By Matt Dean · The Spiderlift Nerd

Spider lift specs.
Real-world advice.

Research and compare tracked MEWPs, then see what matters when you have to get the machine through the gate and set up on site.

110Model records in the library
From the field
Red spider lift working indoors beneath a glazed roof with an operator in the basket
Indoor glazing work calls for a machine that suits the structure, floor and setup area.Photo: Matt Dean

Machine finder

Find a spider lift

About Matt Dean

15 years in powered access. 10 years dedicated to spider lifts.

I started on the hire desk in 2011, taking calls when jobs went wrong. That is where you learn fast: when a standard boom is too heavy for a driveway, too wide for a garden gate, or cannot level on a 15-degree slope, the work stops cold. Tracked spider lifts were the only machines that could solve the access challenges others walked away from.

Since then, I’ve worked every side of the trade. I’ve coordinated nationwide track mount fleets under pressure for rail and telecom infrastructure (they called me “Spider-Man” across the hire desks), co-founded equipment sales companies doing factory inspections direct in Italy (TSS, later acquired by CMC UK), directed hire operations at Rise Platforms, and sat down with tree surgeons, hirers, and dealers on the All The Way Up podcast.

Today, I spend my days helping customers solve difficult access challenges across the UK with spider lifts from 15m to 40m+ and truck-mounted MEWPs. My methodology: explain problems and solutions as simply as possible, but no simpler.

I match the right machine to the specific physical challenge of the site—the outrigger footprint, the narrow pinch points, the ground bearing pressure—ensuring safe, cost-effective access that gets the job done first time.

More about my background and projects

Ask Matt

Got an awkward job?

Tight doorway, delicate surface, awkward angle, or sensitive site? Tell me what you’re trying to reach and where the lift would set up.

Tell me about it

Explore SpiderMEWP

From research to site.

Start with the model library, or work backwards from the access requirements.

Practical access planning

What stops a job on the day?

The machine has to reach the setup area, sit on suitable ground and reach the work from there. Start with the access route, ground conditions and the working envelope.

Field Notes

From the field

Browse Field Notes
Collage of truck-mounted access platforms working behind barriers between tall Deansgate buildings at night
Traffic management and two truck mounts were coordinated for the overnight window-cleaning work.Photo: Matt Dean

Job note · 23 Jul 2026

Planning two 51m truck mounts into Deansgate

Three visits and coordinated traffic management made an overnight city-centre job possible.

51m truck mountManchester city-centre traffic51m working height
Read the field note →