85 ft Boom Lift Financing

The Genie S-85 and JLG 860SJ are the workhorses of the 85-foot class. The 860SJ in particular is one of the most recognizable booms in heavy commercial and industrial work: 86 feet of platform height, 60 feet of up-and-over reach, and a gross machine weight that comes in just under the threshold that triggers additional transport permitting in most states. These machines run $140,000 to $220,000 used depending on hours, year, and dealer certification, putting them in the middle of our sweet spot. We fund 85-foot booms from $50,000 on up, new or used, on purchase, lease, refinance, or sale-leaseback terms. B and C credit is considered. Short-doc to about $400,000, with recent bank statements as the standard documentation ask.

The 85-foot platform class reaches the fifth or sixth floor on most commercial construction types, which is where a lot of heavy mechanical and electrical rough-in work happens on multi-story commercial buildings. HVAC contractors doing rooftop curb work on a five-story building, electricians pulling branch circuits to upper-floor panels, and steel crews bolting secondary framing on a five-story frame are all natural users of an 85-foot unit.

Industrial turnarounds are another consistent market. Process piping in a petroleum refinery often runs at 70 to 85 feet of working height, which puts the 85-foot boom in the right zone for maintenance access without a crane pick. Oil, gas, and refinery contractors that run their own iron are not competing for rental units during the narrow turnaround window, which is why ownership makes sense for shops with regular refinery exposure.

Wind energy maintenance is a newer use case. Tower sections below the nacelle on some turbine classes fall in the 85-foot working-height window for certain types of ground-level maintenance access, and contractors in wind corridors in the Great Plains and Texas have begun adding 85-foot booms to their fleet for this work. The growth of the wind sector has expanded demand for this height class beyond traditional construction and industrial maintenance.

Telecom and tower crews doing work on structures shorter than a full monopole often use 85-foot booms for antenna replacements and line maintenance where a full tower climb is not warranted. The boom gets the crew to the work and back down quickly, reducing the time-on-structure risk compared to climbing.

The JLG 860SJ runs on a Deutz TD 2011 L4 diesel in most production years. The engine is well-supported for parts in North America, which matters when you own the machine through a full service life. Platform capacity on the 860SJ is 500 pounds unrestricted, 1,000 pounds restricted with the platform in a lower arc. Drive on grade is 40 percent. Machine width is just over 8 feet in most configurations, which keeps it on standard flatbed transport without an overwidth permit.

The Genie S-85 runs a similar envelope with slightly different geometry. Genie's design gives the S-85 a telescoping jib that adds up-and-over reach capability beyond what the base boom geometry delivers, which is a real advantage on jobs where you need to reach over a parapet or a structural obstacle. If up-and-over is part of your regular job profile, the S-85 is worth spec'ing over the 860SJ on that single dimension.

Used machine sourcing: the 860SJ is one of the most heavily produced boom lifts in the JLG line over the past 15 years, so used supply is generally good. Auction prices have ranged widely depending on year and hours; machines with 2,000 to 3,500 hours in documented condition from a rental fleet exit are the most predictable buys. Dealer-certified units at 1,500 to 2,500 hours command a premium but usually come with some warranty coverage.

The process starts with the application. We ask for basic business and personal information, the machine details (year, make, model, hours, VIN or serial if you have it), and the purchase price. On top of that, recent operating bank statements is typically all the documentation we need for deals up to around $400,000.

Once we receive the application package, approval is usually within one to two business days. We come back with the structure: term, payment, any down payment requirement, and the deal type (purchase loan, $1 buyout lease, operating lease, or leaseback). You sign the documents and we fund directly to the seller. Total time from application to funded keys is typically roughly two weeks. Dealer transactions close at the faster end of that range; private-party and private-label auction purchases add a few days for title and lien verification.

Structures we offer: straight purchase loan keeps the title in your name from day one and lets you take the full Section 179 deduction. A dollar-buyout lease is economically similar to a loan but has different accounting treatment that some businesses prefer. An operating lease keeps the asset off your balance sheet and gives you a clean exit at end of term if you want to upgrade. Sale-leaseback funds against a machine you already own. Refinance pays off an existing lender at a rate or term that works better for you now.

We know the 860SJ, we know the S-85, and we know how to close these deals fast. Send us the machine info, the price, and recent bank statements. An answer comes back the same day or next. Funding follows in a week or two. The machine works while the bank is still reviewing somebody else's application. Apply now or call us straight through.