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Worker in the basket of a truck-mounted cherry picker, boom extended

Cherry picker hire in Durban

A 12–15 m cherry picker in Durban costs R2,400–R4,000 a day with operator with a certified operator, or R11,500–R12,500 for a week, and a 16–17 m machine is R4,150–R7,900 a day, excluding VAT. Delivery inside eThekwini is R1,300–R3,840 there and back as its own line, and taller machines up to 50 m+ cover the beachfront and Umhlanga towers.
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Price your machine

R2,400–R4,000 a day with operator

12–15 m cherry picker, 1 day
R2,400–R4,000
Transport both ways to Durban
R1,300–R3,840
Estimated total
R3,700–R7,840

Prices exclude VAT. Your final price is confirmed in writing on WhatsApp before the machine moves.

  • Certified operators on every machine
  • Price in writing before the machine moves
  • All 9 provinces, transport as its own line
  • Replacement machine on breakdown

How much is cherry picker hire in Durban?

  • One day: R2,400–R4,000 a day with operator for 12–15 m, R4,150–R7,900 for 16–17 m, about R8,200 for 20–25 m and about R16,500 for 50 m+.
  • A week: R11,500–R12,500 for 12–15 m, usually cheaper from the third day.
  • A month: R32,500–R37,000 for 12–15 m, for painting, glazing and maintenance contracts.

Every price includes an operator certified for mobile elevating work platforms (code C53) and excludes VAT. The 20–25 m and 50 m+ prices rest on few price points, so treat them as a guide. Durban is one of the main centres we send machines from. Transport for a cherry picker there and back usually comes to R1,300–R3,840, shown as its own line on your quote.

Salt air and high-rise: the beachfront and Umhlanga

From the Golden Mile to Umhlanga, hotels and apartment blocks face the sea, and sea air is hard on paint, sealant, window frames and balcony steel. That makes facade repairs, repainting, window resealing and sign replacement steady cherry picker work here. Low-rise blocks and shopfronts take 12–17 m; the towers need 20–25 m or the 50 m+ class, and the basket often has to reach over a ground-floor canopy or a pool deck, so outreach matters as much as height.

Warehouses behind the port

The Port of Durban handles about 60% of South Africa's container traffic, and the warehouses that serve it fill Clairwood's logistics yards and the Jacobs industrial area. Inside and out, those buildings need high-bay lights changed, roof sheeting and gutters fixed, cladding and signage repaired, and CCTV mounted on poles. For flat warehouse floors indoors, a scissor lift is often cheaper; outside, over loading-bay canopies and parked trucks, the cherry picker's outreach does the job.

Which height for which Durban building

Durban jobs by working height, with operator, excl. VAT. Prices updated: November 2026
BuildingWorking heightPer day
Double-storey homes on the Berea, shopfront signs, street lights12–15 mR2,400–R4,000
Three-storey walk-ups, warehouse gutters and cladding16–17 mR4,150–R7,900
Four- to six-storey blocks, tall pylon signs20–25 mabout R8,200
Beachfront and Umhlanga towers50 m+about R16,500

Working height is the basket floor plus about 2 m. A 17 m trailer boom (Genie TZ-50 or similar) reaches about 8.9 m sideways and carries 227 kg: two people and hand tools, not panes of glass or aircon units.

Humidity, storms and the 45 km/h limit

Durban's rain falls mainly between October and March (South African Weather Service), and summer storms bring lightning: the basket comes down when a storm is close. Outdoor-rated machines must not go up when the wind may pass 12.5 m/s, about 45 km/h, and wind at roof height is stronger than at the kerb. Painting and sealing also need dry surfaces, so on long facade contracts in summer we plan a buffer day in every week.

Gardens, slopes and streets on the Berea

  • Narrow access: a 12 m trailer machine (Genie TZ-34/20 or similar) is 1.45 m wide stowed and weighs 1,431 kg, so it fits through most garden gates. It sets up on four outriggers in a 3.26 m × 3.59 m footprint.
  • Slopes: outriggers level the machine only within limits. On the steep Berea and Bluff stands we set up on the flattest spot, which is often the street.
  • Soft ground: pads go on boards on lawns and sandy ground, never on manholes or fresh trench backfill.
  • Power lines: lights and tree work near overhead lines need the line operator's permission first (Electrical Machinery Regulations, reg 19).

Certificates, and the rest of KwaZulu-Natal

A cherry picker is a lifting machine, so each of ours has a performance test by a registered lifting machinery entity no older than 12 months (Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015, reg 18), and it doesn't need a new test each time it moves to another site within that period. Copies of the test and the operator's C53 certificate come before the machine, on request: safety and certificates.

Sizes, outreach charts and the qualifications rules: cherry picker hire. All prices: cherry picker hire rates. Other machines in the city: plant hire in Durban; further afield: plant hire in KwaZulu-Natal. Along the coast we also send machines for cherry picker hire in Port Elizabeth and cherry picker hire in Cape Town. Lifting a load rather than people? See crane truck hire in Durban.

Questions people ask

Can a cherry picker work on the Durban beachfront when it's windy?

Up to the machine's wind limit. Outdoor-rated machines such as the Genie trailer booms must not be raised when the wind may exceed 12.5 m/s (about 45 km/h), and the operator lowers the basket if it rises above that. Wind is stronger high up than at street level, and panels, glass and signage boards catch it like a sail, so we plan exposed beachfront work with a spare day.

How much is a cherry picker for a week or a month in Durban?

A 12–15 m cherry picker with operator is R11,500–R12,500 a week or R32,500–R37,000 a month, excluding VAT, which suits repainting and resealing contracts on apartment blocks. Taller machines are priced by the day: about R8,200 for 20–25 m. Every rate: cherry picker hire rates.

Do I need a road closure for a cherry picker in Durban?

Only if the machine must stand in the road or block it. Then you need eThekwini's permission and traffic control; under the Excavations By-law, 2022, a road closure for works needs its application four weeks before the closure, so allow a month. A machine set up in your driveway or yard needs none of this.

Related

Sources we checked

  1. Genie: why there are wind speed ratings on mobile elevating work platforms
  2. Genie TZ-34/20 and TZ-50 trailer-mounted boom specifications
  3. SAnews, Progress made in improving operations at Port of Durban (4 August 2025)
  4. IOL Mercury (6 August 2026), eThekwini Integrated Freight and Logistics Strategy (Clairwood logistics yards, Jacobs industrial area)
  5. eThekwini Municipality: Excavations By-law, 2022 (Wayleaves and Excavations By-law)
  6. South African Weather Service, What kind of droughts does South Africa experience? (summer rainfall season)
  7. Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (GN R.540), regulation 18: lifting machines
  8. National Code of Practice for Training Providers of Lifting Machine Operators 2024 (Notice 5588), crane codes incl. C53

Need a cherry picker in Durban?

WhatsApp us the job, the town and the dates. We confirm the machine, the start date and the price in writing before the machine moves.

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