Compact cranes and lifts are great rental items for many businesses and individuals.

Compact cranes are used to lift car and truck engines, outboard motors, heating and air conditioning units, construction materials such as secured bundles of bricks, concrete blocks and lumber, and about any other object within the capacity of a unit that can be secured with rope or chains to the boom.

Renters of small cranes and lifts include auto repair and body shops, auto racing teams, transmission repair companies, marinas, warehouse facilities, plumbing and heating contractors, apartment and commercial building complexes, machine shops, trucking companies, governmental agencies and homeowners.

Compact cranes consist of a frame mounted on casters or small wheels, column post and boom and a hy-draulic jack for raising and lowering the boom.

The most popular compact cranes for general rental centers are knockdown models with lifting capacities to 1,500 pounds and towable units capable of lifting as much as 3,000 pounds, says Trudi Guarnero of Bluebird International, Englewood, Colo.

Shop models, comparable in size to towable units, do not have coupler and towing wheels. Knockdown units are easily assembled and disassembled and are compact enough to be used in small, crowded work areas. Many disassembled knockdown units can be loaded and transported in the trunk of a car. Engine stands are slightly smaller versions of knockdown models.

"Renters of lifting equipment look for safe, reliable cranes they can easily transport," says Guarnero. She advises rental store owners to make certain that manufacturers carry liability insurance and that their products meet ANSI/ASME-PALD-12 standards when tested by an independent engineering lab.

Safety features available on some models are slow-release valves for lowering objects carefully and bypass valves that prevent over-capacity loads from being raised.

Counter personnel must cover safety procedures with customers. Bluebird offers these general safety precautions: · Un-derstand how to operate a crane before you try it. · Use equipment only on flat, level surfaces. · Never attempt to lift items heavier than a crane's maximum capacity. · Make sure the load is not hooked on something. · Keep onlookers away from crane operation. · Never leave a suspended load unattended. · Stay clear of suspended loads. · Secure the load before detaching it from the crane.

Customers renting cranes are good prospects for caddies for transporting knockdown models, engine slings, padding to protect lifted objects, back-support belts, gloves and safety gear.

To promote compact cranes, Guarnero suggests targeting growing businesses that have seasonal material-handling needs and might be interested in renting cranes during peak periods.

Mailings promoting cranes can be sent to prospects and large posters with photos of cranes lifting unusual items make attention-getting store displays.