When you need to get people and tools up in the air safely, an aerial work platform beats a ladder every time. The trick is picking the right type. Scissor lifts, vertical mast lifts, and boom lifts all get you up high, but they do it in different ways and they're good at different jobs. Here's the plain-English version.
We carry Manitou aerial work platforms across all three styles, so we'll point to those as we go.
A scissor lift raises a large, flat platform straight up on a folding X-shaped frame. You get a roomy deck, good platform capacity, and a stable place for two or three workers and their materials. What you don't get is reach out to the side. A scissor goes up and down, not out and over.
Reach for a scissor when the work is directly overhead and you've got room to park right under it:
The Manitou SE 3246 is our electric slab scissor. It runs quiet and clean on battery with non-marking tires, gets you up to about a 38 ft working height, and carries a 772 lb platform load. That battery-and-non-marking-tire combo is exactly what you want for indoor floors.
A vertical mast lift is like a scissor's smaller, lighter cousin. It raises one or two workers straight up on a slim mast, on a compact base that's easy to position and slip through doorways. You give up some platform size and capacity, but you gain maneuverability where floor space is tight.
The Manitou MAN'GO 33 is our vertical mast machine. It gets one or two workers up to a 38 ft working height and even adds a bit of outreach so you can lean the platform over an obstacle. It's a clean pick for indoor maintenance, electrical, and HVAC where you're threading around shelving and equipment.
When you need to reach up and over something, that's boom territory. A boom lift puts a smaller platform on the end of a long arm so you can clear obstacles, reach across a barrier, or get to a spot the machine can't park directly under. There are two flavors:
Articulated booms have a jointed arm that bends up and over, so they're built for tight, cluttered work areas where you need to snake the platform around obstacles. The Manitou ATJ 46 is our articulated machine, with a 52 ft working height and a jointed arm that reaches spots a straight boom can't.
Telescopic booms have a straight arm that extends for maximum height and horizontal reach. When you need to get way up and far out on a job site, that's the telescopic boom's job. The Manitou TJ 65 reaches a 71 ft working height with about 57 ft of horizontal outreach on a Kubota diesel.
No matter the style, four numbers drive the choice:
Where you work decides power and tires.
Some machines split the difference, but if you only do one or the other, pick the machine built for it.
Aerial platforms are safety equipment first. The machines we carry meet the current ANSI A92.20 standard, but the gear only protects you if it's used right. Get your operators trained, wear the harness where it's called for, and respect the load chart. We're happy to walk you through the basics when you pick up the machine.
Scissor, vertical mast, or boom, the right answer comes from your height, your reach, and whether you're inside or out. Tell us the job and we'll point you to the right machine.
Browse the full aerial work platform lineup to compare heights and reach, or request a quote on any model.
Browse the lineup and request a quote - we spec your build, no online pricing.
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