I bought a Lull telehandler this morning

I hated to spend the money going into the slow season, but the price was right. Its a 644 6,000 pound capacity, 4 wheel drive, 4 wheel steer with 13:00x24 rubber. It has a Deutz 4 cylinder in it. I have been hauling it for the previous owner for the past 3 years so I know it's history.

When I moved it out to the last job it was on the owner was saying he was thinking of selling it, so when he called last night to get me to bring it back to his yard I made an offer and he was good with it. So I pulled it off the job this morning and brought it back to my yard.

Now I'm sitting here debating whether to paint it the original burnt orange color, or to paint it red like I paint everything else. It looks like it is going to be a lot of work to do a color change, so I might just order the factory paint from the dealer.

Then I got to get the #### thing out and make a couple of bucks with it. It probably won't pay for it's self until next summer, but if it makes something it makes me feel better.

Now I have to figure out a rate for it. I was thinking the machine with an operator for $100 # hour. You guys think that's too cheap? At 100 per I'll be making good money, but I don't want to be too cheap.











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I got to get some pictures of mine, I had dead batteries in the camera this morning.

But this is one that is the same model



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YRVMhYnqqw

 

Well it isn't really a new venture, but thanks for the luck, I'll take all I can get

I have 3 other machines, a 3,000 solid tire Yale, A 5,000 Baker with large cushion tires (works ok in the dirt if it isn't too soft) and a diesel Hyster H200 20,000 pound machine with planetary hubs and 20 inch pneumatic tires.

I needed something to handle rough terrain, mud, and sand. The big Hyster is a brute and does pretty good in the dirt, but when it gets stuck, it really gets stuck. It weighs over 30,000 and when there is nothing on the forks, most of it is on the steering axle and not the drives.

So I was thinking about a skid steer with forks, but they can dig pretty bad holes if the jobsite is tight and the ground is soft. So along came this Lull, the price was right, I know it's history for at least 3 years including a brand new Duetz put in it a couple of years ago. Not somebody's rebuild, but a brand new fully dressed engine. It is a pretty dry machine and not some leak pig, and the tires are good.

The bad thing is it is fairly heavy 20,000+ and it eats up a lot of deck space on my trailer. My tractor and landoll weigh in at like 39,500 empty, so that doesn't leave much for those jobs where I am hauling the machine and the load. But everything in this business is a compromise. I have to deal with the size and weight in order to get the ability to handle rough terrain and to get that much lifting height.

The former owner was a masonry contractor, so he never really had an hourly rate for the machine, it was just part of his jobs.

Last time I needed one, my customer rented one from United. It cost $2,500 a month, It was a nice looking newer machine, but it would only run for like a half hour and shut off and usually at the worst possible moment. United was out about 5 times to try and fix it before they decided to give me another machine.