The short answer on hiring a cherry picker
Six things decide whether a machine is right for your job: working height, outreach at full extension, whether it needs to be insulated, its compliance paperwork, the outrigger footprint, and who holds the operator ticket. Get those six answered on the phone and the machine that turns up will do the job.
Most hires that go wrong did not go wrong on the day. They went wrong on the phone, when nobody asked the question that mattered. A machine arrives, it cannot reach, or it cannot be set up, or it is not rated for the work, and the day is gone.
None of the six checks below take long. They are simply the ones that decide the outcome, and they are the ones a good hire company will ask you before you think to ask them.
This is general guidance on hiring a cherry picker in Victorian conditions. Every site is different and the duties that apply to your work sit with whoever controls the workplace.
Working height is not boom length, and it is not platform height
Three numbers get quoted and they are not the same. Platform height is how high the floor of the basket goes. Working height is conventionally platform height plus about two metres, on the assumption a person standing in the basket can reach that far above the floor. Boom length is the length of the boom itself, which is a different measurement again and the one that decides licensing.
When you tell a hire company how high you need to go, tell them where your hands need to be. That is the honest input. Let them convert it. A job described as needing eighteen metres because someone measured the tree is a job that may need a very different machine once the actual work point is established.
Outreach is the number that gets forgotten
Height gets all the attention and outreach decides most jobs. Outreach is how far horizontally the basket can get from the centre of the machine, and it falls away as you go up. A tower that reaches twenty metres straight up may only reach eight or nine metres sideways at that height.
This matters because the truck almost never gets to stand where you would like it to. It stands on the street, or on the driveway, or on the one patch of ground that will take the outriggers. Everything between that spot and the work is outreach you need to buy.
The question that saves the day
Where can the truck actually stand, and how far is that from the work? Measure it before you ring. That single number decides the machine more often than height does, and it is the one nobody volunteers.
Insulated or not, and why it is not optional
An insulated platform is built so the boom and basket provide a rated barrier between the operator and earth. It is the reason utilities and vegetation crews can work near live conductors at all.
If any part of the work will come near an overhead line, the machine has to be rated for it, and the rating has to be current and documented. A general-hire machine is not a substitute, and no amount of care on the day converts one into the other. This is the check where the honest answer sometimes stops a job, and it is much better to stop it on the phone.
The compliance plate and the log book
Every machine carries a compliance plate stating what it is and what it is rated to do, and a log book recording its inspections and service history. Both should be current, both should be on the machine, and you are entitled to see them.
A hire company that cannot produce them promptly is telling you something. The paperwork is not bureaucracy for its own sake; it is the evidence that the machine has been maintained, and it is what the regulator, the principal contractor and your own insurer will ask for.
Outriggers, and the ground underneath them
A truck-mounted machine transfers its entire weight, plus the load, plus the leverage of an extended boom, into a small number of outrigger feet. The ground has to take it.
Soft ground, recent fill, a septic tank, a stormwater lid, a service pit, an unsupported edge next to a retaining wall or a kerb crossover are all reasons a setup point does not work. Spreader pads distribute the load and should be part of the kit rather than an afterthought.
The footprint also matters for access. An outrigger spread is wider than the truck, and a driveway that fits the vehicle does not necessarily fit the machine set up.
Who is operating it, and what they hold
On a dry hire the machine arrives and your people run it. That means your people need the right ticket for the machine, and they need familiarisation on that specific unit, which is a separate obligation from the ticket and the one most often skipped.
On a wet hire an operator comes with it. That resolves the ticket question, and it usually resolves familiarisation, but it does not make the operator responsible for your work method or for anything else happening on the site.
What a good hire company asks you
The questions run the other way too, and the pattern is a reasonable signal of who you are dealing with. Expect to be asked what the work is, how high and how far, what the ground is like, whether there is power nearby, who is operating, and how long you need it.
A supplier who takes a booking without asking any of that is not being efficient. They are taking a booking they cannot verify, and the gap gets discovered on your site rather than in their office.
Access, and the thing that decides it
Every site has one pinch point that decides whether the machine gets in: a gate, a side passage, a low branch over the driveway, a gradient, a turning circle, a locked bollard on a shared drive. Find it before the truck is dispatched.
Where the pinch point cannot be solved, the answer is usually more reach from further away rather than a smaller machine squeezed closer. That is a decision made at booking, and it changes which machine comes.
How long you actually need it
Hire is priced very differently by duration, and the shape of the pricing rewards knowing your own job. A half day that becomes a full day is a different conversation from a full day booked as a full day.
For longer work, the questions change again: where the machine is kept overnight, who is responsible for it out of hours, and what happens if it stops. Those are worth settling at the start rather than on day four.
What happens if the machine stops
Plant breaks. The question is what the arrangement is when it does, and it should be a stated arrangement rather than an assumption. Ask what the response looks like, whether a replacement is available, and what the position is on the time lost.
Be wary of anything that sounds like an unconditional promise. A supplier who says a replacement is always on the road within the hour is either running a much bigger fleet than they appear to, or is telling you what you want to hear.
Red flags on a quote
- A rate quoted without a single question about the site
- Reluctance to confirm the machine’s rating and paperwork
- Working height quoted with no outreach figure alongside it
- No mention of delivery, setup or who supplies the operator
- A number that is well below everyone else with nothing explaining why
What to have ready when you ring
- Where your hands need to be, in metres
- How far that point is from where a truck could stand
- Whether there is any overhead power, and roughly how close
- What the ground and the access are like at the setup point
- Whether you are supplying a ticketed operator
- How long the work will take, honestly
Six answers. They take a minute to gather and they decide everything that follows.
Which machine suits which job
Every tower in our fleet is an insulated EWP, so the question is never which one is better. It is which one carries what your job needs. Three figures decide it — working height, outreach and basket capacity — and a fourth, the insulation rating and the conditions it holds in, decides whether the machine can be near the line at all.
Working heights below come off the compliance plates rather than brochures. Where a manufacturer does not publish a figure it is shown as on request rather than estimated, because a made-up spec on a hire page is a safety problem rather than a cosmetic one.
| Machine | Working height | Outreach | Basket | Insulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GMJ LL22.350 | 23.5 m | 13 m | 350 kg | 66/33/LV on the plate |
| Redmond Gary TF17M | 19 m | 13 m | 325 kg | 132 kV — dry, wet and precipitation |
| Sherrin 18 m | 18 m | 11.1 m | 350 kg | 132 kV, Glove & Barrier build |
| GMJ TT16.300 | 17.5 m | On request | 250 kg | On the plate — ask us for your job |
| Terex Hi-Ranger LT40 | 13.8 m | 9 m | 181 kg | ANSI Category C under A92.2 |
| Versalift SST-37 | 12.8 m | 8.5 m | On request | Fitted as an option — ask first |
| Altec AT30C | On request | On request | On request | On request |
The tallest tower we run, and the one that goes out when nothing shorter will reach — 13 metres of outreach still intact at full height, on a basket that takes two people and what they bring down.
Rated 132 kV dry, wet and in precipitation, which is the rating that matters when the job does not stop because the weather turned. Long outreach for its height.
A Glove & Barrier build on a 350 kg basket. The one to ask about when the work is close-quarters on live gear rather than simply near it.
A mid-height tower that gets into ground the bigger machines cannot. Ask us for the plate figures against your specific job rather than working off a brochure.
Compact and quick to set up, rated ANSI Category C under A92.2. Suits tight residential access where a full-size tower simply will not fit.
Low travel height, which is what gets it under a carpark header or a low branch line. Insulation is fitted as an option, so confirm it before the job is booked.
A compact telescopic tower. We publish figures off the compliance plate rather than the brochure, so ask us and we will send the plate for the unit going to your job.
Every tower above travels to Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and Gippsland — driven to site under its own power, not floated in on a separate truck.
Insulated EWP hire across Victoria
Every tower is a truck, so it drives to you under its own power and sets up on its own legs. There is no float to book and no crane at either end, which is why distance behaves differently for us than it does for hire companies working off floated plant.
We hire right across Victoria. Beyond the towns above we run into Dandenong and the outer east, right through Gippsland where we are based, and up into the north-east — the Wangaratta and Wodonga side of the state is no trouble at all, we are over that way regularly. If your job is somewhere not listed here it is almost certainly still covered: insulated EWP hire across Victoria.
Tell us the job. We will tell you the tower.
Wet hire or dry hire, anywhere in Victoria, with a replacement machine behind it from the first day.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check before hiring a cherry picker?
Working height against where your hands need to be, outreach at that height, whether the machine needs to be insulated, its compliance plate and log book, the outrigger footprint against your ground, and who holds the operator ticket.
What is the difference between working height and platform height?
Platform height is how high the basket floor goes. Working height is conventionally platform height plus about two metres, assuming a person can reach that far above the floor. Boom length is a third measurement again, and it is the one that decides licensing.
Why does outreach matter more than height?
Because the truck rarely stands where you want it to. Outreach is how far horizontally the basket gets from the machine, and it reduces as you go higher. The distance between the setup point and the work is the number that usually decides the machine.
Do I need an insulated machine?
If any part of the work approaches an overhead line, yes, and the rating must be current and documented. A general-hire machine is not a substitute and care on the day does not convert one into the other.
Can I ask to see the compliance plate and log book?
Yes, and you should. Both should be current and on the machine. A supplier who cannot produce them promptly is telling you something worth hearing.
What ground do outriggers need?
Firm and level enough to take the machine, the load and the leverage of an extended boom through a small number of feet. Soft ground, fill, service pits, tank lids and unsupported edges are all reasons a setup point does not work. Spreader pads should be part of the kit.
Is the outrigger spread wider than the truck?
Yes. A driveway that fits the vehicle does not necessarily fit the machine once it is set up, which is why access has to be assessed against the deployed footprint rather than the vehicle width.
What is the difference between wet hire and dry hire?
Dry hire is the machine on its own and your people operate it. Wet hire includes an operator. Wet hire resolves the ticket and familiarisation questions but does not transfer responsibility for your work method.
What is familiarisation and do I need it?
Familiarisation is instruction on the specific machine being used, separate from holding a ticket. On a dry hire it is your obligation, and it is the step most often skipped.
What should a hire company ask me?
What the work is, how high and how far, the ground and access at the setup point, whether there is overhead power, who is operating, and how long you need it. A booking taken without any of that is a booking nobody has verified.
What if the machine cannot get down the side of the house?
The usual answer is more reach from further away rather than a smaller machine forced closer. That decision belongs at booking, because it changes which machine is sent.
Does a truck-mounted machine need a float?
No. A truck-mounted platform drives to site under its own power, which is one of the practical differences between it and a trailer or self-propelled unit that has to be transported.
What happens if the machine breaks down?
Ask what the arrangement is before you book, and treat an unconditional promise of an immediate replacement with some caution. A stated, realistic arrangement is worth more than a reassuring one.
How do I describe the height I need?
Tell them where your hands need to be, in metres, and let the hire company convert that into a machine. Quoting a tree height measured from the ground often points at the wrong unit.
Is the cheapest quote usually the problem?
Not automatically, but a number well below everyone else with nothing explaining why usually has something left out of it. Ask what is included rather than assuming parity.
How far ahead should I book?
Far enough to resolve anything that needs a third party. Work approaching overhead power may need permission from the network operator, and that is measured in days rather than hours.
Sources & references
- WorkSafe Victoria, Elevating work platforms: the Victorian regulator’s guidance on selecting, setting up and operating an elevating work platform, including the duties that sit with whoever manages or controls the workplace and the checks expected before a machine is used.
- WorkSafe Victoria, Safe work practices using elevating work platforms: the practical guidance note covering setup, ground assessment and outrigger use, and the statement that a boom-type platform with a boom length over 11 metres requires the operator to hold a high risk work licence.
- Standards Australia, AS 2550.10 Cranes, hoists and winches: safe use of elevating work platforms: the standard governing safe use, inspection intervals and the periodic major inspection regime that a hire fleet’s log book and service records are built on.
- Elevating Work Platform Association of Australia: the national industry association, and the body behind the Yellow Card operator familiarisation programme referred to in the operator section above.
- Energy Safe Victoria, No Go Zones — working around energy assets: the framework that decides what is required when plant approaches an overhead powerline, including the spotter requirement between 3.0 and 6.4 metres and the network operator permission required inside 3.0 metres.
General information only, current at the time of writing. Every site is different. Confirm the requirements that apply to your job with the relevant authority and with whoever controls the workplace before work starts.
