How to Use a Crane Rental to Lift Your Hot Tub For the Perfect Backyard

Having a hard time selecting the best method for your newly purchased hot tub or spa placement into your backyard? Then, you’re in luck!

In this article, you’ll learn the best and the most convenient way to place a hot tub or spa quickly, while at the same time, saving on labor costs often associated with movement and positioning.

The delivery and setup of a hot tub can take a 3-4 men team a full day to unload, move, and properly place. The average hot tub weighs over 1000 pounds, and can weigh as much as 6000 pounds for larger spas.  Spas and hot tubs are usually a single unit that cannot be disassembled for delivery. In many cases, manual carriage requires the team to disassemble fences, doors or other obstacles to properly deliver the hot tub into its correct placement.  Using a crane can reduce the number of people required while also speeding up the process by as much as 50%. 

Why A Crane Is The Best Option For Hot Tub Delivery

We’ve already identified barriers to regular delivery, so let’s explore how the crane can actually help. Once properly set up, a three man team can lift any size hot tub over fences, houses, or other obstacles into position in minutes rather than several hours. Plus, you won’t have to remove fences, and reassemble those obstacles after placement. In some cases, it’s not possible to deliver a spa due to terrain or obstacle restrictions of a property. A crane rental solves this problem while reducing labor costs for the delivery and installation.

You might have already searched for a crane rental near me, and realized the reduction in labor costs of lifting your hot tub over a roof, fence or other obstacles.  In the next section, we’ll review some of the  best features and benefits of renting a crane for your Hot Tub home improvement project. And of course, how to make your backyard as perfect as it can be. 

Types Of Cranes That You Can Choose To Rent

You could choose multiple types of cranes depending on the size and weight of your hot tub. And if you have already made up your mind and decided to rent a crane to carry your hot tub, then the next thing you should focus on is to find the perfect crane to rent so that the project and lift go smoothly and according to budget.

Manitex 22101S Single Axle Boom Truck

The Manitex 22101S has an area of operation of about 360 degrees. It has a boom length of about 30’ – 101’ and a 111’ – 140’ tip height. Also, this has a capacity of 22 tons. This is great if you have a small to a medium-sized hot tub. But make sure that the front tires are in contact with the ground when operating. It is always recommended to have a professional crane operator onsite for operations.

Manitex 40124 SHL Boom Truck

Now this one is a bit higher when it comes to the weight limit because it has a capacity of about 40 tons. The Manitex 40124 SHL is the best for medium to large hot tubs and is used often by operators such as Sacramento crane rental company Dependable Crane . So, if you plan to move to a slightly big hot tub, this is the best choice for you. It also has a tip height of about 132’ – 187’. So, make sure you have enough space.

HTC 8675 Series 2 

With a tip height of about 132’ – 187’, this is almost the same as the Manitex 40124 SHL. However, the difference is that the Series 2 was built with a bit bigger base and more durability than the Manitex 40124 SHL. Also, the HTC 8675 Series 2 has a higher total capacity of about 75 tons. So, this crane is the best choice if you want an extremely large hot tub or even a large fiberglass pool.

Crane Rental Pricing

Since these cranes vary in load capacities or model types, the rental prices may also vary. It’s generally more affordable to use a crane operator than to pay the extra labor to prep the property for movement and position it.  For example, if you’re paying 4-5 laborers an average of $20, and it’s going to take 30 man hours to prep property, move spa into position, then reassemble fencing or other barriers, the total cost would be $600. With crane costs starting at around $165/hr with operators, you could have the project completed in under 2 hours for a cost of less than $400, thus saving you $200. The additional benefit being that you didn’t risk damage to property!

Takeaway

With all that being said, it is possible to forgo renting a crane and use regular manual labor. However, if you rent a crane, you’ll be reducing costs and speeding up the project with reduced risk to your property.   All crane operators are typically licensed and carry insurance to operate on your property. A typical crane undergoes over 50 systems checks prior to employment and has numerous built-in safety features. 

If you’re in the process of purchasing a new hot tub, spa or fiberglass pool, choosing to rent a crane is probably the best decision you could make to save on installation costs and the hassles associated with preparing your property for delivery.