After 4 years in business as a timber framer,I'm now wondering about the cost effectiveness of hiring a crane at $100-150/hour for frame raisings and panel installations. This year alone I've got $9,000 budgeted for crane rental. Does anyone own a small crane to handle this themselves? What size, capacity, costs of operation, drawbacks, etc. do you experience? I would think that a Chevy C60 size truck with an 8 ton crane with a 50' reach would be pretty efficient on the job site.

Likewise, also thinking about a forklift...any thoughts?