Which lift do I need?
Five questions narrow it down: how high, whether you need to reach over anything, where it will work, how it gets in, and who will drive it. Answer them in order and you will usually be left with one type of machine.
1. How high is the job?
Measure to the highest point you need to work at, then choose a machine whose working height reaches it. Working height already allows for a person standing on the platform and reaching up.
Platform height is how high the floor of the basket or deck goes. Working height adds roughly two metres for a person standing and reaching, so it is the figure to match to the job.
Cherry picker and scissor lift sizes
The working height range of every type we hire, in metres and feet.
2. Do you need to reach over anything?
This one question decides between a vertical lift and a boom.
A scissor lift gives a big deck for people and materials. A mast lift is smaller for one person in tight spaces.
Yes, over a canopy, plant or a roof edge
You need a boom lift. An articulated boom, the kind most people call a cherry picker, bends up and over.
Yes, a long way out from the base
A telescopic boom gives the longest straight reach when you cannot get close.
A fuller comparison of when each wins.
3. Indoors or outdoors?
Electric machines have no exhaust, so they suit indoor work and quiet sites. Diesel and rough terrain machines suit outdoor sites with uneven ground. Hybrids run on battery indoors and diesel outside. Each machine page lists its power and whether it suits indoor work.
4. How does it get to the work?
Check the way in before you choose the machine, not after it arrives.
Narrow doors, aisles or a passenger lift
A mast lift or a narrow scissor lift. Compare the stowed width and height on each machine page with the narrowest point.
A garden gate, a lawn or rough ground
A spider lift drives on tracks with the boom stowed and works from levelled outriggers. The narrowest models pass a garden gate.
From the road, or several jobs a day
A van mounted platform drives between jobs. A truck mount goes higher from the kerb. Allow for parking, permits and traffic management.
5. Who will operate it?
Operators should hold an IPAF PAL card for the machine's category: 3a for self-propelled scissor lifts and mobile mast lifts, 1a for static mast lifts and push-around scissor lifts (PAV for push-arounds), 3b for self-propelled booms, and 1b for spider lifts and vehicle mounts. If nobody on site is trained, ask about operated hire.
Which PAL card covers which machine.
A machine with a trained operator, quoted for your job.
Or start from the job
If your work is one of these, its page gives the usual heights, the machine classes that suit and why, the site checks and the IPAF category, with a short list of machines.
Racking, high-bay lighting, services
Fit-outs, suspended ceilings, finished floors
Up and over porches, bays and roof edges
Spiders for soft ground and narrow access
Kerbside van mounts, car parks, high bays
Rigging, lighting, camera positions
Every job page in one place.
Questions
- Scissor lift or cherry picker?
- Choose a scissor lift when you can park directly under the work on firm, level ground. Choose a boom lift when you need to reach up and over something (an articulated boom, or cherry picker) or a long way out from the base (a telescopic boom). See the scissor lift vs cherry picker guide for a side-by-side comparison.
- What is the difference between working height and platform height?
- Platform height is how high the floor of the basket or deck goes. Working height adds roughly two metres for a person standing and reaching, so it is the figure to match to the job.
- Which lift fits through a doorway?
- Mast lifts and narrow scissor lifts are built for tight access. The narrowest spider lifts can pass a wide single door, but most need more than a standard internal door. Compare the stowed width and height on each machine page with the narrowest point of the route. If a figure is not shown, ask us for it before you book.
- Can you choose the lift for me?
- No, the choice is yours. We do not recommend machines, so this guide, the figures on every machine page and the height filter on All machines are there to help you compare. Call us for bookings, availability, delivery and hire questions.
Ready to choose? See every machine by working height