Attachments: Rent Before You Buy

Most experts agree it’s best for a contractor to rent an attachment or request a demo before buying. “If they are receiving requests for jobs they don’t typically do, one option for them is to rent attachments to help them complete those jobs,” Otterson says. “For landscapers who rarely plants trees, a tree spade attachment would be an attachment to rent if they have jobs that require tree installation.”
 
This provides contractors the option of exploring new services, determining whether they fit their businesses with only a minor investment, Otterson says. Another similar situation to tree transplanting is irrigation installation. “They could rent a trencher or vibratory plow attachment as a trial to determine whether this is an application they wish to add to their services,” he adds.
 
“Renting before buying is great if your dealer or rental company has what you want to try,” Laufenberg says. “Contractors are doing it, but typically only for specific jobs. For example, I would not buy a trencher, but if I had a job to do, I would rent one. How much trenching I had to do, how long I had to keep the trencher and the rental fee, this would help me determine if I continue to rent or buy a trencher.”
 
Lemke cautions contractors to buy attachments, particularly complex ones, only after the operator is familiar with the attachment. “Learning a new machine and a complex attachment at the same time can be very frustrating,” he says, adding that there are pros and cons to renting. “Sometimes someone will rent you an attachment that is to small or to big for your machine, which can leave you dissatisfied with the performance. Also an attachment can be full of dirty hydraulic oil that is going to mix right into your machine’s system. This is the biggest risk to renting attachments.”

He says filtration systems which filter all incoming attachment oil can alleviate this problem.
 
The cost of renting attachments will vary based on the complexity of the tool and region where it’s rented. Contractors can expect to pay about $100 a day or $350 per week for a hydraulic breaker, while monthly rentals for such an attachment would be around $1,000. Rental prices for attachments such as augers are about $50 per day, about $130 per week, and between $350 and $500 per month. Soil conditioners and tree spades will rent for about $120 per day, $375-$400 per week, and $1,000 to $1,200 per month. Pallet forks are about $65 a day, $200 a week  and $575 a month.