Eastern Power Equipment
285 Route 9 PO Box 97 Barrington, NH 03825
Phone 603/664-7776 | Toll Free 866/664-7776 | Fax 603/664-7420 | email chuck@easternpowerequipment.com
Rent Right
by Tom Sweeney, Editor,
American How-To
©1996 American How-To
Renting a seldom-used specialty tool usually is cheaper than buying one. But that's just the beginning of what you need to know to get your money's worth at your local rental yard.
We worked with the American Rental Association and several rental industry veterans from around the country to find out what do-it-yourselfers do wrong when they rent equipment so we could show you how to avoid the pitfalls. We also sought out specific advice on some top tools. If you prefer to learn from others' mistakes rather than from your own, this story's for you.
Renting right means choosing the best tool for the job, learning how to use it safely and effectively, and keeping it for the least amount of time. Here's how to have it all.
The first step in renting right is to tell the rental shop what you need to accomplish rather than what you want to rent. "Often, someone comes in to rent a particular tool when he or she really should use something else," explains Tim Warren of Prime Equipment in Houston, Texas. "The more you tell the person at the counter about your project, the greater the chance you're going to drive away with the right piece of equipment and have a good rental experience."
Trust a reputable rental staff rather than your own instincts when choosing equipment. For instance, the more manageable and less expensive electric chipping hammer may seem like the better choice, when the larger compressor-powered air hammer would take a fraction of the time and effort. "Count on the store to rent you what you need -- and not more tool than you can handle," agrees Jim Conley of Handy Rent-All Center in Brewster, New York.
At better rental stores, the staff will volunteer answers for questions you don't even know enough to ask. Besides an inventory of well-maintained equipment, this is the most valuable service any rental outlet can offer.
Take Reg Pederson of Highway 55 Rental in Hamel, Minnesota. When I asked him about the various power augers he had for a recent fence project, Reg warned me about my neighborhood's dense clay soil and showed me how to keep the 8 in.-dia. bit from "cork-screwing" itself into the moist ground. He also discouraged me from augering all the holes at 8-ft. intervals for my split rail fence. "The spans never work out to exactly 8 ft. with split rail fences," he explained. "If you try to assemble the sections after drilling all the holes, you're going to be sorry."
That's the kind of insight I might expect from the wizard at my local hardware store. Yet, as I listened to Pederson and other top rental operators from around the country, I realized that the better rental centers are a largely untapped resource for solid how-to advice.
For me, renting equipment has been a cross between sitting through a pre-flight safety demo and taking the family out trail riding. Although the flight attendant's advice might save my life in the event of a "water landing," I usually am eager to take off so I don't pay attention. And when the stable hand assigns horses, I'm not likely to admit in front of my wife and kids that I haven't been in a saddle in 20 years and I once set an English saddle backwards on a horse.
Truth is, most homeowners don't rent power augers, skid-steer loaders or nail guns any more than they do horses, so it's okay to fess up to having limited knowledge. ''The best customers tell us all about what they need to accomplish. They let us suggest the best tool for the job. And they pay attention when we show them how to use it," says Conley.
The worst customer? "That would be the guy who thinks he knows what tool he needs even though he's never used one, who sends somebody else to get the tool in a compact sedan the morning of the project, and who returns the tool damaged because he didn't use it as intended and didn't get properly trained," says Pederson.
If you aren't familiar with a piece of equipment, stop by your rental center a couple of days before you need it and borrow a training video and the instructional literature. Then ask someone to give you some additional pointers on how to use it. Most rental centers are busiest on weekends and at the beginning and end of each day; so try to plan your orientation visit off-peak.
Skid steers
You don't need a special license or days of training to rent and operate a skid-steer loader, commonly known as a Bobcat. Depending on where you rent, the store will let you take a Bobcat out back for a test run or at least familiarize you with the controls. For an additional fee, you also can have the equipment trailered to your site where the driver can evaluate the conditions and demonstrate the best techniques.
You'll need at least a full-size half-ton truck with a Class 2 hitch to tow the average skid-steer loader. But some rental centers also carry mini Bobcats and Terramite loader/backhoes that can be towed with smaller trucks.
Skid steers are both versatile and strong. They can be fitted with a big bucket, a hydraulic auger or a forklift attachment. They're perfect for moving earth, digging holes and muscling heavy objects into position.
The more you use a skid steer the better you will get. To stay out of trouble in the meantime, remember these two points: Keep the bucket low while traveling or turning to avoid tipping forward. And don't try to traverse steep grades if you don't want to tip sideways. While you may feel invincible in this powerful yet nimble machine, don't forget you probably are riding on air-filled rubber tires not steel tracks. A single spike or a sharp piece of metal can bring your workday to a hissing halt, Conley warns. In fact, he routinely sends along a spare tire when he lets Bobcats out over Sundays when his stores are closed.
Power augers
One afternoon this past February, we borrowed a two-man power auger from Prime Equipment to photograph this month's cover and helped Club member Jim Spicer dig 52 holes along his property line for a two-rail fence. We completed all of the holes in less than 30 minutes, but it could have taken that long to dig a single hole if the soil had been hard clay.
The best advice if you are considering renting one of these high-torque two-man augers is to put four people on the tool - one for each handle- Conley advises. Manually raising the bit every foot or so to clear the hole is a lot less tiresome with four guys, he explains. Actually, Conley prefers the new Tioga wheeled hydraulic auger where access and terrain permit. It can be safely operated by a single person and provides power to the bit in both forward and reverse so it's easier to get it unstuck. Whichever auger you use, he suggests you keep a manual post-hole digger handy to clear rocks from the hole.
Trenchers
Whether you need to dig a trench that is 5 in. or 42 in. deep, there is a piece of equipment that's just right for you. The smaller Groundhog unit we tried is about the size and weight of a small rototiller. You pull it along on its ratcheted wheels, a couple of clicks at a time. The larger trenchers, such as from DitchWitch, are self-propelled. They're better suited for long-distance or deep trenching.
The key advice here is to "call before you dig." In most communities you can call a single telephone number to have all buried utilities located before you excavate. All utility companies will mark underground lines with flags or paint so you don't accidentally hit one when you dig. If the utility companies haven't marked the area, the rental center might not let you take the tool.
Nail guns
Nail guns are heavy compared to hammers, but they actually are much less tiring to use when working overhead or for long periods. For a jam-free rental, use the manufacturer-specified nails - not generic nails that are supposed to fit different-model guns. And be sure to keep your nails clean before you load them. "You don't want to be dropping a clip of nails in the sand and slipping it into your gun," Pederson warned. For insurance, have the store show you how to clear a jam. You also should learn how to lubricate the head if you plan to use it for more than a day.
Airless paint sprayers
Spray painting goes incredibly fast if you are well-prepared. That means thinning and straining the paint and covering or masking everything before you drive to the rental yard to pick up the tool. The pros say the most common mistakes people make when renting airless sprayers are that they don't understand the importance of keeping the paint supply clean, and they underestimate how quickly paint can dry and clog an idle sprayer.
"With the temperatures we get around Houston in the summer, water-based paint can clog a filter and a nozzle tip in 20 minutes," said Prime's Tim Warren. So if you stop for a long coffee break or a quick sandwich without running water through the hose, your equipment could be out of commission by the time you get back to work.
Airless sprayers are fussy tools. Even the slightest amount of bucket crud or debris will clog the nozzle screen or the tip and cause an erratic spray pattern. If you have a pattern problem, don't even think about putting your hand in front of the nozzle. An airless sprayer can permanently damage flesh in seconds.
Drywall hoist
Drywalling a ceiling, particularly a vaulted ceiling, is a two-to three-person job unless you have a drywall lift. With a lift, one person can stand on the floor and position a full sheet of gypsum board against a vaulted ceiling 15 ft. above. Just be sure to get the type of lift that tilts if the ceiling is angled.
Cement mixers
The problem with cement mixers is knowing when -- rather than how -- to rent them. If you need to pour a few piers, mix the concrete manually in a wheelbarrow or tub. If you need to pour a couple dozen piers, rent a mixer. And if you are pouring a patio, consider calling your local ready-mix company.
When using a cement mixer, invert the bucket and rinse it down between batches if the time is more than 5 minutes. Otherwise, you may have to spend hours knocking hardened concrete out of the bucket.
Tray saws
Tray saws use a water-cooled, diamond-tipped blade to cut ceramic tile or masonry pavers. You can score and snap standard ceramic tile on a manual cutter, but you will appreciate a tray saw for cutting double-glazed ceramic tiles and concrete pavers.
The blades vary depending on what you are cutting, so it's important to be clear with the rental store and to stick to the plan. When cutting pavers, you probably will pay a blade-wear charge in addition to the tool rental fee. The faster you try to cut, the quicker the blade will wear. "The key to avoiding excessive blade wear charges is to let the saw do the work; don't rush the cuts, and use fresh water to cool the blade," Warren suggests.
SOURCES Special thanks to the American Rental Association, (800) 334-2177; Handy Rent- All, (914) 279-2211; Highway 55 Rental, (612) 478-6451; and Prime Equipment (713) 578-5600.