Forklift and plant hire in Boksburg
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Forklift hire in Boksburg
Forklifts are the East Rand's everyday machine. Pick the size from your heaviest load at a 500 mm load centre (an evenly loaded pallet about a metre deep), then check the lift height.
| Size | Fuel | Typical Boksburg job | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 t | Electric, LPG or diesel | Racking and pallets in distribution warehouses, shop stock, cold stores (electric) | R940–R1,600 |
| 2.5–3 t | Diesel or LPG; electric on request | Loading and offloading trucks at the bay, container pallets, factory floors | R1,150–R1,600 |
| 3.5–5 t | Diesel | Steel, machinery, bricks and blocks, heavy pallets in yards | R1,600–R1,900 |
Longer hires cost less a day: about about R5,650 a week for a 1–2 t forklift, and about about R8,500 a week or about R30,000 a month for a 3.5–5 t. These sizes have few price points, so the exact figure comes back on WhatsApp. Forklifts come on a truck; transport there and back in the Boksburg area is R1,300–R3,840.
| Example quote (for illustration only) | Amount |
|---|---|
| 3.5–5 t forklift, 2 weeks at about R8,500 a week machine only | R17,000 |
| Transport both ways to Boksburg | R1,300–R3,840 |
| Example total, excl. VAT | R18,300–R20,840 |
Capacity drops as the forks go up
A 2 t counterbalance forklift (Hyster H2.0A or similar) lifts its full 2,000 kg to 4.2 m, but only 1,770 kg at 5.5 m. Loads deeper than a standard pallet also cut capacity, because their centre sits further out on the forks. For high racking, send us the top beam height and the heaviest pallet that goes up there.
Diesel, LPG or electric
- Electric for food, pharmaceutical and cold-chain warehouses: no exhaust, quiet, best on smooth floors. Tell us the shift length so the battery lasts.
- LPG for trucks that move between the warehouse and the yard; bottles swap in minutes.
- Diesel for outdoor yards, steel and building materials.
The operator's certificate
Under the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (reg 18(11)), nobody may operate a lifting machine listed in the National Code of Practice unless they hold a certificate of training from an accredited training provider. The 2024 code lists forklifts by type: counterbalance trucks are F1 up to 3,000 kg and F2 up to 7,000 kg, reach trucks F5, side loaders F10 and rough-terrain forklifts F11. Your driver's certificate must cover the type you hire. Types explained: forklift guide.
Why Boksburg hires so many forklifts
Ekurhuleni calls itself historically the manufacturing centre of the Southern Hemisphere, and its manufacturing, transport and logistics cluster around OR Tambo International Airport. The City names the industrial triangle between the R21, R24 and N12 (Jet Park, Isando and Spartan) as the core, and lists warehousing, cool-chain storage and just-in-time logistics among its investment draws, with the aerotropolis plan built around the airport and the Tambo Springs inland port planned. Jet Park is on Boksburg's doorstep, so warehouses there and in Boksburg's own industrial areas run forklifts all year.
Short-term forklifts here usually cover four things: the November and December peak, stock counts, warehouse moves, and a breakdown in a company's own fleet. For a peak-season hire, book before the season starts and tell us the end date, so the forklift stays for the whole peak.
Yards, storms and floors
Counterbalance forklifts have small, hard tyres and need concrete or paving. On gravel or broken yards, ask for a rough-terrain forklift. The East Rand gets its rain in summer, between October and March (South African Weather Service), when flat yards pond after a storm; a forklift working outside then needs a firm surface and its operator slows down with a raised load.
Generator hire in Boksburg
Factories, cold stores and warehouses hire generators for backup through outages and for planned shutdowns, and building sites hire them before the power connection is live. Prices are for the machine; you pay the diesel.
| Size | What it typically runs | Per day |
|---|---|---|
| 15–30 kVA | A small office or shop, site tools and lights | R680–R1,600 |
| 40–60 kVA | A building site board, a small workshop | R2,300–R3,050 |
| 80–150 kVA | A warehouse with lights, docks and offices; an engineering shop | R2,400–R4,600 |
| 200–300 kVA | A production line or cold store | R8,500–R9,750 |
| 500–750 kVA | A large factory | R14,000–R18,000 |
To size it, send us the motors, compressors, cold rooms and lights that must run at the same time, and whether you need three-phase. Feeding a building's wiring is installation work: under the Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009 a registered person controls it through a changeover switch and issues the certificate of compliance. Transport there and back in the Boksburg area is R1,300–R3,840. Every size and diesel use: generator hire rates.
Cherry picker hire in Boksburg
High-bay lights, roof sheeting and gutters on warehouses, signage on shopping centres and factory fronts, and painting and glazing on office blocks. With a certified operator:
| Working height | Per day | Per week |
|---|---|---|
| 12–15 m | R2,400–R4,000 | R11,500–R12,500 |
| 16–17 m | R4,150–R7,900 | on WhatsApp |
| 20–25 m | about R8,200 | on WhatsApp |
A 12–15 m machine is R32,500–R37,000 a month for long maintenance jobs. Every cherry picker carries a load-test certificate not older than 12 months. Inside a warehouse on a smooth floor, an electric scissor lift (R1,000–R1,500 a day, machine only) is often the better fit; see scissor lift hire. Transport there and back is R1,300–R3,840. All sizes: cherry picker hire rates.
Crane truck hire in Boksburg
A crane truck for hire in Boksburg moves machines between factories, offloads steel and containers, and places generators, transformers and water tanks. An 8–10 t crane truck is R2,500–R5,200 a day with operator, a 12–15 t R3,200–R5,200 a day, and a 20–34 t about R1,900 an hour, with operator.
Send the weight, the distance from where the truck can stand to where the load goes, and photos of the access: the crane's capacity falls as the boom reaches out. Its operator holds a certificate from an accredited training provider, and the crane has a current load test (Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015, reg 18). If the truck must stand in the street to lift, check with Ekurhuleni whether you need permission to occupy the road. Boksburg is one of the main centres we send machines from. The crane truck drives to site, so travel is small and confirmed on WhatsApp with your price. More: crane truck hire and 8 ton crane truck hire.
TLB hire in Boksburg
A TLB costs R3,900–R5,150 a day with operator, or R320–R410 an hour dry. In Boksburg it digs stormwater and drainage trenches along warehouse walls, repairs yards, breaks out worn factory slabs with a hydraulic breaker (R5,000–R6,550 a day with operator), and does extensions and pools in the suburbs. Boksburg grew up as a gold-mining town, and old mine land and filled ground sit close to some stands, so ask your engineer whether the ground needs testing before deep footings. Boksburg is one of the main centres we send machines from. The TLB drives to site, so travel is small and confirmed on WhatsApp with your price. Specs and sizes: TLB hire.
A trench across a pavement or verge needs Ekurhuleni's wayleave before the TLB starts. Inside your boundary, mark the water, sewer, electricity and fibre lines you know of.
Towns we reach from Boksburg
Boksburg is the main centre for the East Rand. Forklifts and generators come on a truck; distances are by road from Boksburg.
| Town | Km from Boksburg | Forklift transport |
|---|---|---|
| Benoni | 6 | R1,300–R3,840 |
| Germiston | 12 | R1,300–R3,840 |
| Brakpan | 15 | R1,300–R3,840 |
| Kempton Park | 17 | R1,300–R3,840 |
| Springs | 25 | R1,300–R3,840 |
| Heidelberg | 45 | R3,880–R4,680 |
| Delmas (Mpumalanga) | 50 | R4,300–R5,200 |
Each East Rand town has its own section, with local jobs, on plant hire in Gauteng. Johannesburg-side forklift work: forklift hire in Johannesburg. How booking works: how it works; certificates on request: safety and certificates.
WhatsApp your East Rand jobQuestions people ask
Can I hire a forklift with an operator in Boksburg?
Yes. Our forklift prices are for the machine, and a certified operator is added to your written price on request. If your own staff drive, each needs a certificate of training for that type of forklift from an accredited training provider, as the Driven Machinery Regulations require.
Can I hire a forklift for just a day or a weekend?
Yes. A 2.5–3 t forklift is R1,150–R1,600 a day, machine only, plus transport both ways (R1,300–R3,840 in the Boksburg area). For a weekend stock count or move, book delivery for the start of the first day so you use the full hire.
Do your forklifts come with a load-test certificate?
Yes. A forklift is a lifting machine, so it must have a performance (load) test by a registered lifting machinery entity at least every 12 months. When you lease one, you must keep a register on site with its latest test and service records, not older than 12 months. We send copies with the machine, or before it arrives on request.
What forklift do I need to unload a container?
For pallets inside a container, a 2.5–3 t forklift with a container mast, one whose forks rise before the mast extends, so it can lift inside the container without hitting the roof. Tell us it's a container job and whether there's a loading bay or a ramp. Lifting the whole container is crane truck work.
Related
Sources we checked
- City of Ekurhuleni, A city to live, play and invest (manufacturing, OR Tambo industrial triangle, aerotropolis, logistics)
- Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (GN R.540), regulation 18: lifting machines and operator certificates
- National Code of Practice for Training Providers of Lifting Machine Operators, 2024 (Notice 5588 of 29 November 2024)
- National Code of Practice, 2024: forklift (lift truck) codes F1 to F16
- Hyster H2.0–3.5A product technical guide: capacity at 500 mm load centre, lift heights
- Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009 (GN R.242 of 6 March 2009)
- South African Weather Service, What kind of droughts does South Africa experience? (summer rainfall season)
Need a forklift in Boksburg?
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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