SPONSORED CONTENT
The Cary-Lift
Why the Original Still Sets the Standard for Handling Challenging, Heavy, Awkward Loads
Pipe, utility poles, timber, and logs all cause the same problem: they’ re long, heavy, awkward, and hard to control. In pipe yards, pole yards, and wood yards, crews often move them with whatever machine is on hand, usually a wheel loader or a straight mast forklift. Neither machine was designed for this job. The Pettibone Cary-Lift was.
The Cary-Lift is the original forwardreaching rough terrain handler, and the machine has been proven in the field since 1949. Indeed, the Cary-Lift is true to its promotional tagline:“ The Original. The Best. Period.”
The machine is built for one job: moving long, unwieldy material safely and efficiently, with the visibility, stability, and control that general-purpose equipment can’ t match.
The Problem: Traditional Equipment Falls Short
Traditional equipment falls short when handling long, bulky materials.
To see why the Cary-Lift matters, start with the machines it replaces. Wheel loaders and straight mast forklifts were never designed to safely and efficiently handle long, bulky materials such as pipe, poles, and timber.
To follow is a summary of the distinction between the Cary-Lift and suboptimized alternatives:
Wheel loaders are versatile workhorses, but with long loads they have serious drawbacks, including:
• Up to 50 % less forward visibility
• Higher risk of rollovers
• Slower, less efficient handling
• 50 % less stable turns
Visibility is especially limiting in pipe and pole work. With a wheel loader, loads are necessarily carried at a height that puts the lift arms and the material directly in the operator’ s line of sight, compromising the operator’ s visibility, working partially blinded by the load that can stretch well beyond the machine’ s footprint.
Straight mast forklifts work well in warehouses and on paved surfaces, but they struggle outdoors with long, unwieldy loads, including the following limitations:
• Poor visibility through the mast
• Limited lift height and reach
• Not designed for outdoor or rough terrain
• Cannot handle long, unwieldy loads safely
The mast is the core issue. The structure that does the lifting also blocks the operator’ s view. On a rough, uneven yard, that limits both safety and productivity.
The Cary-Lift Solution
The Cary-Lift is purpose-built for pipe and pole stock and other long, unwieldy materials. Its combination of visibility, stability, and control is meant to deliver the best possible safety and productivity.
The following five Pillars or Productivity summarize the overall utility of the Cary- Lift: 1. Superior stability 2. Forward-reach design 3. Unmatched visibility 4. Built for the toughest conditions 5. Proven since 1949
Purpose-Built Design.
The engineering and design of the Cary-Lift sets it apart. Instead of a frontmounted bucket arm or a vertical mast, it uses an overhead lift arm that arches over the cab and carries the load out in front. This intentionally functional design gives the operator 180-degree visibility when lifting, placing, or transporting loads.
The machine also uses steering axles rather than the articulating center section found on wheel loaders. That creative design choice is central to the Cary-Lift’ s stability when turning.
26 l November-December 2026