Ideas from Ed: Getting high (Vol. 8, Issue 8)

Sometimes it’s necessary to get up and off the ground to access a gutter or maybe to do roof repairs.  I may write an article one day about ladders and scaffolds, but this month I’ll be talking about a towable manlift that I rented so that my son and I could re-point some mortar at his house.  I’ll be discussing the good and bad points of using such a lift, with the “bottom line” being that it’s an incredible machine to have available.

If you’re afraid of heights, you might want to stop reading now!  In that case, hire someone else to do your repairs.  However, since my articles are about doing things yourself, it may at least entertain you for a few minutes. 

This is the lift I rented:

This particular manlift was a 50’ unit, which could also reach out 35’ to the side.  The per-day rental cost was quite high, so it made sense to rent it for a week at a discounted rate and use it at multiple locations.  It’s also smart to rent the smallest unit that can reach your intended target.  This is me using the lift at a second location to repair shingles and clean gutters:

Here’s what it looks like if you’re brave enough to look down!

Rental companies can deliver a lift like this to your site at extra cost, so if you have a way to pick it up and return it, you will save money.  The unit I rented has no mobility of its own.  If you rent a similar unit, unless you can move it, it would stay in its delivered location until the rental company picks it up.  I borrowed a friend’s pickup truck which had no trouble transporting it, and then used my Honda CRV (that has a trailer hitch but no trailer lights wiring) to move it to several positions on-site.  The lift weighs about 3800 lbs and hooks onto a 2” hitch ball.

The rental company clearly explained how to operate this, and the controls are pretty basic.  The lift can be operated by the ground unit or by a nearly-the-same panel on the lift platform.  Here are pictures of each.  Note the graphic icons which easily show which buttons make the unit do each particular movement.  You simply push two buttons at the same time – one to select the speed and the second to select the motion.  The machine must be set up before use and levels itself by extending the outriggers.

Control on the ground unit

Control on the platform

There is an on-board battery which powers everything.  A dangling power plug enables you to connect to household current via an extension cord for charging when the indicator lights show the need.

I will confess that the motions are relatively “herky-jerky” and uncomfortable, especially if everything is fully extended and you’re high in the air.  With a full day’s use at maximum height, both my son and I experienced a sense of motion akin to being on a boat, even several hours after grounding.  We worked side-by-side since the capacity of the platform was two persons up to a total weight of 500 lbs.  One thing we didn’t like was that the platform didn’t “twist” so one of us had to work from its front and one of us from its side.  That would not be an issue if the placement was such that everything extended directly against the building.

Were we to redesign the machine, we’d make several modifications:

1) a soft/gradual end to positioning, rather than abrupt stops

2) a one-touch “home” button that returns everything to the initial position, saving multiple steps

3) a one-touch “memory” button that takes you back to the stored position (returning you to where you were prior to a bathroom/lunch/stretch break or whatever)

4) a pop-up sun screen

5) a “super-quick” retract button that may give a wild ride but get you away from wasps and hornets that don’t want you where you were

Obviously the most important aspect of using such a tool is using it safely.  That means avoiding overhead electrical wires and may even mean strapping on a body harness.  There’s a measure of uneasiness when using ladders and scaffolds, and using this lift is no different.  The machine is designed for doing what it does, and it does it safely, but the constant “ocean motion” takes some getting used to.

A machine like this isn’t for everybody, but there’s no need to fear using one should the situation call for it. If I could afford it and had the space to store it, as my son said, “I’d own one of these bad boys!”

I hope all your projects go well.  Thanks for reading, and happy restoring!

Ed

If you’d like to download a PDF of this “Ideas” column, click here:

Ideas from Ed 2025_September_Getting_high.pdf

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