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All-terrain mobile crane with its telescopic boom raised and crew on site

Crane hire in Polokwane

A 20–25 t mobile crane with a certified operator costs about R4,500 a day with operator in Polokwane, a 40 t about R7,600 a day and an 80 t about R22,000 a day; an 8–10 t crane truck is R2,500–R5,200 a day with operator. Polokwane is our main centre in Limpopo, so the crane drives to site in town, and travel to the rest of the province is its own line on the quote.
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Price your machine

About R4,500 a day with operator

20–25 t mobile crane, 1 day
about R4,500
Transport both ways to Polokwane
confirmed on WhatsApp

Prices exclude VAT. Few price points for this size, so treat it as a guide. 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

Crane hire prices in Polokwane

Crane and crane truck hire in Polokwane, with operator, excl. VAT. Prices updated: November 2026
MachineTypical Polokwane jobPrice
Crane truck, 8–10 tTanks onto stands, deliveries with a lift at the endR2,500–R5,200 a day, about R1,000 an hour
Crane truck, 12–15 tHeavier steel, containers, machineryR3,200–R5,200 a day
Mobile crane, 20–25 tRoof trusses, steel, generators, most building liftsabout R4,500 a day
Mobile crane, 40 tA few tonnes at 15–20 m, warehouse steelabout R7,600 a day
Mobile crane, 80 tHeavy plant, big tanks, long reachesabout R22,000 a day

We have few price points for mobile cranes, so treat these as a guide; your exact price comes back in writing on WhatsApp. How the total is built (minimums, standing time, travel): crane hire rates.

Lifts Polokwane asks for

  • Water tanks on stands

    Steel stands and plastic tanks on plots, schools, clinics and farms. A crane truck usually brings the stand and tank and places them in one trip; a tall stand behind a building needs a mobile crane for the reach.

  • Warehouse and shop steel

    Portal frames, purlins and roof sheeting bundles for new warehouses and shopping centres. The heaviest members at the longest radius decide whether it's a 25 t or a 40 t job.

  • Generators and transformers

    Standby generators and transformers set onto plinths at offices, hospitals and shops. Send the mass from the nameplate and the plinth position.

  • Farm and mine equipment

    Pumps, irrigation pivot parts, sheds, and equipment for mines and plants across the province, often on a crane truck that drives out from Polokwane.

Planning a crane lift in Polokwane

  1. Weigh everything on the hook: the load plus slings, shackles and the hook block. On a 25 t crane the main hook block alone is 220 kg.
  2. Measure the radius from where the crane can stand to where the load lands. A 25 t crane (Tadano GR-250N or similar) lifts 7.8 t at 10 m and 2.15 t at 20 m; a 40 t (Liebherr LTM 1040-2.1 or similar) lifts 9.1 t at 10 m and 3.0 t at 20 m.
  3. Check the ground. Polokwane's gneiss and granite rock is firm where it's close to the surface, but fill, trench backfill and expansive clay can sink under an outrigger. Show us where the crane will stand, and keep it off fresh backfill and septic tanks.
  4. Look up. Nobody may come inside a power line's safety clearance without permission from the utility that runs it (Electrical Machinery Regulations, reg 19). Arrange an outage or written clearance with Eskom or the municipality before the lift.
  5. Street permission. If the crane or its outriggers will stand on a public road or pavement, get the municipality's permission first. A 25 t crane needs about 6.6 m of width on full outriggers.
  6. Weather. Summer thunderstorms bring wind and lightning; the operator stops lifting when wind goes over the chart limit for that load, and panels and sheeting catch more wind than solid loads.

Crane truck or mobile crane?

A crane truck (30 t·m crane, Palfinger PK 32080 or similar) lifts about 2.9 t at 9.9 m and carries the load on its deck. A 20–25 t mobile crane lifts 7.8 t at 10 m but carries nothing. In Polokwane, tank installs, steel deliveries and container moves are usually crane-truck jobs; heavy or high lifts over buildings are mobile-crane jobs. Both come with a load-test certificate not older than 12 months and an operator certified for that machine under the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (reg 18). See crane truck hire and safety and certificates.

Crane hire across Limpopo from Polokwane

Polokwane is one of the main centres we send machines from. The mobile crane drives to site, so travel is small and confirmed on WhatsApp with your price. Out of town the crane drives too, and travel both ways is charged by the road distance. For example, Mokopane is about 62 km from Polokwane by road. Transport for a mobile crane there and back usually comes to R5,340–R6,440, shown as its own line on your quote. To Tzaneen it's R8,180–R9,880 there and back. On a far lift, group several lifts into one day where you can.

More towns: crane hire in Witbank, crane hire in Nelspruit, crane hire in Middelburg and crane hire in Rustenburg. Everything else in town: plant hire in Polokwane; the whole province: plant hire in Limpopo.

Questions people ask

How much to hire a crane truck per day?

An 8–10 t crane truck with an operator is R2,500–R5,200 a day with operator, a 12–15 t R3,200–R5,200 a day, excluding VAT. It lifts the load and carries it on its own deck, so one truck collects and places tanks, steel or a container in one trip.

How much to hire a crane for 2 hours?

A crane truck can be hired by the hour: about R1,000 an hour for 8–10 t. A mobile crane carries a minimum charge for a short lift, because it still drives to site, sets up its outriggers and rigs before the first lift; send the weight, radius and address and we confirm a two-hour or half-day price in writing. For comparison, a full day on a 20–25 t crane is about R4,500.

How much does a 100T crane cost?

Cranes over 80 t are priced per lift: exact price on WhatsApp. As a guide, an 80 t crane with an operator is about R22,000 a day. A 100 t crane (Liebherr LTM 1100-5.3 or similar) lifts 100 t only at 3 m radius over the rear and about 26.5 t at 10 m, so check whether a smaller crane covers your radius before paying for a big one.

What are some mobile crane companies in South Africa?

Basalt Plant Hire is one: we send mobile cranes and crane trucks with certified operators to all nine provinces, Polokwane included. Whoever you hire from, ask for the crane's load-test certificate (not older than 12 months), the operator's certificate from an accredited training provider, and a written price that shows travel, minimum hours and any rigger as separate lines.

Related

Sources we checked

  1. Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (GN R.540), reg 18: lifting machines
  2. National Code of Practice for Training Providers of Lifting Machine Operators, 2024 (Notice 5588), crane codes
  3. Electrical Machinery Regulations 2011 (GN R.250), reg 19 overhead power lines
  4. Tadano GR-250N 25 t crane specifications and load chart
  5. Liebherr LTM 1040-2.1 technical data
  6. Liebherr LTM 1100-5.3 technical data
  7. Palfinger PK 32080 loader crane leaflet
  8. Polokwane Local Municipality: Strategic assessment of environmental issues and sensitive areas in SDA 3 (2007): gneiss and granite, expansive clay soils

Need a mobile crane in Polokwane?

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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