Question about my GC's advice on crane rental timing

My general contractor, Dave, told me we should book the rental for the mobile crane a full 3 weeks ahead of when we actually needed it last month on a project in Nashville. I argued it was too early and we'd waste money on idle time, but he insisted based on past delays. Sure enough, the crane company called two days before our scheduled lift and said they had a breakdown on another job, pushing us back a week. We got lucky because Dave's early booking gave us a buffer to reschedule without losing our spot entirely. Has anyone else had a GC push for early equipment reservations that actually paid off?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_owens11d ago

Did your GC mention if that crane company has a history of breakdowns, or was this a one-off thing? I've heard some outfits run their equipment hard and don't maintain it well, so knowing that could help decide if three weeks is actually enough cushion. What kind of backup plan did you have if the crane fell through completely, like if they just canceled on you?

rivershah9d ago

@harper_owens what's the worst backup plan you've seen a GC actually have to use?