Know Your Scissor Lifts: Find The Right ...

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Electric scissor lifts, like this SE from Snorkel, provide stable working platforms, precise control, and versatility for indoor jobsites.

When it comes to reaching new heights on the work site, scissor lifts play a crucial role in enhancing worker safety, increasing productivity, and enabling access to elevated areas. Scissor lifts are self-propelled aerial work platforms with crisscrossing braces used to raise and lower workers, tools, and other materials on a platform straight up and down.

It&#;s important to pick the right scissor lift for your work area or construction site. Scissor lifts are designed with different lift capacities and motor types, and some are built for indoor use while others are also right at home outdoors. Outdoor work may require greater stability and the capability to navigate rough terrain, while indoor work may need maneuverability or wheels that won&#;t mark interior floors.

Understanding the distinctions between the many models available to you will help you make cost-effective decisions to fit your budget and improve your operation&#;s safety and efficiency.

Slab vs. Rough-Terrain Scissor Lifts

Scissor lifts, commonly used in construction, factory, warehouse, retail, and many other settings, simplify the performance of maintenance, cleaning, building, installation, inventory, and other tasks. Scissor lifts are typically classified as either slab scissor lifts or rough-terrain scissor lifts.

Slab scissors are compact machines with solid non-marking tires, designed for use on flat, level surfaces (such as concrete slabs) and feature a limited footprint compared to other lifts. Small, narrow scissor lifts are often used indoors and on urban jobsites where noise and exhaust emissions are tightly regulated. Other common uses for slab scissor lifts include electrical system installation, painting, retail store assistance, sprinkler system installation, and much more.

Rough-terrain scissor lifts like Genie&#;s GS- RT and GS- RT often possess 4-wheel-drive capabilities to navigate rough ground.

Most slab scissor lifts extend between 10 and 50 feet (about 3 to 15 meters). Some are compact enough to fit through interior doorways and enter elevators. Ideal for projects requiring high-level maneuverability and generous platform space, slab lifts come in many size and capacity options, including low-level access lifts that lift their platforms to heights from around 8 to 14 feet (2.4 to 4.2 meters).

Rough-terrain scissor lifts get their name from the surfaces they're designed to travel across. These lifts offer enhanced stability, maneuverability, and safety mechanisms to handle steep slopes and unimproved terrains. The function of these lifts is the same as that of the slab lifts, but they have hardier tires and 4-wheel drive for traversing rough and rugged exterior surfaces.

Rough-terrain lifts have higher weight capacities and spacious platforms, suitable for lifting multiple workers and heavy equipment to heights of 70 ft (21.3 m) or more. Rough-terrain scissors are commonly used in outdoor construction, tilt-up construction, building maintenance, welding, exterior finishing, and more.

Lift Capacity

A key consideration in finding the right scissor lift is lift capacity. Each scissor lift has a maximum weight capacity that it can safely support. Exceeding this capacity can lead to instability, structural damage, or even collapse, posing risks to the operators and anyone nearby. That&#;s why it&#;s crucial to consider the goods, tools, and workers that your lift will need to accommodate and estimate their total weight as accurately as possible.

Diesel vs. Electric

Scissor lifts come in electric, diesel, hybrid, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) models. Although you&#;ll find diesel and hybrid models, slab scissors are typically powered by electric motors and batteries. Best suited for indoor work, electric scissor lifts produce zero emissions and are often equipped with non-marking tires. These machines are also less bulky than their diesel counterparts, making them optimal for work in smaller spaces.

For more information, please visit 38 m straight boom lift.

Scissor lifts extend to considerable heights for many construction needs. This Skyjack SJ RT provides a work height of 38 feet.

Conversely, most rough-terrain scissor lifts are powered by diesel engines and are a better fit for work in outdoor settings where the noise and exhaust they emit are less of a direct hazard to operators and other workers. Diesel scissor lifts generally come with large platforms, useful for hauling multiple workers and large amounts of equipment. Hybrid scissor lifts often provide the flexibility to operate them indoors or out. For outdoor work on rough ground, consider a four-wheel-drive diesel lift.

Boom Lifts vs. Scissor Lifts

While scissor lifts and boom lifts both provide access to elevated work areas, the two machines move differently and serve different purposes. Boom lifts elevate workers in a small bucket or compact platform with a hydraulic lift system, and unlike scissor lifts, they can extend their work platforms horizontally as well as vertically.

While boom lifts provide more flexibility for working in hard-to-reach areas, scissor lifts provide more stability and usually have larger work platforms.

Safety

OSHA regulations are in place to protect workers while operating scissor lifts. All operators must be properly trained and certified, and design guidelines require scissor lifts to have guardrails installed to prevent workers from falling. Only rough-terrain lifts with special gradeability may operate on uneven surfaces.

Find The Right Scissor Lift

Ready to find the best scissor lift for your jobsite? LiftsToday has thousands of listings for new and used scissor lifts for sale from top manufacturers like Genie, Haulotte, Hy-Brid Lifts, JCB, JLG, MEC, Skyjack, and Snorkel.

On various projects, the boom rental is getting expensive.  The month long rental was like $ last year, and you&#;re always rushing to get everything done while you&#;ve got it. 

Considering buying a used model.  Looking for WAG estimates on how much you think a boom lift would run in yearly maintenance?

Maybe somewhere around with 1k hours, 40&#;-ish, 4wd, diesel, either telescopic or articulating.  Pics below are just for illustration.

What are your thoughts?  Are we better off renting them at $50-ish/day, or buying one?

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