The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Best Towable Boom Lifts for Sale ...

09, Jun. 2025

 

The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Best Towable Boom Lifts for Sale ...

Introduction: Why Choose Towable Boom Lifts?

Towable boom lifts, also known as trailer-mounted or tow-behind lifts, offer unparalleled flexibility and convenience for a variety of aerial tasks. These lifts can be easily transported to different job sites using a standard vehicle, making them ideal for contractors, maintenance professionals, and DIY enthusiasts. In this guide, we will explore the benefits of towable boom lifts, key specifications to consider, and provide an overview of some top models available from JLG.

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Benefits of Towable Boom Lifts

Portability

One of the primary advantages of towable boom lifts is their portability. These lifts can be towed behind a vehicle, allowing easy transport between job sites. This feature is particularly beneficial for contractors who need to move equipment frequently.

Versatility

Towable boom lifts are versatile and can be used for a wide range of applications, including tree trimming, building maintenance, painting, and light construction. Their ability to reach high places safely makes them indispensable for various tasks.

Ease of Use

These lifts are designed for ease of use, with intuitive controls and simple setup procedures. Most models come with automatic leveling outriggers, making it easy to stabilize the lift on uneven terrain.

Key Takeaway: Towable boom lifts offer portability, versatility, and ease of use, making them ideal for a variety of aerial tasks.

Key Specifications to Consider

When selecting a towable boom lift, consider the following key specifications to ensure it meets your needs:

Platform Height

The platform height determines how high the lift can reach. Common heights for towable boom lifts range from 30 to 50 feet. Choose a height that suits the tasks you need to perform.

Horizontal Outreach

Horizontal outreach is the distance the lift can extend horizontally from its base. This feature is crucial for reaching over obstacles or accessing hard-to-reach areas.

Platform Capacity

Platform capacity refers to the maximum weight the lift can safely support. This includes the weight of the operator and any tools or materials. Ensure the lift has sufficient capacity for your needs.

Power Source

Towable boom lifts can be powered by gas, electric, or hybrid engines. Consider the availability of power sources at your job sites and choose a lift with a suitable power option.

Key Takeaway: Platform height, horizontal outreach, platform capacity, and power source are critical specifications to consider when selecting a towable boom lift.

Top JLG Towable Boom Lift Models

JLG ET350 Towable Boom Lift

Overview

The JLG ET350 is a versatile and compact towable boom lift designed for a variety of tasks. With a platform height of 35 feet, it provides ample reach for many applications.

Key Specifications

  • Platform Height: 34 feet 6 inches (10.5 meters)

  • Horizontal Outreach: 18 feet 4 inches (5.6 meters)

  • Platform Capacity: 500 pounds (227 kilograms)

  • Weight: 3,600 pounds (1,633 kilograms)

  • Power Source: 24V DC with 4 x 6V 220 amp-hour batteries

Features

  • Hydraulic auto-leveling outriggers for easy setup

  • Proportional controls for precise operation

  • Detachable platform controls for efficient boom positioning

  • Smart charger, LED tail lights, and dual USB port in platform

Key Takeaway: The JLG ET350 offers a balance of height, outreach, and capacity, making it a versatile choice for various tasks.

JLG ET500J Towable Boom Lift

Overview

The JLG ET500J is designed for higher reach and increased capacity, making it suitable for more demanding tasks. It features a platform height of 50 feet 6 inches.

Key Specifications

  • Platform Height: 50 feet 6 inches (15.2 meters)

  • Horizontal Outreach: 31 feet 6 inches (9.6 meters)

  • Platform Capacity: 500 pounds (227 kilograms)

  • Weight: 5,200 pounds (2,359 kilograms)

  • Power Source: 24V DC with 4 x 6V 220 amp-hour batteries

Features

  • Hydraulic auto-leveling outriggers for quick setup

  • Detachable platform controls for one-hand operation of all boom functions

  • Proportional controls for smooth and precise movements

  • Smart charger, LED tail lights, lockable hoods, and dual USB port in platform

Key Takeaway: The JLG ET500J provides higher reach and increased capacity, ideal for more challenging tasks.

JLG T350 Towable Boom Lift

Overview

The JLG T350 is a versatile and compact towable boom lift designed for a variety of tasks. With a platform height of 35 feet, it provides ample reach for many applications.

Key Specifications

  • Platform Height: 34 feet 6 inches (10.5 meters)

  • Horizontal Outreach: 20 feet 2 inches (6.1 meters)

  • Platform Capacity: 500 pounds (227 kilograms)

  • Weight: 3,400 pounds (1,542 kilograms)

  • Power Source: 24V DC with 4 x 6V 220 amp-hour batteries or 11.7 hp gasoline engine

Features

  • Hydraulic auto-leveling outriggers for easy setup

  • Proportional controls for precise operation

  • Detachable platform controls for efficient boom positioning

  • Smart charger, LED tail lights, and dual USB port in platform

Key Takeaway: The JLG T350 offers a balance of height, outreach, and capacity, making it a versatile choice for various tasks.

JLG T500J Towable Boom Lift

Overview

The JLG T500J is designed for tasks requiring higher reach and precision. It features a platform height of 50 feet 6 inches and is powered by a 24V DC system or an 11.7 hp gasoline engine.

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Key Specifications

  • Platform Height: 50 feet 6 inches (15.2 meters)

  • Horizontal Outreach: 31 feet 6 inches (9.6 meters)

  • Platform Capacity: 500 pounds (227 kilograms)

  • Weight: 5,300 pounds (2,404 kilograms)

  • Power Source: 24V DC with 4 x 6V 220 amp-hour batteries or 11.7 hp gasoline engine

Features

  • Hydraulic auto-leveling outriggers for quick setup

  • Detachable platform controls for efficient boom positioning

  • Proportional controls for smooth operation

  • Smart charger, LED tail lights, lockable hoods, and dual USB port in platform

Key Takeaway: The JLG T500J combines high reach with versatile power options, making it ideal for precise and demanding tasks.

Where to Find the Best Towable Boom Lifts for Sale

Authorized Dealers

Purchasing from an authorized dealer ensures you receive genuine equipment with full warranty coverage and access to after-sales support. Authorized dealers like Watsons Equipment provide a wide selection of JLG towable boom lifts and expert advice to help you choose the right model.

Online Marketplaces

Online marketplaces can also be a good place to find towable boom lifts for sale. However, it is crucial to verify the credibility of the seller and ensure the equipment is in good working condition.

Local Equipment Rental Companies

Local equipment rental companies often sell used equipment from their fleets. This can be a cost-effective option, but make sure to inspect the lift thoroughly and ask for maintenance records.

Conclusion: Making the Right Choice

Selecting the best towable boom lift involves considering your specific needs, including platform height, horizontal outreach, platform capacity, and power source. JLG offers a range of towable boom lifts, each with unique features and capabilities to suit different applications.

Your Guide To Boom Lifts: Articulating, Telescopic & Towable

Boom lifts are versatile and essential equipment in various industries. These hydraulic-powered machines feature an extendable arm or "boom" with a platform at the end, enabling operators to access hard-to-reach heights safely and efficiently. With their ability to maneuver vertically and horizontally, these lifts offer unparalleled flexibility, making them indispensable for all kinds of maintenance tasks, construction projects, and emergency response situations, among other applications.

Boom lifts enhance productivity, reduce the need for scaffolding, and ensure a safer working environment at elevated levels. Their design and features make them a valuable asset for any project requiring precision, accessibility, and elevation.

For safe operation and to prevent workplace accidents, it's critical to understand that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates that only trained and authorized personnel are permitted to operate any aerial lift.

Boom lifts go by many names, including:

  • Cherry Pickers
  • Man Lifts
  • Aerial Lifts
  • Aerial Platforms / Aerial Work Platforms
  • Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs)

When comparing boom lifts for sale, there are several factors to consider:

  • Maximum height it can lift workers
  • Horizontal reach
  • Power source, or sources in the case of hybrid boom lifts
  • Ease of transport from one jobsite to the next
  • Ability to maneuver and navigate around obstacles on the ground and above

In this definitive guide to boom lifts, we’ll focus on the three main hydraulic boom lift equipment categories that are on sale on LiftsToday.com today:

  • Self-propelled Articulating Boom Lift
  • Telescopic Boom Lifts
  • Towable Boom Lifts

But first, a short primer on boom lifts and their general characteristics.

Boom Lift Basics

Boom lifts perform a variety of lifting tasks on construction, commercial, residential, tree care, forestry, oil and gas, and other jobsites. These types of lifts use a hydraulic boom and linkage to elevate workers and their tools on a platform for:

  • Replacing lights
  • HVAC/utility work
  • Cleaning
  • Sign installation
  • Tree pruning/tree trimming
  • Warehouse inventory management
  • Sports stadium maintenance
  • Gymnasium maintenance
  • Industrial manufacturing
  • Bridge maintenance
  • Painting and decorating
  • Roof and gutter repairs
  • Façade maintenance
  • Utility pole installation
  • Emergency and rescue
  • Shipyard maintenance
  • And much more

Drive

Self-propelled boom lifts come with tracks or tires; wheeled models often have selectable two-wheel drive (2WD), four-wheel drive (4WD), or full-time all-wheel drive (AWD). Many such boom lifts are suitable for use outdoors, including on rough terrain, while others can be used indoors with low or zero emissions and the ability to fit through garage doorways. Tracked and wheeled boom lifts require a trailer to transport them.

Power

Boom lifts may be powered by:

  • Diesel, gasoline, or dual-fuel engines
  • Natural gas/liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) engines
  • Electric batteries or site power
  • Hybrid power systems (engine and electric)
  • Bi-energy systems (engine or electric)

If you’re considering buying a used boom lift, check the number of hours it has accumulated and obtain any available service records.

Articulating Boom Lifts

Articulating boom lifts, also known as knuckle boom cranes, extend their worker platforms by unfolding multiple hinged sections of their hydraulic booms, like an old-fashioned folding ruler or a pantograph.

Maneuverability

Because of the flexibility of their joints, articulating booms can maneuver a work platform into tight spaces, including up and over obstacles such as tree branches, vehicles, low buildings, and girders, and under gym ceilings, air ducts, bridges, and utility lines. Virtually all lifts can rotate their turret, but articulated models that can also rotate their platform and jib can bring workers up to even more difficult-to-access jobs at height. 

On hard ground, wheeled articulating boom lifts can easily steer into cramped work spaces, especially models with crab steering. Tracked lifts, on the other hand, excel on soft surfaces and when more traction is required. Battery-electric and hybrid-powered systems are more common in the articulating boom segment than in the telescopic category.

Height & Capacity

Although articulating lifts are more dexterous than telescoping boom lifts, they generally can’t lift as much weight or reach as far horizontally. A typical articulated boom lift might have an unrestricted (fully extended) lift capacity of 500 pounds (227 kilograms), a horizontal outreach of 25 feet (7.6 meters), and a vertical platform height of 45 ft (13.7 m).

Because one or two workers can stand on the platform to perform their work, a boom lift’s work height is said to be the platform height plus 6 ft (1.8 m). Note that many articulated boom lifts have a telescopic upper boom for greater height and reach.

Boom lifts of all types may come with safety features such as obstacle detection around the work platform, tilt sensors and alarms, and motion beacons with audible alerts. Popular options include air, water, and power lines to the platform that allow workers to use tools or clean building fascias.

Articulating Boom Lift Manufacturers

Notable manufacturers of articulating boom lifts and other elevated work platforms include CMC, Genie, Haulotte, JLG, Monitor, and Niftylift.

Telescopic Boom Lifts

Also known as “stick booms” or “straight booms,” telescoping boom lifts are named for the way they extend their booms. The smaller, inner sections of the boom slide out from the larger, outer sections, like the segments of an old-timey ship captain’s spyglass telescope.

Maneuverability

Telescoping boom lifts don’t have as much “up-and-over” agility as articulating lifts, but both wheel and track models can be quite offroad-capable with good traction on rougher terrain, slope compensation, and the ability to climb grades. Wheeled models may have solid rubber wheels or pneumatic or foam-filled tires, often with four-wheel or all-wheel drive. Crawler boom lifts are more capable on mud, snow, and sand.

Height & Capacity

Telescopic boom lifts can have longer horizontal outreach, greater platform height, and more powerful lift capacity than articulated boom lifts. Some key figures to look for in a telescopic boom lift are its maximum vertical platform height, such as 85 ft (26 m), and its horizontal outreach, such as 45 ft.

A lift’s lifting capacity is similarly important. An example is 750 lbs (340 kg) of unrestricted capacity, meaning that the lift can handle that amount of weight even with its boom fully extended. Every telescopic boom will be able to lift greater amounts with its boom partially or fully retracted, known as its “restricted lift capacity.”

Power

Internal combustion engines—diesel, gasoline, LPG, and dual-fuel—are prevalent in the telescopic segment, with fewer battery-electric and hybrid-powered examples than in the articulating boom category.

Telescopic Boom Lift Manufacturers

Some of the more popular manufacturers of telescoping boom lifts are Genie, Haulotte, JLG, Skyjack, and Snorkel.

Towable Boom Lifts

Trailer-mounted or towable boom lifts come in both articulating and telescoping configurations. They’re very popular as rental boom lifts, as many can be towed behind a pickup truck or SUV, and they offer easy setup and operation.

Towable boom lifts are also known as: 

  • Lift trailers
  • Boom trailers
  • Tow-behind cherry pickers
  • Bucket lifts

Tow Weight & Maximum Tow Speed

Besides the usual specs to check before you buy or rent a tow-behind boom lift—platform height, lift capacity, horizontal reach, and so on—you’ll need to determine vital specs such as its towing weight.

For example, many towable lifts are light enough to pull behind a standard half-ton pickup truck, including models weighing 5,000 lbs (2,268 kg) or more. Heavier boom trailers may include self-contained hydraulic surge brakes, or electric brakes that require a tow vehicle with a brake controller.

Also look closely at the lift trailer’s maximum safe towing speed, such as 65 mph (105 km/h), and the lift’s height, width, and length when stowed for transport.

Maneuverability

Towable boom lifts generally have excellent jobsite mobility. Boom trailers must be stabilized by extending their outriggers, which look a little like spiders’ legs. Some have an auto-leveling feature for faster setup.

Power

Many towable boom lifts run on battery power or an electrical outlet on the jobsite, but some have gasoline, diesel, LPG/natural gas, or bi-energy setups. 

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Towable Boom Lift Manufacturers