How do you get into the air?

[gunshy]

I'm having more and more requests for signs off the ground.
I use a ladder when I can, scaffold when I can't, but they're
a pain in the butt so I'm thinking of investing into a bucket truck
or man-lift.

What do you use?
Bucket truck, man lift, or just sub installs out?

[dswanson]

we have a bucket lift that is on a trailer and I love it. but also enjoy subbing out installs

[Billct2]

We had a bucket truck, it was a little too big for us, required a CDL.
Insurance and maintenance costs mean it needs to work a lot to pay for itself. We also stopped doing service work on anything we didn't build when we got rid of it.
Now we occaisionally rent a man lift for any job ladders won't do.
Larger projects we sub.
I would consider a small bucket truck or trailer if a good deal came along.

[Checkers]

It depends on the work you do and the site.
I prefer a man-lift because it's only a phone call away. I just show up at the site and it meets me there. When I'm done with the project, I invoice the client and walk away.
If I rent a lift, I take my cost for the rental and add a minimum of 10% as a seperate "line item". Or the client can save a few dollars and rent it for me.
If I need a bucket truck, I'll sub it out.

Checkers

[gunshy]

I have used scissor type man lifts not a bucket type man lifts,
are they pretty solid? What about if the sign is on uneven ground?
My Home depot rents bucket lifts, that's probably the way I will
go next time.

[dswanson]

gunshy our bucket trailer has 4 stablization bars that you put out and it does fine on uneven ground but obviously not on a serious slope

http://www.biljax.com/ here is a link to the manufacturer of our lift, they have a video of their towable and how it works if you are interested

[PMG]

gunshy our bucket trailer has 4 stablization bars that you put out and it does fine on uneven ground but obviously not on a serious slope

http://www.biljax.com/ here is a link to the manufacturer of our lift, they have a video of their towable and how it works if you are interestedI use these as well,works great. To rent one around here is about 150$ a day and if you only use it for 4 hours $75 I just add it into the bid as part of the labor cost.

[gunshy]

Nice! Do you mind me asking what you paid for your lift dswanson?
And do you think a 4 cylinder truck would be able to pull it?

[jmb474]

I rented one of the 50' Genie towable booms. Very handy I must say. I towed it with a GMC Yukon.

[dswanson]

I just asked my employer he said it was just over $26,000 and worth every penny

[gunshy]

I think I will be renting for a while...
That is if my little GMC Sonoma will pull it.

[Westcoast Sign Guy]

those lil lifts go anywhere from 26k to 49k. For that price I think you're better off buying lift trucks that get retired from utility company's. Years back I bought a 32' basket truck for 5k with a generator & utility bed. Old phone truck

[bertex]

I've got a 99 e350 with a 35' versa lift with 43,000 mi. full bin pkg. ladder racks ready to go for 15,000

PM me for pics

[Replicator]

Usually I just jump really high, but I've found that ladders will work just as good !

[isag]

Ladders are great! Especially good ones like the little giants. However renting a JIG lift is optimal. That's what I do. Scissors are great too. Make sure you have EXCELLENT insurance and do not be afraid to incorporate the added cost into the project. Your safety is worth the extra cost. Any serious customer will understand. United Rentals is a good company. When you get rich (which I am not YET) get a nice used bucket truck from your local cable company, they sell them all the time and well maintained usually. Be safe! Peace ... Mike

[dswanson]

those lil lifts go anywhere from 26k to 49k. For that price I think you're better off buying lift trucks that get retired from utility company's. Years back I bought a 32' basket truck for 5k with a generator & utility bed. Old phone truck

before I worked somewhere that owned one I would have agreed. Watch the video. Storage is a breeze, we can get this thing into places (including through a door into a building) that we've been hard pressed to get a scissor into. but definitely a investment

[GregT]

I try not to do to much of the high work, but when needed I will usually pick up the phone and rent a man-lift.

[DARLAK]

i bought a 35' towable lift a few years back, I was considering a boom truck, but after seeing how much insurance was I started searching for a towable. It took me a few months but I found my lift about 8 hours away for $6000.(used from a rental place) Best money I ever spent...... the only money i've put into it was a new battery charger last year.

[WOODBS]

i haven't had a need ever for a lift but may in the near future. what exactly is a man lift...nothing like a man bra ???

[gunshy]

i haven't had a need ever for a lift but may in the near future. what exactly is a man lift...nothing like a man bra ???

No, viagra

:France:

[Holeshotrob]

It depends on the work you do and the site.
I prefer a man-lift because it's only a phone call away. I just show up at the site and it meets me there. When I'm done with the project, I invoice the client and walk away.
If I rent a lift, I take my cost for the rental and add a minimum of 10% as a seperate "line item". Or the client can save a few dollars and rent it for me.
If I need a bucket truck, I'll sub it out.

Checkers

Ditto here! I have a great installer and it's so much easier than maintainance and insurance and storing the damn thing.

[Craig Sjoquist]

I use scaffolds up to 40 to 50 ft but here in Orlando buildings are 1 n 2 story... and I built mine at 8ft tall sections which fit into other brands that I've bought used $40 per scaffold got 2 sets of 4wheels n leg raisers for uneven areas ...this maybe old school scaffolds, ..but safe, low cost, easy to set up, well if you like to use your body, been using scaffolds over 30 years
now back light plastic signs larger then 4x6ft a lift is rented just easyer these days

13 folds

[gunshy]

Yeah,
When I was in my twenties I was a plumbers assistant, we put in
allot of commercial sprinklers. I would set up and break apart
scaffolding 6-7 times every day, those days are long gone.

The last time I had to rent scaffold it was three levels high, with a fourth
as a railing, double faced sign so I had to break it apart and set it back
up. I didn't have any help.. Man I was hurting for days, but main thing
is that I didn't feel as sure footed as I did when I was younger.

Billct and Darlark bring up a good point about bucket trucks, you have to maintain insurance on them. I guess the pull behind lifts dont require insurance?

[Westcoast Sign Guy]

before I worked somewhere that owned one I would have agreed. Watch the video. Storage is a breeze, we can get this thing into places (including through a door into a building) that we've been hard pressed to get a scissor into. but definitely a investment

One of the things I don't liek about the trailer lift the the pure weight of it. It appears too light weight, even with the outriggers spread. I'm sure it's good for a single person lift and reach. But how about installing large faces with wind involved? I'm also able too at times to tie a cable to the basket and use it as a small crane. Personally I don't have the greatest confidence in knuckle lifts for this type of work.

[DARLAK]

Billct and Darlark bring up a good point about bucket trucks, you have to maintain insurance on them. I guess the pull behind lifts dont require insurance?


they don't even need a license plate!

[Westcoast Sign Guy]

Everything needs insurance. What if you drop a sign face or a tool on a car, or the whole trailer tips falls to the ground, or car, or person.

[dswanson]

One of the things I don't liek about the trailer lift the the pure weight of it. It appears too light weight, even with the outriggers spread. I'm sure it's good for a single person lift and reach. But how about installing large faces with wind involved? I'm also able too at times to tie a cable to the basket and use it as a small crane. Personally I don't have the greatest confidence in knuckle lifts for this type of work.


both my employer and myself have spent 15 -20 yrs in the air. I know that the work we do now does not require a fullsize bucket truck, I know that 10 yrs ago the business that I work for now was focused on new construction site signs (channel letters, raceways, etc) and service. Now the majority of what we do is interior and decorative work. If I was going to be on site 8-12 hours a day 4-6 days a week every week doing what this company was 10yrs ago I would want a full size truck , we simply do not need it now and for jobs of that size we can't justify putting an employee on site for that amount of time and still maintain our other work so we subcontract it out. We can use our towable as a crane and it has amazed me (watch the video) I would not recommend a cheap towable I would venture to say the one we have is about the most industrial brand available. Now with the scope of our work being able to get this lift indoors (shopping malls,etc) it has allowed us to do work we absolutely could not get to with our scissor lift, and those jobs have more than paid for the lift, If I was at a shop that could only afford one type of lift it would most certainly be a towable just for the versatility, unless I was purely a electrical sign company and service company then I could not justify the constant setup.

[Rich]

If you plan on investing in a bucket truck you'll need liability insurance which can be quite expensive.

We've downsized over the years but when I did operate a full service shop we had a small 45' crane to do installs. Other local shops in the area would "sub out" their installation work to us which helped offset the ever increasing expenses.

Nowadays, I prefer not to get involved with any off ground installations. Now I'm the one "subing out" the installation work to others that specialize in this type of work and are fully insured.

[gunshy]

Everything needs insurance. What if you drop a sign face or a tool on a car, or the whole trailer tips falls to the ground, or car, or person.

Unless I'm mistaken, the lift would be covered under your business insurance policy that you would need to have regardless of your equipment.

If you have a bucket truck, that would be an additional policy.

[Westcoast Sign Guy]

Once you have general liability insurance for installation, adding a truck is not whole lot more for that policy, well for me anyway. But you better make your agent aware of your lift anyway to make sure what ever happens with it is covered under your unbrella.