Man Lifts

oliver power · May 15, 2016

I guess a man lift(Boom Style) would be considered a tool. Thinking of buying one. Looking for opinions. Driveable, or tow behind? Which would you choose? How about brand names?

jm. · May 15, 2016

Have had several for years.. the ONLY way to go is JLG 4 wheel drive . Have had dual fuel but prefer the diesel units. Now the bad part 4 hr unit will cost you 10 thousand or so and a good one with low hrs will be 14 thousand or better . DO NOT buy the tow type too much trouble to move and you can never get where you need to be. Good source is SUNBELT rental if you have one close by. You might rent one to see how you like it. Most times they will sell one for around auction prices.

Mark - IN. · May 15, 2016

Nice tools, JLG or Grove are ones that I've used for outside work. Inside I've also been on the kind of man lifts that are a continuous belt that have a hand grip to grab onto, then a foot platform to step on, and up or down you go jumping off whatever landing you need to hop off on. In my case up or down up to any of five stories onto catwalks, walk over to the other man lift and same thing six through ten. Going up never bothers me, the down side always gives me the chills. Step towards the platform but miss it or the hand grip and you're going down anyway because that's what gravity does. One thing's for sure, once you're on and moving up or down, you probably won't fall because it's doubtful that you'll let go, trust me on that one.

Mark
One of these guys

old · May 15, 2016

That is one thing that if you use it a lot well fine to own but if you use it say once or twice a year for what they cost not worth it. I rented one not long ago and while it was nice to have it I would not use it enough to make it pay for it self. I have a friend who owns one and I still need to get it back up and running due to having stuck intake valves from it sitting a long time. Buying use well most from what i have seen are ones from rent tool companies so the get used hard and wore out before a person can buy them so you have what my friend has a $3000 piece of wore out junk. First time I messed with my friend machine the controls would not work at the basket so I had to run it from the ground while he was up in the air and eve nthen I had to get it to run before I helped him fix a barn roof

Dr. Walt · May 16, 2016

Back in the '80's when I worked in the Mines, underground we had an old Ford Tractor with FEL. We removed the bucket and made a 2-man mancage that pivoted on gimbals fastened to the end of the boom. Next, we installed a "remote" set of controls on the basket so that a single person could position the tractor, take the tractor out of gear, set the brakes, and raise himself up in the basket to do whatever he needed to do. Most of the time though, we had one person operating the tractor with two people in the basket; but it could be operated by just one person.

Doc :>)

jeffcat · May 16, 2016

You got it ! Very good advice and most all of their stuff is "traded" off long before they need to do any heavy repairs on it. Also they do tax write offs so it is a win/win. Again...very good advice.

jeffcat · May 16, 2016

There used to be a couple of older car parking garages in Philly that had those. They moved a LOT faster than the one in your video! They were very old too. Huge fiber drive belt affair.

oliver power · May 16, 2016

Thanks Guys. We use them quite often. Yes, JLG is our favorite. Never had to rent one. They were always supplied. I do have jobs coming up where I will need a man lift on my own. Or should I say, "it would be nice to have one". It would save a LOT of climbing, and working off ladders. Seems like anything over a 28' ladder is a lot of climbing anymore. Have some jobs coming up where I need a 40' ladder. Yes, I have a 40' ladder. By the time I get to the top, I'm wore out, and don't want to do anything. I like the drivable models. But, thought a towable model might be easier to transport. And would be easier on lawns. Never used a towable man lift. I see them around, but never used one. I've noticed, good used towable man lifts are about the same money as a good used drivable one.

Andy Martin · May 16, 2016

Used to use one of those every day in the refinery. We had one on the CAT structure. Pretty convenient, and after you got used to it, pretty quick. Only downside was company policy no tools carried by hand, made it a little inconvenient. It seemed pretty fast at first but seemed pretty slow after using it frequently.

Man Lifts

oliver power

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jm.

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Mark - IN.

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old

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Dr. Walt

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jeffcat

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jeffcat

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oliver power

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Andy Martin

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