Vent: Lost $300 on a bad bucket truck rental last weekend

I thought I was saving money by renting a bucket truck from a small local place instead of the big chains. Picked it up Saturday morning, everything looked fine, drove 45 minutes to the job site. Got the truck set up, climbed in the bucket, and the hydraulics started whining real bad after one trip up. The guy on the phone said "just cycle it a few times" but then the whole thing locked up with me 30 feet up. Had to sit there for 2 hours waiting for their mechanic. The rental was $250 plus a $50 deposit I never got back because they claimed I damaged it. Has anyone else dealt with rental equipment that just wasn't maintained?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinson.holly16d ago

$50 deposit on a $250 rental? That seems really low for a bucket truck. Usually they ask for at least double that in case something goes wrong. I had a similar situation years ago with a mini excavator from a guy on Craigslist. The tracks kept slipping off and he blamed me for "operating it wrong." The whole thing is, if they don't want to invest in maintaining their gear, they'll find any reason to keep your deposit. Sounds like that place knew the hydraulic system was on its last legs and hoped you'd be the one stuck with the bill.

terryr4616d ago

That part about "any reason to keep your deposit" really hits home lol. It's like some places set you up to fail so they can squeeze more money out of you. Honestly this kind of thing happens way too often not just with rentals but with all sorts of services these days. People cut corners on maintenance and then pass the risk onto the customer. It's the same pattern you see with landlords who do the bare minimum repairs or car dealers selling used cars with hidden problems. Everyone's trying to make a quick buck and nobody wants to take responsibility when something goes wrong. It's frustrating because the person who actually uses the stuff ends up paying for their laziness.