We have always used cranes to boom trusses and large skidloader for the rest of the framing needs. With crane prices getting too high and other reasons we are going to keep our eye out for a telehandler. Big question is do we need an 8000# machine or can we get by with a 6000#? seams like they're is a better supply of the 6000 in the budget category. Main use is single story houses, but would like to be able to set them on a average 2 story on occasion. Buddy of mine says pass on the 6's , but he also ran them on large commercial mason jobs. Next question, looking at completed auctions on Ritchie bros and Ebay, and talking to others you can get a decent machine for around 20K? any input? Thanks.
IMO, the best machine if you have to lift high, and reach out, is an 8K with outriggers. The outrigger option will make the machine quite a bit more stable, and less prone to tip on any soft ground. It will add a few thousand pounds to the weight, and if used then the boom is up and out, need a delicate touch or bad things can happen.
One of the things I have seen a lot of with auctions is this: Like used cars, machines seem to have a floor price...they will sell for X amount about every time unless there is something wrong with them, and nearly every machine you will come across will be an ex-rental unit. Complete with the care and abuse you would expect of rental machines.
A private sale is probably the best, and a machine owned for years by a contractor is probably better then a deal found on an equipment yard. Auction machines from rental yards or bankrupt companies may have had regular maintenance, but probable will not have records, but some newer lifts may have information available (Like JLG) on what parts have been purchased and service information.
There are a lot of machines out there for $25,000, and unless it is a 50" plus stick with outriggers, it seems like there is little difference in price between 6K and 8K machines. If you have to haul it yourself, then weight is a factor, and I think the Skytraks are lighter then others, Lulls and Pettibones are the heaviest.
I have heard the rental companies around here (oil field country) that rent 8 and 10K lifts to the industry have a lot of problems with the computer issues on the newer machines. Nothing like having a machine beep at you a few times and shut down in the middle of a lift. My newer Lull has electronics but no computer, and my older lulls are total hydraulic machines...meaning you can work on them if you have any mechanical skills and don't own a volt/ohm meter.
The machine I am negotiating to buy for a job we have coming up is a 56 foot lift with outriggers, and $55,000 price tag. Ouch.
