Loading before anyone else is up
Most jobs start in the yard. The driver / operator loads, secures and checks the vehicle themselves, because they are the one who will unload it.
ALLMI · CPCS · Rail Track PTS
Hiab and driver hire
The lorry, the crane and the person who knows how to use it, as one booking. From a single lift to a vehicle and driver / operator on your site for months.
Where they work
A day in the life of a hiab and driver / operator
The run itself
A hiab and driver booking includes the miles. Wagon and drag units give a second bed on the same journey, so a two-load job stays a one-vehicle job.
Placing, not just delivering
A cabin, a unit or a machine set exactly where it has to go, levelled and released, rather than left at the gate for somebody else to move.
Two vehicles, one plan
On a dual lift both driver / operators work to one lift plan under one appointed person, and the load is controlled from both ends.
Whatever is on the list
Plant, equipment, materials, one-offs. A half day or a day buys the vehicle and the driver / operator, not a fixed number of items, so they work through what is there.
Craning off, not tipping off
Site boxes and containers lifted off the deck and set down where they are wanted, with the crane worked on the remote from where the load is visible.
The short answer
There is no self-drive option, and that is deliberate
Every Nortons vehicle goes out with a Nortons driver / operator. A loader crane is not equipment you collect — it is a lifting operation, and the driver / operator is the person carrying it.
On a typical delivery our driver / operator is the only person from Nortons on your site. They position the vehicle, judge the ground, set and pad the outriggers, rig the load, work the crane by remote control from where they can actually see it, and stop the job if something has changed since the plan was written.
That is why the person matters more than the truck. Most of our driver / operators hold ALLMI lorry loader certification and CPCS cards, and several hold Rail Track PTS. We have our own appointed persons, so a lift plan is arranged as part of the job.
Our ownFleet, not hired in
FORSBronze accredited
ALLMITrained lorry loader driver / operators
2007Established
What comes with the driver / operator
Our fleet, and nearly all of it has a crane on the back
The 32-tonne and 44-tonne wagons are Euro VI, so a hiab and driver booking is compliant in every UK clean air zone without a conversation about it.
Most of our artics, rigid lorries and wagon and drag trucks carry a loader crane. The exceptions are a tractor unit and a 7.5 tonne flatbed, for the work that does not need one. The fleet changes as we buy and sell, so tell us the job and we will tell you what is coming.
How it gets booked
Three ways people hire a hiab and driver
Job rate, half day or full day. You are never asked to buy a day you do not need.
One lift, one visit, one job price
A delivery with a lift at the end of it, or a collection with a lift at the start. The most common booking we take, and it is quoted as a job price from two postcodes and the weight — not as a share of a day.
Half a day or a day on site
The vehicle and driver / operator stay with you and work through a list — unloading deliveries, repositioning units, shifting materials round a site. Half-day and day rates both exist, so a morning’s work is charged as a morning.
Ongoing contract
A vehicle and driver / operator allocated to your work on a regular pattern, usually with the same small group of drivers so they learn your sites and your product.
What to have ready
Four things that make the day work
Almost every delay on a hiab and driver booking comes from the same short list, and all four are settled before the lorry leaves the yard if you tell us.
- Where the lorry can stand — and whether the outriggers can go down there
- What the ground is — hardstanding, compacted stone, soft verge, made ground
- What is overhead — cables, canopies, trees
- Who is meeting us — and whether the site will actually be ready at that time
Waiting time is the single most avoidable cost on a hiab booking. Everything else on this list is a safety question first and a cost question second.
Common questions
Hiab and driver hire, answered
Can I hire a hiab without a driver?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who says yes. A loader crane is not plant you sign for at the gate: the driver / operator reads the ground, sets the stabilisers, works to the lift plan and stops the job if it changes. Our insurance and our ALLMI obligations both sit with that person, so every vehicle goes out with one of our own driver / operators.
What does the driver actually do on site?
Everything between the load being on the lorry and the load being where you want it. They position the vehicle, assess the ground, set and pad the outriggers, rig the load, work the crane and sign the paperwork. On most jobs the driver / operator is the only Nortons person there, so they carry the whole job.
What qualifications do your driver / operators hold?
Most of our driver / operators hold ALLMI lorry loader certification and CPCS cards, and several additionally hold Rail Track PTS for work inside the railway boundary. We are LINK Up members. Cranes are worked by remote control, which keeps the driver / operator out from under the load and lets them stand where they can actually see it.
Do I need to provide a banksman or a slinger?
Not usually. Our driver / operators are trained to sling and signal, and for a straightforward delivery the driver / operator handles it alone. Where a lift genuinely needs a second pair of hands or a separate banksman, we say so at quote stage and send one — it is not something we discover on the day.
Can I hire the same driver each time?
On contract and repeat work, yes, and it is usually worth asking for. A driver / operator who already knows your site, your access and your product is faster and safer than one starting cold. Contract haulage customers are generally worked by the same small group of driver / operators.
How long can I have the lorry and driver for?
For one job, for half a day, for a full day, or on contract work weeks or months at a time. You are not obliged to take a day you do not need — a single lift is priced as a job. Drivers hours regulations apply to any vehicle over 3.5 tonnes, so a long day has a legal ceiling; we will tell you where it falls rather than let it be discovered at four in the afternoon.
Can I hire a hiab lorry and driver together?
That is the only way we supply one. A flatbed with hiab and a driver on it, hiab lorry and driver hire, hiab hire with driver and hiab and driver / operator hire all describe the same booking here: the vehicle arrives with one of our own people on it, most of them ALLMI trained and CPCS qualified. You never have to find a licensed driver / operator yourself, and the competence and the insurance stay with us.
Is hiab lorry hire with driver available near me?
Anywhere in mainland Britain. The yard is in Manchester, so the North West is usually same day or next morning; the rest of England, Scotland and Wales is normally next day. The driver comes with the lorry wherever it goes.
Can I have the same driver each time?
On regular work, usually yes, and it is worth asking for. A driver who already knows your site, your gate, your ground and the person who signs for the load saves time on every visit after the first.
One lift or one hundred
Tell us what needs lifting or moving and when. We will tell you which vehicle, which driver / operator and how long it will take.
