Cherry picker advice

[gibbon]

Hi and happy new year. I think we are in the market for a mewp this year and I'm a little unsure as to what would be the best machine for us. Our work is mostly domestic, LA and Estates. I am torn between either a 20m platform on a cabstar. 14m platform on a land rover, 19m tracked platform or a 25m on a 7.5t. My thoughts good and bad are.

 

Cabstar: Pros - anyone can drive it, reasonably working heigh, compact. Cons - no off road capabilities, cant tow a chipper.

 

Landrover: Pros - anyone can drive, will go off road (abit), can still tow a chipper with some models. Cons - pretty low working hieght.

 

Tracked: Pros - will go most places, reasonable working height. Cons - expensive, ties up towing vehicle, heavy so will be lots of wear and tear on landrover moving to and from site, stabalising legs means not great for roadside work/narrow sites

 

7.5t: Good working height. Run on red deisel, lots of tool storage on board. Cons: big to set up, need to put staff through CE

 

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this or any importanats pionts I might have missed.

 

Mat

[Peter]

What machine do you hire most?

 

Personally wouldnt buy one as I'd rather hire the right machine for the job than buy one and have to use the wrong machine for the job 50% of the time.

[Paul Jenks]

Look at what you've used historically. Look at the purchase costs and the running costs, including the LOLER tests. Look at what usually breaks and how much it is to repair, how long it takes to get the parts and how much this down time will cost. Then look at how much it costs to hire, time to collect and return etc. Do you put the cost of hire on the bill at the quote stage? Even with your own machine this should be written into the quote.

Do you want the machine because it's shiny and you have room in the shed or is there a genuine business requirement to own one?

We use all sorts and hire them to suit the job.

[Dan Earp]

I guess if uve already got one fitted to a vech, thats the only role it can take.

If you where to get tracked youll be able to get into places easier than say get a 7.5t in, but with that ud need a veh to tow and trailer, really depense on your work load for a mwep/topper.

 

If i had the need and the££££ id go for a tracked topper

[woody paul]

The trouble with tree work there all in diffrent places, and a lot of tree that need a cherrypicker aren't that easy to get at. I have hired 8 diffrent ones in the past could not have bought one to do all the jobs.

[gibbon]

Thanks. I'm aware that platforms come in all shapes and sizes. The reason we are looking to buy one is that we have had a much better year financially and are likely to be in for a large tax bill unless we re invest a lot into kit. Although we use platforms when needed, if we had our own it would get a lot more use and would likely speed up a lot of work that perhaps a platform wouldn't get hired in for.

 

What I'd like to know is what would be the single most versatile out of the options above?

[Paul Cleaver]

how good was your profit last year? if your going to get stung for tax get the biggie.

 

when you are not using it you could hire it out

[stoxs]

After using most of what you are looking for i can understand your question.

 

there is no real answer, I think i would go for a tracked mewp it can do all what you want and as you say it can be wide on roads. I am sure it would get used more because it will more likely fit into places say a 7.5tonner wouldnt go.

what about getting a specific vehicle built?

maybe a big mewp on a landy but with telescopic legs so you can use it on narrow roads but also shove the legs right out and go high or far!

or a 4x4 7,5 tonner with a big mewp.

 

good luck with this nice predicament

[Paul Jenks]

So get rid of everything that is written down to £1 and replace it. Spend money on training, yourself as well as your staff. Buy a shiney van to drive around in and still hire the MEWP.

[Peter]

The most versatile is always going to be the tracked, as you can use it anywhere even if it is a bit of a pain to set up in some situations.

 

The best machine for tree work is a big steel boom truck mount in my opinion, but if you cant get it to the trees then its useless.