So you’re looking to rent construction equipment for your next big project? That’s awesome! We’re here to tell you just about everything you’d want to know about construction equipment rentals. Whether you want long-term rentals for grand projects or short-term rentals for your backyard, or anywhere in between, this is the ultimate guide you will ever need when it comes to construction equipment rental.
Construction Equipment Rental PROs & CONs
To the extent of making you aware of the very diverse implications of the service you are choosing, we’ve made a small list of the advantages and disadvantages of construction equipment rental. Let’s start with the good news:
PROs:
- No more worrying about replacements. The construction equipment is bound to deteriorate, break, or simply stop working from time to time. If you rent it, then replacing it is a phone call away. Sure, there may be a fee, but at least you have no prolonged delays, right?
- Saving money for technicians and engineers. If you have your own equipment, you definitely need your own repair team. What if something simple breaks down and you have no-one to fix it? You either send it to a specialized repair team, or buy a new one. If you rent your construction equipment, say bye, bye to your repair team. Just send the stuff back to the construction equipment rental company and they will fix it for you!
- Overall reduced costs. The fact of the matter is, if you rent a monstrous construction object, you’ll end up spending a whole lot less than if you buy said equipment. It’s simple math. Now, the numbers here do depend on the duration of your project, or how many projects you are working on. So be very careful when adding up the numbers!
CONs:
- Less schedule flexibility. Although construction projects are hardly flexible at all when it comes to scheduling, renting equipment may end up costing your workers some well-earned spare time. Cost control may warn you that if you don’t finish some stage of the project this weekend, you have to pay double for the equipment.
- You may depend on the renter too much. While having rentals may be very advantageous, it can backfire. When absolutely everything you use for your project is rented, then the renter ends up being the bigger boss.
Things to Consider Before Making a Construction Equipment Rental
There are a few things that you must consider before deciding to rent construction equipment. First of all, you need to consider your project. Is it a long-term or a short-term project?
After you’ve cleared this up, think about who you’re doing the project for. Have you been hired by the establishment? By a private enterprise? In either of these cases, you need display utmost professionalism. If you are your own boss, then you might think twice about whether to rent the equipment or to buy it.
Then, consider whether the construction equipment that you need is more advanced machinery, or simple tools that would make you and your workers’ jobs easier. If the machinery is expensive, renting it would be a good option. If it’s cheaper, then sometimes it’s best that you buy your equipment.
Also, another important thing to consider when dealing with construction equipment rentals is whether you want your stuff to be brand new, or used. Depending on how much strain you predict will be put on the equipment, you should choose the option that best fits you and your project.
Best Construction Equipment Rental Companies and Services
To help you choose the right construction equipment rental service for you, we’ve made a small list:
1. Home Depot Construction Equipment Rental
As you may already know by now, Home Depot is a large company, and their expertise spans many construction-related fields. However, did you know that they have this extremely cool construction equipment rental service available?
The best thing about it is that you can use your home computer to find whatever it is you need, and then just go to the nearest store. You can also check the availability of the desired object from the comfort of your desk. Pretty neat?
Learn more: Home Depot Guide
Home Depot Construction Equipment Rental Prices
We had decided that for every company here we will compare prices of a single object. However, many companies do not show rent prices on their website. This is a few points taken from them, and given to Home Depot.
Home Depot has prices available for rental for every single item on their website. For example, we’ve found a Wacker Neuson Jumping Jack for rent – a pretty common piece of equipment – for $56 per 4 hours, $80 per day, $320 per week, and $960 for 4 weeks.
2. CAT Construction Equipment Rental
Many of you know the construction equipment giant CAT, which stands for CATERPILLAR. They are the leading company and the first-choice for companies around the world when it comes to construction equipment. But did you know that they also offer equipment rental? And it’s right there on their website!
Although we’ve looked for prices for a Rammer (or Jumping Jack) we couldn’t find any listed. It appears that the prices vary depending on your location, and that you need to ask for a quote from a store in your respective zone. However, the quality of CAT construction equipment may just make some prefer working directly with the people who build it. Cat.com also specializes in heavy equipment rental, something which other websites don’t have
3. Herc Rentals
Unlike the previous two companies, Herc specializes in equipment rental. However, the equipment that Herc is most famous for is… cars. There are tales of rented cars from Herc. And commercials with the now publicly disgraced O. J. Simpson. But Herc also rents construction equipment.
However much we looked for prices on their website, we realized that, like with CAT, prices vary depending on the availability of the product in the company’s locations near you. However, the website looks extremely professional, unlike CAT’s which has a rather unfinished look.
Useful Construction Equipment Rental Tips
If you have decided upon renting equipment from either of the companies available, be sure to double check all the information you provided. Also, the best thing to do is to talk with the company directly via the telephone numbers available on their respective websites.
Recommended read: Equipment Rental Agreement – Tips & Traps
Furthermore, talk with your employees before making any decisions in which pieces of equipment to rent. Work can be done a lot faster when the workers are already familiar with the equipment you’ve ordered.
Conclusion
Construction equipment rental appears to be the safest way to ensure that your costs are minimized, be you a state-funded company into infrastructure, or a private company into building houses, blocks, parking lots or tunnels, or anything else. However, there are also some drawbacks to renting your equipment, so you should analyze your own situation. In some cases, buying can be more convenient than renting.
Thank you for reading, and please share your thoughts on construction equipment rental below.
My brother brought up wanting to work with heavy construction equipment like a mini loader for a project he is interested in. I think this is a great idea that he might really enjoy, but I think he would benefit from some tips. I will let him know that he should always double-check the information that he is given.
It was great how you pointed out that by renting the construction equipment, a person can relax knowing that they will not need to hire a repair team to handle the work in case it ever stops working. That will make a good addition to the reasons why it best to rent the materials needed for the construction rather than buying them. My main reason is the idea that we will only be using the equipment once, so it does not make sense to purchase them. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve got some property that could use some renovations. I’ve been debating about trying to do all the remodeling myself. It was helpful that you pointed out that it’s good to start by figuring out if your project is going to be long or short term.