City centre and restricted access
Narrow streets, parked cars, overhead lines and a permit window. We work the tight jobs other hauliers turn down, with a banksman and an exclusion zone.
Operated hire · Mainland UK
Hiab hire with the driver / operator included
Crane-trucks that carry the load and lift it off themselves. One vehicle, one trained driver / operator, collected and placed where it needs to go.
OperatedDriver / operator included
FORSBronze accredited
2007Trading since
360°Over-cab lifting
What it is
Hiab hire is a lorry with its own crane, and the person to work it
Hiab hire means hiring a lorry with a hydraulic crane mounted on it, together with a trained driver / operator. The vehicle carries the load and lifts it off itself, so one truck and one person do the work of a lorry plus a separate crane and crane crew.
“Hiab” is a manufacturer’s name that became the everyday word for a lorry loader. Truck-mounted crane, lorry loader, crane-truck and hiab all describe the same machine.
Nortons has been hiring hiabs out of Manchester since 2007, from one vehicle then to a mixed fleet of rigids, artics and wagon-and-drag units now. Every unit goes out operated. We do not do self-drive, which means the competence, the lift plan and the insurance sit with us rather than with you.
- One of our own driver / operators on every vehicle, most ALLMI trained and CPCS qualified
- FORS Bronze accredited fleet
- Cranes worked by remote control, so the driver / operator stands where they can see the load
- Risk assessments, method statements and lift plans
What we hire hiabs for
The jobs that come in every week
Anything that has to be lifted on, carried and lifted off again. If it fits on a bed and the crane can reach it, it is a hiab job.
Lifting over walls and boundaries
Yards, courtyards and gardens reached in over the boundary rather than through the property. Reach decides what is possible, so tell us the distance.
Construction material deliveries
Timber packs, brick and block, drainage, steel and roofing lifted straight off the bed and placed where the trade needs it, not dropped at the gate.
Containers and site boxes
Shipping containers, tool stores and secure boxes collected, carried and set down level on a prepared base. No forklift needed on site.
Dual lifts with two vehicles
Long or awkward loads carried between two cranes working together, planned and supervised as a single lifting operation.
Nationwide deliveries and collections
Manchester to anywhere on the UK mainland, daily. Return loads keep the price down when the timing suits.
Choosing the vehicle
Start with the load, not the truck
Two numbers decide it: how heavy the load is, and how far the crane has to reach to put it down. Everything else follows.
| If you are moving | Typical vehicle | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A single pallet, a pod or a small machine | Rigid hiab | Smallest footprint, easiest access, quickest on and off site |
| Site cabins and welfare units | Rigid or wagon & drag | Bed length matters more than crane size; drag units carry two |
| A 20ft or 40ft container | Artic hiab | Bed length and payload; the crane places it rather than tipping it |
| Steel beams, columns and long sections | Artic or extendable trailer | Overhang is the limiting factor, not weight |
| Plant and tracked machines | Low loader or artic flat | Deck height and ramp access; the crane handles attachments |
| A load that has to be set down a long way from the lorry | 858 rigid, 19.6m reach | Reach is the constraint. Capacity falls as the boom extends |
| Several drops on one run | Wagon & drag | Up to 14 tonnes of payload with the crane still available at every stop |
How it runs
From enquiry to load on the ground
You send the details
The load and both postcodes. Email is the quickest way to reach us.
We price and pick the vehicle
We match the weight and the reach to a vehicle in the fleet and come back with a figure and a date.
Paperwork if it is needed
Risk assessment, method statement and lift plan for site work. Notifications and escorts for abnormal loads.
The lift
Driver / operator sets up, establishes the exclusion zone, lifts and places. You sign it off and we are away.
What we need from you on the day. Somewhere firm and level for the outriggers, an area kept clear under the lift, and someone with the authority to say where the load goes. If the ground is soft or the surface is over a basement or a drain, tell us beforehand — we carry spreader mats but we need to know.
Where we work
Manchester based. Mainland UK covered.
The yard is in Miles Platting, five minutes from the M60, so Greater Manchester and the North West are day-in day-out work. Beyond that we run nationwide — England, Scotland and Wales — most days of the week.
The entire United Kingdom is covered by our wide load exemption notices, and where a route needs it we work with the relevant police authorities and provide our own escort vehicles.
ManchesterLiverpoolLeedsBirmingham
SheffieldNewcastleHullLondon
GlasgowEdinburghCardiff
Common questions
Hiab hire, answered
What does hiab hire include?
A vehicle, a trained driver / operator and the standard lifting gear for the job — slings, chains and shackles. The driver / operator plans the lift, carries the load and sets it down. We do not offer self-drive, so you never need a licensed driver / operator of your own on site.
How far in advance should I book?
There is no minimum notice. Some jobs are booked weeks ahead and some are booked the same morning, and both are normal — ask us whenever you know about it and we will tell you what is free. Same-day and next-day work is often possible, particularly around Manchester and the North West. The only work that genuinely needs time is anything that has to have a lift plan, a road closure or an abnormal-load notification.
Do I need to be on site?
Someone needs to be there who can confirm where the load goes and who has authority over the drop area. On construction sites that is usually the site manager. On domestic jobs it is normally the homeowner.
What do you need from me to quote?
The load — what it is, roughly how heavy and how big. The collection and delivery postcodes. And what the access is like at each end. That is nearly always enough for us to price it and pick a vehicle.
How far from the lorry can the load be placed?
The 858 reaches 19.6 metres, so the load can be placed a long way from where the lorry has to stand. Reach and weight trade against each other, so the further out the crane works, the less it can lift. Tell us the weight and the distance and we will tell you whether it is a hiab job.
Is hiab hire cheaper than hiring a crane and a lorry separately?
For most loads that one vehicle can carry, yes — you are paying for one vehicle and one driver / operator rather than a lorry, a mobile crane and a crane crew. Once a load is beyond what a lorry loader can lift, a mobile crane is the right answer and we will say so.
Do you do hiab rental as well as hiab hire?
Yes, and they are the same thing. Hiab rental, hiab truck hire, hiab truck rental, lorry crane hire and hiab hire all describe the same arrangement here: the vehicle comes with one of our own driver / operators for as long as the job takes, by the job, the half day or the day. The only thing we do not do is self-drive, so there is no version where the lorry turns up without a person to work the crane. If you want to hire hiab truck and driver / operator together anywhere in mainland Britain, hiab hire UK wide is what we have done since 2007. Hiab UK coverage from one Manchester yard, with no subcontractor between you and the vehicle.
Is there a hiab hire company near me?
If you are anywhere in mainland Britain, yes. We are based at our own yard in Miles Platting, Manchester, and run nationwide every day. Around Manchester and the North West a hiab near you usually means same day or next morning. Further out it is normally next day, and a long run often prices better than people expect because it can pair with a return load. The honest answer to "hiab hire near me" is that a hiab is a lorry, and lorries travel.
What if I do not know what size hiab I need?
That is completely normal and it is our job, not yours. Tell us what the thing is, roughly how heavy you think it might be, and what is between the road and where it needs to end up. If all you can say is that it is a shipping container going into a back garden, that is enough for us to start. Nobody is expected to read a load chart before picking up the phone.
Tell us what needs lifting or transporting
Send us a line about the job and we will come back with a vehicle and a price.
