Big Feats In Small Footprints

This can include special requests for certain features. "One of our foremen wanted a skid steer with a scrubber on the exhaust, which is a pretty rare request," notes Butch Satterwhite of Mobley-Speed Cement Contractors in Dallas, TX. "Fortunately, our (rental) rep got it for us. He comes up with about anything I need."

Working with rented equipment also simplifies the bidding and billing processes. It can be tricky to gauge the true owning and operating costs for owned equipment, but the price of a rental is clear because there is only one accountable cost figure: the rental invoice.

Various reports and studies have been produced to help users weigh the costs of renting vs. buying. Standard industry guidelines and accepted computation formulas include the Rental Rate Blue Book and Custom Cost Evaluator. There is also a statistic known as Cost of Facilities Capital, which is a government-created formula that factors the cost of money invested in machinery.

Of course, every situation is different. But the next time you need equipment, evaluate your alternatives to see just how big a difference renting could make on your bottom line.