HIAB hire cost
Why we ask questions before we give you a figure
Everybody would like a number on a page. The trouble is that a HIAB hire is not one thing. It is a vehicle, a trained driver, a journey and a lift, and the lift is the part that varies most. Two jobs that sound the same in an enquiry can be an hour apart once you know where the lorry can stand and what is in the way.
We offer job rates, half day rates and day rates. We ask you four or five short questions, work out which vehicle suits the job and how long we are likely to be there, and quote you for that job on the rate that suits it.
This page sets out what actually moves the figure, so that when you email you know what we are going to ask and why we are asking it.
What moves the price
The things that decide what a job costs
| What it is | Why it changes the price | What to tell us |
|---|---|---|
| The vehicle | A rigid, an artic and a wagon and drag are not the same day rate, and the load decides which one comes. | Roughly what the item is and how big it is. You do not need a weight to the kilo. |
| The trailer | A trailer, an extendable or a low loader going with the lorry is another vehicle on the job. | Whether the item is long, tall, or has to drive on rather than be lifted on. |
| The reach | Lifting straight off the bed is quick. Working up and over something takes a bigger machine and longer. | What stands between where the lorry can park and where the load has to land. |
| The access, both ends | This changes the answer more than anything else on the list. | Gate widths, parked cars, overhead cables, soft ground, slopes. A photograph beats a description. |
| Time on site | A twenty minute drop and a half day of positioning are different jobs on the same lorry. | How many items, and whether anyone has to be there to receive them. |
| Distance | A run across Manchester and a day out on the motorway are priced differently, but it is still one figure. | The postcode at each end. |
| How much work there is | One item, a full load, or several loads across a few days are planned and priced as different shapes of job. | Everything you want moving, even the bits you think we would not bother with. |
| Contract lift or not | A contract lift means we plan it, write the method statement and the risk assessment, and carry the responsibility. | Whether your client or principal contractor has asked for one. |
| Permits and site rules | Road closures, permits and site inductions all take time to arrange before the lorry moves. | Anything the site or the council requires, as early as you know it. |
| The time of day | A site that will only take deliveries out of hours changes how the day is built around the job. | Any delivery window you have been given. |
What to put in your email
- What the item is, and roughly how big it is
- Where it is now, with a postcode
- Where it is going, with a postcode
- How a lorry gets to it at both ends, and where it can stand
- Whether anything is in the way: a fence, a wall, a hedge, overhead cables
- When you need it done, and whether the site has set hours
- Who will be there to meet us, if anybody needs to be
A photograph of the collection point and one of the delivery point tell us more than anything you can describe, so send those if you have them. If you are likely to use us regularly then a trade account puts the work on monthly invoice instead.
People search for this as HIAB hire Manchester cost, or HIAB hire Manchester prices, and the answer is that we offer job rates, half day rates and day rates. The same lorry can do a twenty minute drop or a full day of awkward lifts. Tell us the job and you get a quote for that job.
Common questions
HIAB hire pricing, answered
How do you charge for HIAB hire?
We offer job rates, half day rates and day rates. Which one suits depends on the job. Two jobs that sound identical in an enquiry can take an hour apart once you know where the lorry has to stand and how far the boom has to work, so we ask you four questions and quote you for that job.
What makes one job dearer than another?
The vehicle it needs, how far the boom has to reach, what the access is like at both ends, how long we are likely to be on site and how far we are travelling. Access and time on site are the two that surprise people most.
Is a short local job cheaper than a long one?
Usually, yes, because distance is part of it. But a short local job into a tight street with a long reach lift at the end of it can take longer than a straightforward run down the motorway. Distance is one factor, not the only one.
Do you charge for the driver separately?
No. Every vehicle goes out with one of our own trained drivers and that is included. So there is no separate driver to find, book or pay for.
Can regular customers have a trade account?
Yes. If you use us regularly, a trade account puts the work on one monthly invoice instead of an invoice per job. Each job is still priced on its own.
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