Long reach HIAB hire
When the lorry cannot get alongside the drop
Most lifts are simple because the vehicle can park next to where the load has to go. The awkward ones are the jobs where it cannot. There is a fence in the way, or a hedge, or a wall between the road and the drop, and the item has to travel up, across and down again rather than sideways off the bed.
That is the work this page is about. We set the lorry wherever it can safely stand, put the outriggers down on proper spreader pads, and send the boom out over whatever is in the way. The load comes off the bed, goes over, and is lowered and set down under control with our driver watching it the whole way.
It is worth saying plainly what makes these jobs different. Reach is always measured from wherever the lorry can stand, not from the item on the ground. Move the lorry ten feet further away and the lift changes. That is why the first thing we ask about is access, and why we ask about it in more detail than you might expect.
What we get asked for
The over and across jobs
- Garden rooms and pods lifted over a fence into a back garden
- Loads sent over a tall hedge from a narrow residential road
- Site cabins placed behind a wall where the gateway is too narrow to drive in
- Plant and machinery lowered into a yard with only one way in
- Tanks and vessels set down in a compound behind existing buildings
- Deliveries to properties with a shared or unadopted access road
- Lifts over parked cars and street furniture on restricted city streets
- Items lifted out from behind a building as well as in
Tell us what is in the way
When you email, describe the route the load has to take rather than just the item. Where can a lorry stop. What is between that spot and the drop. Is there an overhead cable, a telephone line, a tree with low branches, a soft verge or a manhole cover. None of those things automatically stops the job. All of them change which vehicle we send and how long we book the day for.
Photographs are the quickest way through it. Two pictures, one from the road looking in and one from the drop looking back out, usually tell us more than a long description. Send those with your enquiry and you will get a straighter answer sooner.
Common questions
Long reach lifts, answered
How far can you reach?
That depends entirely on where we can stand the lorry, so it is not a number we can give you in the abstract. Reach is measured from the vehicle, not from the item, and the further out the boom has to work the more carefully the lift is planned. Tell us where the lorry can park and what sits between that spot and the drop, and we will tell you whether it is on.
Why do you ask so many questions about access?
Because access decides the job. Everything is measured from wherever the lorry can stand, so a drop that is easy from the driveway can be a difficult lift from the road outside, and the same item on the same day can be a straightforward job at one address and a no at another. It is not us being awkward. It is the one thing we cannot work out without you.
What do you need from me before the day?
Photographs help more than anything. A picture from the road looking towards where the item has to end up, and a picture from the drop looking back out. Then tell us roughly what the item is, how heavy you think it is, and whether there are cables, trees or a soft verge in the way.
Do you need to see the site first?
Not usually. Photographs and a clear description sort out most jobs. On the bigger or more restricted ones we will come and look before we quote, because turning up and finding the lorry cannot be positioned wastes your day as well as ours.
Is the driver included?
Yes. All our work is operated hire, so the lorry always arrives with our own driver. Our drivers are ALLMI and CPCS trained and they plan the lift on site with you before anything comes off the bed.
