second hand equipment

[saveasteading]

Any tips on finding pre-used scaffold towers?

Inverness area.

I see plenty on facebook in the SE of England, gernerally 1/3 of the new price.

Nothing Inverness/ Moray.

 

[nod]

Just be very quick 

I’ve just bought a 6.5 Ally D tower Only 40 miles away The good priced ones seem to go quickly 

I have seen them in Scotland on Market Place FB

I post a link on here if one pops up 

 

If you get a Boss Tower It’s very easy to add extra wheels and frame Most are interchangeable Unlike other makes 

 

 

[jamieled]

Came to the same conclusion re availability. Any that are around tend to get snapped up. On that basis I bought a second hand one from one of the online companies and had it shipped up. If I decide to sell it will work out ok financially.

[ProDave]

When I bought my KwikStage, from ebay it came from England.  I just could not find any for sale locally at the time.  I hired a 7.5 ton flatbed and made and epic 23 hour round trip to go and collect it.

 

Even allowing for a weekend truck hire and fuel,. it was still cheaper than I could get from any of the companies selling refurbished kits once you add on their delivery charges.

 

Kwikstage would be my first choice as it is so versatile and readily available, second choice would be CupLock but they are not interchangable in any way.

 

You say you only want a "tower"  Well Kwikstage will do that but will do so much more as well.

 

Several lots on ebay around 300 miles from here which is within range of a weekend truck hire.

 

[Moonshine]

i got one of these for £20 on facebook recently, there are bargains out there, but you have to be very quick

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by Moonshine

[SuperJohnG]

6 hours ago, saveasteading said:

Any tips on finding pre-used scaffold towers?

Inverness area.

I see plenty on facebook in the SE of England, gernerally 1/3 of the new price.

Nothing Inverness/ Moray.

 

I'm keeping my eye out for one Glasgow/ Ayrshire way.  I'll let you know if I see anything up there

[saveasteading]

Thanks everyone. there appear to be 3 suppliers readily on the internet, and the prices come up much the same after adding the essential extras, like transport, and legs, and platform.

so £900 to £1100 then add vat.

We may phone round the hire companies and see if they have any for disposal....the sort you would be annoyed to get delivered for a hire...painty, tired.

 

The need now is for a tower on wheels to scoot around inside for local repairs and wood treatment.

 

I see a diy tower for £300 ish, but I think that will not be very durable, or secure at height.

 

Also I see a second-hand company in Kent, but most of the reviews don't encourage confidence. I suppose you are protected if using a credit card.

Their towers come from somewhere, which brings me back to phoning around.

 

Interestingly, there were loads of decent trailers on facebook marketplace. Already proven itself as a good buy for the project. 

 

 

[saveasteading]

Decided that if we dithered we will have spent £200 on hire in the next 2 weeks. In reality, one subby requires a tower and the other gave £100 off for free supply. 

Work that over a year or two and it is a no brainer.

So will have a shiny new tower, until used.

 

In case of any use to you.

About 4 base suppliers in UK (I mean excluding sellers-on). Some quote basic tower which I guess might be ok for a few purposes.

But add adjustment, wheels, platforms and delivery and they come out within 10%.

One, to their credit , charge more for a smallish, narrow tower because they include stabilisers automatically, than for the wider version.

 

That is always for the professional level tower. There are 'trade' and 'diy' versions but they seem skinny, and involve bolts. I have a tiny diy one and forever needs tightening...and wobbles.

 

The likelihood is that they will be readily re-sellable at conclusion, for 50%? if in a fit state.

 

I tried a second-hand supplier. No response.

 

oh, and free delivery does not include Highlands...there is a supplement of £69.
I persuaded another supplier to not add a supplement , but I guess that is effectively a discount.

 

Thanks for the advice, and do pass on any bargains you see, including another tower.

[Wil]

I bought one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00THEAYUQ?ref=em_1p_0_ti&ref_=pe_2443691_487020351

 

Decent enough for high level access, clips together itself. Good on flat solid ground. Would need some fixings etc if trying to make long term against a wall etc. 

 

Hoping it's going to help do some pruning later in the year, but would be a little concerned about stability on soft ground or at max height.

[saveasteading]

Thanks. the optional extras are essential, esp the stability bars. 

I have something like but lower, that and it wobbles more than I am comfortable with.

make sure you tie it to something solid if going high, and prob needs sleepers under the feet.

 

for the right circumstances that can work, and then is good value.

 

For working at height or on dodgy ground, there are some nice hook bolts where you fix the base to the wall (masonry or metal versions) , then screw in the hook.

The advantage is that you can unscrew the ugly loop and the fixing remains.

[SimonD]

On 19/07/2021 at 19:17, ProDave said:

Kwikstage would be my first choice as it is so versatile and readily available, second choice would be CupLock but they are not interchangable in any way.

 

You say you only want a "tower"  Well Kwikstage will do that but will do so much more as well.

 +1 to that. I bought my Kwikstage refurbished and bought some of the 'tower' wheels. Flexibility is incredible. Wouldn't do a build without it.

[saveasteading]

Is Kwikstage still extremely heavy? I have struggled with the weight of the sections at height. it may have been a v old model.

[ProDave]

8 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Is Kwikstage still extremely heavy? I have struggled with the weight of the sections at height. it may have been a v old model.

Yes it is heavy.  Getting the parts up to upper lifts is hard work.

[SimonD]

26 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Is Kwikstage still extremely heavy? I have struggled with the weight of the sections at height. it may have been a v old model.

 

17 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Yes it is heavy.  Getting the parts up to upper lifts is hard work.

 

Agreed, it is on the weighty side. However, with some technique, it's not much of a problem. I build it up all on my own and have built three lift platforms no problem. The trick is to lift the heavy bits - the standards and the timber boards - in stages. With high platforms, I've sometimes used my little elephant hoist to help out too.

Edited July 21, 2021 by SimonD