What hiring covers
On hire you pay a monthly rate and no capital. The owner carries the crane's maintenance, major inspections and compliance, and takes it back at the end. A minimum hire period of 28 days applies, and hire runs through inclement weather, site shutdowns, RDOs and public holidays. It is the right call for a single job, an unpredictable programme, or a builder who does not want a crane sitting in a yard between projects.
What buying adds
Owning the crane removes the hire rate but hands you everything the hire rate was covering: scheduled servicing, wear parts, major inspections, insurance, and somewhere to store and maintain it between jobs. It pays back when the crane is worked hard across several long projects — a builder with a steady pipeline of towers, rather than one job at a time. See what servicing involves for the ongoing side of ownership.
The costs that land either way
Whether you buy or hire, the job still carries the crane base and design, the mobile crane and crew for installation and dismantle, ties and climbing as the building goes up, power to the base, and permits and over-sail agreements. Our terms page lists how those responsibilities are usually split. Budget for them separately from the crane itself.
Where TES sits
We sell Potain tower cranes and we service what we sell from our QLD Depot. If you buy, our Lifecycle Equipment Program covers the side of ownership the hire rate used to: finance, engineering, delivery, storage between jobs, servicing and, when the time comes, resale. Send us the job and we will lay out both options against your programme.
Common questions
Roughly when does buying beat hiring?
As a rule of thumb, when a crane will be on continuous work for more than about two years across one or more jobs. Below that, hire usually wins once servicing, storage and compliance are counted.
Does the 28-day minimum hire apply to every crane?
Yes, it applies to all equipment. Shorter needs are quoted case by case.
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