me on a regular basis too. $75K would be a possibility for me, but $100K is too much.


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## Lenny Polonski (Feb 11, 2004)

*Spider lifts*

I know every body wants to know the price of one of these spider lifts. If you see a picture of this lift and think about all the difficult jobs you have done and how much more you will be able to do, wether you climb or use a bucket and use a little imagination, you will quickly realize that this is the way to go today.
Compared to a 75 ft bucket truck with 4 wd that costs about $150,000.00 (you are really comparing apples to oranges), this is a very affordable lift. If you see this machine in person, you will never want to climb another tree in your life.

An 83 ft reach (87 ft if it is sitting on a flatbed truck) spider lift, equipped with dual power (diesel and 110V electric), rotatable fiberglass basket, computer microprocessor enhanced monitoring system, hydraulic tracks and a bunch of other nifty features at the moment, costs $111,573.39 FOB Boston, MA.

You can reach American Spider lifts at www.spiderlifts.com or at 
800-944-5898

Lenny Polonski


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## Menchhofer (Feb 11, 2004)

While I can see the spiderlift being used for some removals, what I cannot see is such a unit being able to get inside of most large tree crowns. With the telescoping lift it would seem to be very limited with regards to reaching certain areas of a tree and in some cases it would become useless. 

Now if the unit had an articulated lift similar to a bucket truck then I could see them being used for tree work. Painting yes, construction yes, sign work yes, trees? Perhaps to a limited extent.


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## Lenny Polonski (Feb 11, 2004)

Steve: 

What you don't know is that with a lift that can reach this high,
you don't need to park "directly underneath" the tree and "thread" your way thru the branches like a conventional bucket truck. You can park at a bit more distance so you are not all hemmed in.

At 66 feet in height you can still reach 36 feet to the side.
This lift also has a 5 foot movable jib (it rotates 180 degrees up and down) and a rotatable basket (90 degrees left and 90 degrees right), so you will be able to get to some pretty tight
spots.

If you can't reach from below, you simply go above the branch and reach down.

This is the direction that European tree companies have moved to, with good reason: You can get to more places faster, easier and it is far cheaper than hand labor.

The preferred size spider lift in Germany is the 100 foot model.
It is not always the height that one needs, sometimes is the side reach. Remember that our trees are just as big if not bigger.


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## ROLLACOSTA (Feb 12, 2004)

hi im in england and without a doubt these spyders are the way forward ,as yet there a bit slow too catch on overhere in the uk ,i think the price is the reason round about £45,ooo+ for half decent one overhere ,but the good thing is there are loads of companys making them mainly from italy ,scandanavia,even nifty lift make one,ive been thinking the same as you guys how many times could i have used one of these machines ? lots in my case ,i dont think you would have any problem using a spyder for pruning if you combined a powerd pole saw anyway here are some web addresses for some manufactures 

www.ommelift.dk www.cela-it.com www.bizzocchi.it.com

www.niftylift.com


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## ROLLACOSTA (Feb 12, 2004)

a few moore web sites too drive you crazy with lust lol

www.oilandsteel.co.uk www.promaxaccess.com 

www.tadano.co.jp www.basket-platforms.com


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## ROLLACOSTA (Feb 12, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Menchhofer _
> *While I can see the spiderlift being used for some removals, what I cannot see is such a unit being able to get inside of most large tree crowns. With the telescoping lift it would seem to be very limited with regards to reaching certain areas of a tree and in some cases it would become useless.
> 
> Now if the unit had an articulated lift similar to a bucket truck then I could see them being used for tree work. Painting yes, construction
> ...


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## Lenny Polonski (Feb 12, 2004)

I gather from what you wrote that you probably have never really used either a bucket truck or a spider lift.
There are merits to both of them and the perfect lift has yet to be built in the world. Bucket trucks are good if you are on a street and have lots of elbow room. That is rarely the case in private tree care in a back yard. You always wind up in tight spots, places that a truck that is 2.6 metre wide (8 1/2 ft), a lift that sits on a 16 tonnes lorry, and is 10 metres long, simply cannot go places. Even if you do get there the booms are so long, you can't even unfold them. The problem is even worse the minute you use a bigger lift in the 23 metre size. Our trucks are much bigger and heavier in the US, causing a tremendous amount of damage to lawns. 

Spider lifts are a great alternative to reach difficult places, as you already know they are slim, light and very maneuverable, and as you will see, cheaper. a 23 metre truck mounted lift costs around 
USD$135.000,00, not including four wheel drive which adds another USD$24.000,00 and up.

I am well aware what is available in Europe, however nobody wants to come to the US because of the way our legal system is here where you can sue anybody anytime at a drop of a hat.

The product liability issues are enourmous and add 30% to the cost of every piece of equipment in America. 

Hence by the time you multiply your British pound or Euro by our dollar add the product liability to it, Teupen spider lift prices are nearly the same as what they cost in Europe.

I have already checked everybody out in Europe in the past two years. Teupen Spider lifts are light years ahead of the pack in engineering, are safer, lighter and far better. When it comes to cranes and aerial lifts the Germans are the world leaders.


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## ROLLACOSTA (Feb 12, 2004)

lenny polanski

i dont know if you was refering too me , but if you was i
think we got Xwires ive used all types of platforms and i agree with you even though your a sales man lol like i
said earlier i think spyders are the safe way forward,even though they are as yet a little
exspensive for the small tree service owner


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## Lenny Polonski (Feb 12, 2004)

Didn't mean to run roughshod over you. Even if you consider yourself small, you can still make a lot of money. I am certain that efficiency plays a big part in your profits, whether you were here in America or in the UK. Efficiency is the name of the game. I understand costs, however sometimes people think too small and don't invest in equipment that would make a huge difference in their bottom line. Aerial lifts is one of them, large brush chippers are another. It is just as important to get things down quickly as it is to get rid of it quickly. Don't think of yourself of just another "small business", think big.


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## ROLLACOSTA (Feb 12, 2004)

hi lenny i agree efficientcy is a must in 2004 ,and i am seriously contemplating a spyder but the fought of x amount of years in payments puts some guys of namely me,in the uk our proffesion is something like the wild west a free for all ,so we have too be very competative on bidding for work ,if a spyder sits back at the yard for 5 days out of a working month then thats dead money as you know,but again too agree with youy i think in a few years time a spyder will be just another must have in the kit just like chippers ect i take it you sell taupen lifts


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## Lenny Polonski (Feb 13, 2004)

Yes I do sell for Teupen, but that is not the most important issue.
My objective is to help others work easier, make more money and to have fun in the process. I believe that if you are not having fun every day, you are not doing it right. My objective is to make things so much fun that you look forward to Monday mornings, not Friday afternoons.

Five days in a month to have a machine idle is not an extraordinary amount of time. When you make a capital investment you have to think long term, ten years is not too long.
If you think only one year or two to three, it is not long enough.
I understand there is alsways going to be competition, we have it here too, but as I said before, if you are more efficient than anyone else, you are going to make up for the additional expense of having a machine. Machines cut your labor costs, they don't ask for raises, overtime, coffee and smoke breaks, are never late for work or expensive benefits.

The formula and key to profitability for any business is 2/3 thirds or 3 days a week. If you can keep a machine busy for 3 days a week, you can break even and can afford the machine. It is the same formula that airlines use to fly their planes: the plane has to be 66% full to break even, hotels have to be 66% full to break even, factories have to operate at 66% capacity to break even and so on. 

When I went to business school this back pocket formula was taught to me as the Harvard rule.

Of course there are exceptions sometimes one has to consider.


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## ROLLACOSTA (Feb 13, 2004)

sorry that last address was ment too be 


www.baumpflege-bollmann.de

lenny the 2/3 idea is great for one machine but i dosent work when you have a full kit ,not all the kit can be used for 2/3 of the time a three man gang cant be using stumpgrinders ,lifts,grab truck,4x4,tipping trailers all the basic kit require by a proffessional arb firm,i have kit that can sit around for a month then go out for 2 months solid ,its all a ballancing act,i will be getting a lift of some type but only when ive finnished paying for something of comparable monthly payments ,buying a spyder doesnt end there as you know you need a trailer and truck too pull it,youll probably be saying surely youve already got a truck yes i have but ill need that for the chipper,so many swings and roundabouts


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## dave1 (Mar 7, 2004)

*towable boom lift*

You might also think of the genie towables ...United rental has a few that are in a rent return mode. Last year there were a few that went up for sale and for a lot less than new. You can also look on ebay under lifts and booms and get an idea of going price. good luck dave 1


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## Frans (Mar 8, 2004)

*towable boom lift Stabalizer arms*

I rented one the other day, fantastic!
But each of the stabilizer arms had to be adjusted with a crank like a trailer jack.
Every time the thing became unbalanced I had to lower the bucket get out and crank one of the arms. 
Only buy the ones with a central hydrolic automatic adjusting function
Frans


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## Lenny Polonski (Mar 8, 2004)

The lift you rented must be an old machine or it is a small machine.
The larger machines all have hydraulic stabilizers. I don't see how
you could stabilize a spider lift with hand jacks. Spider lifts go up anywhere from 80 feet to nearly 200 feet in height.


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## dave1 (Mar 11, 2004)

*towable lift I found it.... preach it*

This may not be what you are looking for but give it a lookandsee . Go to truck paper . com when you are on the home page click on Construction Vocational bucket . Then go down just a little and it will ask to search by price type $ 500 to $5000 if all goes well there is a truck with just a bed for sale you way just really like It is forsale by Wilcox truck sales . Freight may kill the sale thats for you to figure. Good luck dave1


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## preach it (Mar 11, 2004)

Dave1, Thanks for the info. I found it, and it looks good and the price is cheap but I don't know of a local truck that it could be mounted on. It sure is tempting to look into though.


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## dave1 (Mar 20, 2004)

try ...........http://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/aucstsrh/..........trucks,trailers and tractors ALABAMA


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## preach it (Mar 21, 2004)

Thanks Dave. They have a lot of stuff. I ordered a loader for my trailer from Bailey's. It should be here in a week. I also am going to buy a 1 ton dually truck.('78 chevy). The loader will lift large pieces of trees onto the trailer. A lot easier labor for me and a lot faster. The bucket may go on hold for a little while until I save up more money to pay for it.


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