Which lift do I need?

How the picker chooses

The picker works in four steps. It adds a three-foot allowance to the height you enter. It drops machines that do not suit the place, because indoor work needs electric machines and soft ground needs rough-terrain ones. It looks at where the machine can stand: directly below the work points to a scissor lift, a blocked spot to an articulating boom, and a long stand-off to a telescopic boom. Then it returns the smallest class whose working height covers the number.

If you can see the result and the next size up together, you can tell how much room you have. A result that fits with a few feet to spare is a safe starting point for the call. A result that fits by an inch is a reason to ask for the class above.

Working height is not the number in the name

Yards name a machine by its platform height, so a 32-ft scissor lift has a platform 32 feet off the ground. The picker compares against working height instead, the height a person standing on that platform can reach, which is about six feet more.

The spec pages show the pattern. The 19-ft electric scissor class lists about 24 to 25 ft of working height, the 32-ft class lists 38 ft, and the 40-ft electric articulating boom lists 46 ft. The 60-ft class booms list roughly 66 to 68 ft, and the 80-ft class straight booms list 86 ft. The 26-ft scissor lift is the one size whose working height is not printed there, so the picker uses its platform height plus the same six feet and the table marks it as an estimate.

Why the picker adds three feet

The height you type is where hands have to reach. Work that needs both hands and a tool, or a jib at the tip of a boom, needs some room beyond that. Three feet is a planning allowance chosen for this picker. It is not a standard, and a provider or your safety lead may ask for more.

That allowance is also why a 22-foot job lands on the 26-ft scissor lift and not the 19-ft one. The smaller machine works at about 24 to 25 feet, so it covers 22 feet on paper but leaves only two or three feet for the tool in your hand.

Indoors, outdoors and the ground

The electric scissor lifts and the 40-ft electric boom are the machines listed for indoor work. They are quiet and fume-free, and a 19-ft scissor lift is 30 to 32 in wide, narrow enough for a standard 36-in door. Their weight sits on small wheels, and the spec sheets list ground pressure of 112 to 224 psi for the electric scissors, so a patched slab or a thin floor is worth a question to the building owner.

Outdoors on concrete, asphalt or compacted gravel, any class can work. On grass, dirt or wet Gulf Coast clay the picker keeps only rough-terrain machines: the 40-ft rough-terrain scissor lift and the larger booms. Even those need a firm pad, and plywood or steel plates may be asked for. The site requirements guide explains ground loads and slopes.

Where the machine can stand

One question separates a scissor lift from a boom. Can a straight vertical line run from the work down to the machine? If it can, a scissor lift is usually enough and often cheaper. If the line has to bend around a rack, a roof edge or a canopy, an articulating boom reaches up and over. If the line is straight but long, with the machine parked well out, a telescopic boom gives the most outreach.

Boom lift vs scissor lift works through the same rule with side-by-side spec figures, and how high a boom lift do I need shows the difference between platform height, working height and horizontal reach.

What the picker leaves out

A class that fits the height still has to get to the site and work safely there. These points sit outside the picker.

• Overhead power lines. Texas law restricts work within six feet of high-voltage lines, so tell the provider about any line near the work.
• Wind. One manufacturer manual says not to raise a boom when winds may exceed 28 mph, so plan a spare day for outdoor work.
• The route in. Compare the width column with your narrowest door, gate and aisle, in inches.
• Training and fall protection, which depend on the machine and the site. See the operator training guide.
• Price, which depends on size, dates and delivery. The rental cost guide shows the ranges and their sources.

Sending the result on

The button under the result copies the height, the place and the suggested class into the quote form on this page. A local provider then calls back with a machine and a price. The first-time rental checklist lists the rest to have ready when the call comes.

Common questions