A wall sign is a boom or a scissor. A monument sign is a footing — mini excavator, maybe an auger, and a dump trailer. Mixing those into one “sign machine” is how you hang a cabinet from a mini bucket. Measure the wall, the weight, and whether you are in a parking lot or on a facade.
In This Guide
Equipment for installing signage
Primary machines
Articulating boom
Primary45–46 ft for typical retail; Z-30 electric for tight courtyards; 60–80 ft only if you measured a tall facade.
Most wall signs and anything over a sidewalk or canopy.
Skip it when the wall is a straight shot from a level lot — a scissor may be faster.
BrowseMini excavator
PrimaryE35. Auger on a skid if the soil is clean and the hole is a cylinder.
Monument-sign footings and the trench for power.
Skip it when you are only hanging on an existing building with power already there.
BrowseOptional / nice to have
Electric scissor
Optional19–26 ft electric. RT scissors only if the lot is dirt.
Long, flat retail walls and interior mall signs.
Skip it when you must reach over parked cars or a canopy.
BrowseCompact telehandler
Optional19 ft or 8k 44 ft from the radius. People still belong in a boom or scissor.
Heavy cabinets that need a charted pick to the wall.
Skip it when two techs can hang the letters by hand from a boom.
BrowseTypical pairing
Wall sign: boom (or scissor on a flat lot). Monument: E35 + plate for the footing, then maybe a scissor to finish the faces. Do not pick a 80 ft boom for a 12 ft cabinet because it was on the last job.
On the building
Articulating booms for facades you cannot park under. Scissors for a flat retail wall with a decent lot. Electric if the store is open. Glazier-style kits are for glass, not for every channel letter — tell us the weight.
In the island
Monument signs are footings and maybe a small wall. E35 or a skid-steer auger, then compaction. A 46 ft boom will not dig that hole.
Permits and locates
City sign permits and 811 are not optional. We will still deliver the boom if you forgot. We will also still charge you if you hit a conduit.
FAQ
Can we install from a telehandler basket?
Rated man basket only, and a boom is still the better week-long platform. See boom vs telehandler.
Pylon sign 40 feet in the air?
Measure. That may be a 60–80 ft boom plus a crane conversation for the structure. We rent the people machine; the structure pick may not be us.
After hours at a strip mall?
Electric when you can. We schedule evening drops if you ask early. The lot still has to hold the machine.
Machines on the lot
Live inventory rotates. These are current machines in the related rental collections — not a promise that a specific used unit is still here.
Need a quote on the right class?
Call or text — we'll match height, width, and capacity to the job instead of renting you a bigger machine than you need.