# Enclosed trailer for scissor lifts/vertical mast lifts



## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

This is a 22 foot custom made trailer I recently purchased for my new pipe lining division. The rear door drops down like a landscaping or car racing trailer. 

There's three heavy pieces of equipment that get unloaded and reloaded on every job. For safety reasons (weight and balance) we always load and unload the trailer while hooked up to the towing vehicle. We also chock the trailer.


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## tmessner (Apr 1, 2013)

Will the floor of enclosed trailer standup to the smallish tire footprint when bouncing down the road?


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

tmessner said:


> Will the floor of enclosed trailer standup to the smallish tire footprint when bouncing down the road?


There are a lot of options when you get these custom made, you might be able to beef up the floor right under the wheels so it's stiffer and a more durable surface.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I have owned aerial lift equipment in the past, but never again. I find them to be spectacular money pits. The cost of them is built into every job, so why not rent and let the rental company take care of the transportation? Takes an extra measure of stress and aggravation off of you.


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## tmessner (Apr 1, 2013)

That does not work when you are a minimum of one hour from the closest rental and only need to wire an overhead door for a farmer. A one hour job.


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## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

tmessner said:


> Will the floor of enclosed trailer standup to the smallish tire footprint when bouncing down the road?


Depends on what the floor is made of i suppose. Mine is diamond plate.


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## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

tmessner said:


> That does not work when you are a minimum of one hour from the closest rental and only need to wire an overhead door for a farmer. A one hour job.


I'm in MDShunk's camp on this one. Been there, done that, got the tee shirt. Even if it was an hour away I'd still rather rent, then own.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

tmessner said:


> That does not work when you are a minimum of one hour from the closest rental and only need to wire an overhead door for a farmer. A one hour job.


They invented these things our ancestors used called ladders. They work great for quick unexpected job.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

A friend of mine has a tow-behind lift which he uses to service street lamps and do other high work. He has plenty of bucket trucks too but in many cases it's more practical to tow the towable lift behind a van.

https://www.google.com/search?q=tow...7t_bAhVG0FMKHXvJCMEQ_AUICygC&biw=1280&bih=658


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## tmessner (Apr 1, 2013)

MDShunk said:


> They invented these things our ancestors used called ladders. They work great for quick unexpected job.


16 to 20' high doors and 25 to 30' ceilings do not work with ladders. We own a large 16' trestle ladder. It takes 3 guys and nerves of steel and you are supposed to use three points of contact. Good luck getting anything done. https://www.wernerco.com/us/en/view/Products/Climbing Equipment/Step Ladders/E7400/E7416


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## active1 (Dec 29, 2009)

I can only think of 1 company that owned a few lifts and used their truck & trailer to move to jobs. In that case it was for small 1 day to a week jobs.

Another company had some on a job site that seemed to be endless maintenance & projects. They called the local rental place that services them for pickup for repairs. Think the rental place would also move customer owned lifts to different job sites.

Other shops were big enough they had fork lifts on the site to load lifts.

Another option is a towing company can move them on a flat bed.

For building a trailer you could try to find out the angle / grade of the ramp.
Then compare it to the lift specifications / contact lift manufacture.

Seems like to drive in a trailer you need to be concerned with:
not bottoming out at the ramp top
scraping the front or back at the ramp bottom
having enough power to get up the ramp
not tilting out a safety switch and shutting down

You could mount a winch in the trailer and disengage the drive wheels (careful it doesn't roll away).

The trailer lift is good for hitching up to a truck and going.
Such as a rental company with customer pick-up.
I just don't see them in the trade much.
Think were a lot more trouble setting up & moving a few feet.

For all outside work you can't beat a bucket truck.

I like the idea of storing in a trailer.
Be sure to get a good lock to prevent taking theft of the trailer.
Can't count the number of times I seen a few lifts parked out by the front doors of a operating store. Never liked that idea. Equipment has been known to be stolen for joy rides. Or had batteries stolen.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

I've worked for two companies that had their own lifts and for the type work you mention the tow behind lift is a good choice (no loading/unloading).


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

A genie GR-20 lift weight about 2500Lb so a drop deck would make loading and unloading easy. 
There are special trailer places that custom make anything you want and the price isn't to bad compared to a stock trailer. (drop deck has hydraulic lift cylinders so its more than a basic trailer) 
At least with a custom trailer the hitch weight would be correct when the lift is loaded rather than having the trailer drive the truck to the site.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

IMO only way to haul a scissor is a drop deck equipment trailer, unless you want to get your own roll back, which I've thought about before :laughing: 



Only time I put a lift on our deck trailers is if its going to a site with a forklift then we can just pluck it off the back, no ramp needed.


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## L_S (Jun 19, 2018)

That looks like a sweet setup flyboy, that's for a method of trenchless sewer repair? That treadplate floor and all those tiedowns are great. Your guys use that rooftop air conditioner much?

MDShunk, you guys in the "just rent one" camp might be right.. I was thinking of some installation contracts I had worked on where a team of two guys were frequently in and out of 2 or 3 sites a day, a small lift would have been a lot safer than some of the ladder usage - and more productive at times. I suppose I need to see what the equipment renters charge for drop off/pickup, and also get a better idea of the lift maintenance costs. 

tmessner, I haven't seen a ladder like that before. I'm not averse to working at height but that does look a bit intimidating..

gpop, Jlarson - You are talking about the trailers that lower their deck all the way to the ground for loading and unloading? Those look really sweet - Triple L/JLG , Air-Tow, Anderson Trailers. The unfortunate part is that for an enclosed model, the trailer list-price is nearly as much as the manlift.


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