V638 Fits the Rental Market

Many of the store's customers are contractors, including builders, electricians, masons and plumbers. Some rent the machine, which is available with either a bucket or pallet fork attachment, to lift, carry and place pallets of cinder blocks or commercial size air conditioning units. Others use it to hoist lumber, roof trusses and other building materials to the tops of buildings or over walls, reports Greg Howard, who manages the store.

"One guy used it to move chicken manure," he says. "We also use it around our yard to move items, load equipment such as scissors lifts and light towers onto trucks and to remove pallets of materials from delivery trucks."

As Howard points out, the V638 is designed for easy operation. "All the controls are right in front of you and convenient to reach and use,” he says.

They include a single, loader-style joystick to raise and lower the boom and tilt the attachments, a single lever to control forward and reverse travel with low and high speeds, and a tilt and telescoping steering wheel that adjusts to the size of any operator. Howard also likes the variable-control thumbwheel for extending and retracting the three-section boom. "The boom moves in and out very smoothly," he says.

The V638's dynamic braking system is another valuable feature, Howard notes. Unlike a torque converter-style transmission, which coasts when the operator lets up on the accelerator, this action causes the VersaHandler telescopic's hydrostatic transmission to slow and stop. "When you ease up on the accelerator, it stops the machine without having to use the brakes," he explains.

The V638 is paying off for both customers and Atlantic Rental. "It's a nice machine and our customers like it," Howard says. "And, in terms of revenue, it's meeting our expectations."