Whether you are a homeowner or a small contractor, occasionally projects are going to come up that require bigger and more powerful tools than you currently own.
An example might be unloading a palletized delivery of topsoil for your home’s backyard. Or, if you are a contractor, moving a truckload of supplies from a flatbed to your storage shed. In both instances, a forklift or other materials handling equipment would come in handy. But it’s unlikely that you already own one.
When these once in a while projects occur, you have two options: Try to get the job done by hand or with the tools you have or somehow get your hands on the proper equipment for the job.
Beg, Borrow or Steal
In some cases, it makes sense to simply borrow a forklift, get the job done, then return it to its original owner. This is often the case with charitable organizations that already have relationships with local materials handling equipment companies.
Or maybe you have a brother in law or a close friend whose business owns a forklift. In that case, they may be willing to lend it to you for an afternoon. But even then, there are the expenses of transporting the equipment to your property, refueling it when you are done, and insurance liabilities if something were to go wrong to consider.
But if you are a for-profit enterprise, it can become more complicated. You may not have the legal protections that charities have against liability, for one. Plus, you may be hard-pressed to convince another for-profit business to lend you their products for free just so you can cut costs.
The Rental Solution
If you only occasionally have a need for a forklift or other industrial materials handling equipment, it probably doesn’t make sense to buy one. You have to pay the mortgage on the equipment 365 days per year, even if you only use it a handful of days. So from a profit perspective, that may not make a lot of sense.
A better solution is to simply rent the equipment you need for the time that you need it. At Bahrns Material Handling, we have a wide selection of equipment for rent, including forklifts of various sizes.
You can rent forklifts by the hour, by the day, or by the week, depending on what your specific needs are. And our prices are competitive, making rental a cost-effective solution for those occasional jobs where you need specialized equipment.