There are over a million evictions each year in the United States and in many cases, the tenants do not take all their belongings, leaving the landlord or property manager to deal with the clean out of the remaining furniture and household items.
The constant demand to haul trash is so persistent that apartment owners and property management companies often feel it is a full-time job transporting junk, furniture, and other large items to nearby dumpsters, recycling centers, and charitable organizations as donations, or to landfills. Since the flood of possessions and outright trash is not likely to dry up soon, selecting the ideal method of disposal becomes a critical choice.
Options to get the job done include heavy duty commercial trucks or renting a dumpster that is dropped off and picked up. However, dumpster rentals are pricey and take up space for extended periods of time. Also, all the items must go to one place—the trash. With this method, it is not possible to make multiple stops to drop off a couch at Goodwill or metals at the recycle yard before proceeding to the transfer station.
While both options accomplish the task, for many smaller trash collection and hauling jobs, these are decidedly overkill and drive up the costs considerably.
For many that leaves the time-tested pickup truck, but there are limitations to the volume and weight that can be transported. Since the bed is elevated off the ground, it may require two people to load, and the risk of injury is increased. Even a hand truck or dolly with a ramp increases the potential for injury. Trailers are another option, but can be unwieldy in certain driving situations, are difficult to back up, and take up a lot of space when parked.
The ideal answer is somewhere in the middle. One solution that is increasing in popularity is commercial-grade hook lifts that with the push of a remote-control can take a small dump box or waste container and lower it to the ground, where it can be filled with up to 5,000 – 10,000 pounds of material before it is smoothly lifted back into the bed.
“Apartment owners don’t need large commercial trash bins. They need something to carry a couch and maybe an appliance and a couple of lamps to dispose of it properly,” says John Neuens, owner of SmartliftUSA.com and sole distributor of Smartlift, built by Milwaukee, WI-based BCA Industries.
This realization led to the invention of the Smartlift universal ground loading roll off system, designed to fit into any long or short bed pickup truck. The lifting mechanism can be installed with just four bolts and safely operated by remote control by one person. The lift can load and unload the bin, positioning it over the bed without affecting the use of the tailgate or any toolboxes.
A patented lifting mechanism is a swing-arm that gives the Smartlift its unique ability to lift more weight and at different heights. The dump cans are available in 2.5-, 4-, 6-, and 8-yard as well as custom sizes. The containers are about the size of a mid-sized car, which allows them to be placed in parking lots or tight spaces without causing obstructions.
There are other manufacturers selling bolt-on lift arms that claim to lift up to 2,500 pounds, but the Smartlift base unit can easily handle 6,000 pounds. The largest available option, the Smartlift 60, has a lifting capacity of 10,000 pounds.
Potential Efficiencies and New Income Streams
The Smartlift can be used as an add-on service to tenants. They can rent the box to clear out their unit and have it delivered elsewhere, giving the owners an additional income source.
“With Smartlift, the facility can control the cost of trash disposal,” says Neuens. “The waste bin or dump box can be left nearby and transported to a larger dumpster or off the property. They do not have to hire a contractor to do it.”
Landlords and property management companies can save on labor costs by bringing a box to a rental site with just one or two workers and having the unit efficiently emptied and the contents taken away in hours. Additional dump box containers can be purchased for use with a single truck to serve multiple locations. Work crews or maintenance personnel fill up the boxes, pick them up in the truck, and drop off another. One lift and one or more dump boxes are all a landlord or property management company needs.
There is even an option to add a portable shredding machine to facilitate transferring material from small cans to large, making the load denser and reducing dumping costs.
Commercial-grade hook lifts provide the perfect solution for apartment owners and property management companies who need to transport large items and volumes of items on a regular basis. These vehicle accessories offer the convenience and flexibility of a pickup truck with the capacity of a large commercial vehicle or dumpster.
For more information: call 414-353-1002; fax 414-353-1003; email [email protected]; visit www.bca-industries.com; write to BCA Industries, 7026 N. Teutonia Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53209; or visit www.smartliftusa.com ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFmC51agGeo; https://youtu.be/QMP_L_Dw81k.