# looking for affordable crank lifts / trussing



## KProductions (Mar 20, 2009)

Hello all. I run a small production company in NH. This year, we will be running several outside concerts. I'm looking for affordable crank lifts (12' or higher) and approx 15 ft of triangle trussing. I'm hanging a few rotating lights, some par 56 cans, and a few scan lights. It seems that I can find the cheap 10' DJ trusses everywhere, - but they don't seem quality enough for what I'm looking for. The alternative larger truss are WAY to expensive. Anyone have any suggestion for something that costs somewhere in the middle...??

Thanks. Nice forum here.

Gary


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## avkid (Mar 20, 2009)

Global Truss and Applied Electronics make decent stuff.

TRUSS |  Applied Electronics

Global Truss America, LLC- High Quality Lighting and Stage Trussing

As for the lifts, the Applied ones scare the $&[email protected] out of me with the swivel adapter (or whatever they call it).

You really need to be careful with towers outside and the wind.
It would be best for you to contact a professional dealer or get a rigging company to consult for a modest fee.


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## len (Mar 20, 2009)

Can you rent? 

Around here, one can rent global trussing for about 25 a stick (12" x 12" x 8').

I've used the applied cranks. They're fine. The L-16 will go to that height. But make sure you understand capacities, etc. And you'll need the brackets that allow you to mount truss on them.

Also, global makes a base where you can put a truss and raise it with a chain, sort of like one would build a stage roof. They're pretty decent, but heavy. Rental around here is about $100 per base, plus the truss, so a minimum of $275 for the day.


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## KProductions (Mar 20, 2009)

I've looked into renting, - and for two L16's and 20' of triangle truss the total is 175/wk, - a little steep considering I'll need it for the whole summer (to rent for the summer the total is 2100). To purchase that setup outright I'll need to spend about 2700, - I'm looking to spend about half. I don't need the bulk of L16's, but I can't find anything lighter that will get to my desired height. Any suggestions...??


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## cdub260 (Mar 20, 2009)

KProductions said:


> I've looked into renting, - and for two L16's and 20' of triangle truss the total is 175/wk, - a little steep considering I'll need it for the whole summer (to rent for the summer the total is 2100). To purchase that setup outright I'll need to spend about 2700, - I'm looking to spend about half. I don't need the bulk of L16's, but I can't find anything lighter that will get to my desired height. Any suggestions...??



Ask your local suppliers if they would be willing to sell them to you out of their rental stock. If they say no, are you really any worse off than you are now?


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## Franklights (Mar 27, 2009)

avkid said:


> Global Truss and Applied Electronics make decent stuff.
> 
> TRUSS | *Applied Electronics
> 
> ...



agree 100%

as faar as the lift - i have had great luck with applieds L-16.


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## DaveySimps (Mar 27, 2009)

Welcome Gary. Glad to have you here. You have received some good advice so far. I moved your thread to the Lighting Forum for increased visibility. Not all members regularly read the New Members Board. Be sure to also check out the search function for more info. Enjoy CB!

~Dave


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## hsaunier (Mar 28, 2009)

Be very careful about how you use the word "Cheap", when it comes to rigging. Remember you are putting a potentialy leathal amount of weight over somebody's head. Make sure you are prepared to do the hang correcly, then worry about budget. If people want you to hang tuss, charge them for it. If your "cheap" truss hurts or kills someone, $2,100 will not event begin to touch the summer you are going to have.


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## BillESC (Mar 28, 2009)

No one has mentioned Global's ST 132 crank stand. It goes to 13'2" and supports 220# List price is $ 360.95. We have them in our rental department and they work quite well.


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## kmontagne (Mar 28, 2009)

Cost and lifting capactity are not the only things to consider when purchasing lifts. Another thing to consider when purchasing lifts is what type of loads you are looking to use it to lift. If you are just looking to lift short spans of lightweight truss then the one that are basically stands -- meaning the lowest they go is around 5'+ off the ground -- are probably fine. However, if you think you might be doing longer lightweight spans or situations where more than 2 lifts are needed for a heavier or longer spans do not understimate the value of lifts that go all the way to the ground. The Genie Super Tower works very well when you assemble 30'+ of single hung drop truss and use the lifts to get it off the ground. If the lifts go all the way to the ground then you really only need two people -- one on each lift. If you want to lift this assembled 30' over shoulder height to place up on the lift then you will probably need a few hands. Trying to assemble truss while sections are already in the air is not a fun task either.


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## JD (Mar 28, 2009)

I'll also give the L-16 a vote. Have two and they are brutes! Used to have 4 Genie super towers back in the days when I had a back, but they are really in a whole different league as far as carry weight. (as in the weight you have to lug around  ) Unless you need the extra height they probably would be overkill. The only disadvantage to the L-16 is that it does not drop the truss all the way to the ground so you do have to lift everything about 5 feet up. 

One last thing to remember:
"If at first you don't succeed, don't be a rigger!"

Funny little motto with a lot of truth. Horrible things can happen with the slightest mistake.


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## BillESC (Mar 28, 2009)

I can't for the life of me understand why Genie Super Towers have entered into this thread. The OP is looking for 15' of truss that can go to 12' and doesn't want to spend more than $ 1350.00.

You can't get anywhere near buying one Super Tower for his entire budget.

Global's ST-132's with a pair of STSB 005 truss adapters and three 5' sticks of 12" triangular truss can be had for only a couple hundred over his desired budget.

Don't get me wrong, I've owned a fleet of Super Towers over the years and they are hard to beat, they are simply not what the OP is looking for or should consider for his application.


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## KProductions (Mar 29, 2009)

Thank you everybody for your input.

Bill,...

Do you offer financing and/or net terms...?

Do you have rental or demo units that you can sell which would bring me into my budget...??

Feel free to contact me offline.


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## kmontagne (Mar 29, 2009)

BillESC said:


> I can't for the life of me understand why Genie Super Towers have entered into this thread. The OP is looking for 15' of truss that can go to 12' and doesn't want to spend more than $ 1350.00.
> 
> You can't get anywhere near buying one Super Tower for his entire budget.



The primary reason I brought up the Genie Super Towers again in this thread is to think about the life of the lifts and what you may want to do in the future. I have used most of the other lift mentioned in this thread. They are good at what they do. I wanted to bring up the consideration of investment and future value for a bigger lift. I posted this for the benefit of others who might be reading this thread.

I will admit the Super Towers are not be easy to travel with. You can't just load them up in an SUV. I assumed from the other equipment to be used that a proper truck might be involved.

Sometimes you can get a Super Tower for under $1,350. The last pair of used ones I bought had been recently refurbished by a authorized repair facility. I only paid a little more than $1,500 for the pair. Additionally, depending on the local market you can sometimes find pretty good rental deals on Genie lifts. In some of the non-entertainment oriented rental places in my area the lifts sit around the shop most of the time. If you tell them you want them for several weeks they may deal with you. Not to long ago I rented a pair for 6 weeks for $105/week. I bought the pair mentioned above at one of their sister rental yards.


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## JD (Mar 29, 2009)

Slightly off topic, but still on lifts; As many know, I took about 15 years off from the lighting biz. (~1988 to 2003) One of the mainstays of lifting back in the 80s was the Genie air lift, or super hoist. Genie even had a full line of anodized black air lifts made just for the lighting industry. I had six of them back then and used the heck out of them. I noticed when I looked at the Genie site that they are no longer offered. Although they still make air lifts, the ones offered are not aimed at the lighting industry. Can't say I have seen any in recent years. They used to be all over the place. What caused their demise? They had certain idiosyncrasies, but nothing comes to mind that would have caused such a complete extinction. Was there some great incident that put them to bed?


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## BillESC (Mar 29, 2009)

IMHO it was a combination of O ring leaks and limited lift capabilities.

Ronny Altman and I built the first "Boxed" genie lifts with lights and dimmers included somewhere around a million years ago.


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## JD (Mar 29, 2009)

Reminds me of what the old "Aladdin Lighting" in Philadelphia used to use! Genies built into road cases with the lights pre-hung. They would pop the lids off and up they go. Always had to chuckle a bit a a company called Aladdin using Genies! 
You did have to use a bit of care with them and some did have a bit of seep, but you could walk in with 4 lifts and 4 frames of 12 pars, put the show up in an hour, tear it down in about 20 minutes, and fit the whole thing in the back of a van! Ahhh memories!  

/hijack


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## willbb123 (Mar 30, 2009)

JD said:


> Reminds me of what the old "Aladdin Lighting" in Philadelphia used to use! Genies built into road cases with the lights pre-hung. They would pop the lids off and up they go. Always had to chuckle a bit a a company called Aladdin using Genies!



Instant Rimshot

Thats really cool. 

I've used some of the air lifts. We rented them for a community theater. They kept dropping down a few feet over night. So every morning we had to refill them. Its very possible that the rental house wasn't properly maintaining them.


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## BillESC (Mar 30, 2009)

I remember Aladdin, pulled a system from them for a weeks run on the boardwalk in AC.

My best time with a 4 air box system was 20 minutes ready to focus.


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## FatherMurphy (Mar 31, 2009)

willbb123 said:


> I've used some of the air lifts. We rented them for a community theater. They kept dropping down a few feet over night. So every morning we had to refill them. Its very possible that the rental house wasn't properly maintaining them.



Speaking as one of the people maintaining those specific lifts, there's not much to be done or not done, and lots of ways for gas to escape from the cylinders. I don't think they were ever really intended to be used as a long-term support system, but more for one day events. 

I've been told that among the intended purposes was lifting ceiling drywall into place, and other up-and-right-back-down uses. We had rubber strips and hose clamps on the towers for quite a while, but those presented their own difficulties in the field.

Penn Fabrication makes some lightweight crankup towers, if you're interested in alternatives. Also, a company called Sumner is making lifts that compete with the Genie Supertowers, but I don't think they have a cheap, lightweight model.


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## JD (Apr 1, 2009)

Would have to agree that the air lifts were never intended for long term usage in one location. 95% of what I used to do was one nighters. I remember one run of 90 jobs in 90 nights. The airlifts were a Godsend! I used them in a couple jobs that lasted several days and didn't have too much of a problem. Anything longer then that would get rigged. I could not imagine them staying up for longer. 

Still, if they had kept the black anodized ones in the lineup, I think I'd buy a pair!


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## jstroming (Nov 21, 2012)

Sorry, I know this was from a while ago, but how did you get 2 of them to go up together? Or did you just hang lights from a pipe mounted to the top of one? I actually own one (for a different purpose, though). Just curious!


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## mstaylor (Nov 21, 2012)

If you are asking about the Air Genies, every one I ever used were single units that stored in it's case. Never considered putting a truss on a pair. I did numerous jobs with two air genies for the front, two crank up genies and a truss in the back.


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## JD (Nov 21, 2012)

jstroming said:


> Sorry, I know this was from a while ago, but how did you get 2 of them to go up together? Or did you just hang lights from a pipe mounted to the top of one? I actually own one (for a different purpose, though). Just curious!



Usually, each lift had it's own frame. No need to go up together.

As for lightweight truss, as long as you set up a pivot point at the head, you could either A) Take each one up a few feet at a time or B) if it was less than 30 feet span, the hoses were long enough to hold both controls at the same time. Not the right equipment if you want any more than 16 feet of elevation. The OEM leg sets were too small. Mine had a 72 inch (end-to-end) leg set.

Remember: No movers back then! Basically lightweight par cans, ACLs, lightweight truss, usually a short span used in a large club. Anything bigger then that and the super-towers came out.

Picture of the old black anodized ones from the late 70s used on a 11 foot elevation club:


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