HIAB vs Franna vs tilt tray: which one for your job?

A HIAB is a truck with a knuckle-boom crane mounted directly on the chassis behind the cab. The name comes from the original Swedish manufacturer (HIAB AB), but in Australia the term has become generic — like calling all vacuum cleaners Hoovers.

The setup is simple: the truck drives to the job, the operator extends the crane arm, picks up the load, and places it where it needs to go. The truck and crane are one unit, operated by one person, often with a remote control so the operator can stand in the best spot to see the lift.

Standard HIABs in Perth handle loads up to around 7.5 tonnes close to the truck, with reach typically 12-15 metres at lower capacities. They're designed for placing things — over fences, onto roofs, into backyards — not for lifting and carrying long distances.

A Franna is a pick-and-carry mobile crane — a self-propelled crane vehicle that can drive around a worksite while carrying a load. It looks a bit like a fork-lift on steroids, with a single boom mounted on a wheeled chassis.

Frannas are designed for industrial sites where loads need to move around the site, not just be placed in one spot. Construction sites, factories, mining setups — anywhere with multiple lift points that aren't easily reached from a single position.

Capacity-wise, Frannas are usually larger than HIABs (10-25 tonnes is common), but they're not road-legal at full capacity, and they need clear space to operate. They're overkill — and more expensive — for residential work.

A tilt tray (sometimes called a tilt-slide or roll-back) is a flat-bed truck where the entire tray hydraulically tilts and slides backward to ground level. It's not a crane at all — there's no boom, no lifting arm. The tray comes down to the load, the load is winched on, and the tray returns to flat for transport.

Tilt trays are perfect for moving things that can be rolled, winched, or driven onto the tray — cars, machinery, trailers, broken-down equipment. They're the cheapest option for transport-only jobs.

What they can't do is place a load somewhere off the truck — so they're useless if the job involves lifting over a fence, onto a roof, or into a hard-to-access spot.

The simplest way to choose is to ask: what's the bottleneck — placement or transport?

If the bottleneck is placement (the load needs to end up somewhere a regular truck can't reach), you want a HIAB. Spa lifts over fences, aircon onto roofs, pool shells into excavated pits, pallets onto upper floors — all classic HIAB jobs.

If the bottleneck is moving heavy loads around a worksite (multiple lift points, no single access), you want a Franna. These are mostly commercial and industrial situations.

If the bottleneck is just getting something from A to B and it can be loaded with a winch (or driven on), a tilt tray is cheapest.

Rough indicative pricing for Perth metro in 2026, GST inclusive:

The most common mistake is hiring a tilt tray for a job that needs a crane. People do this because tilt trays are cheaper — but if the load can't be winched onto the tray, the truck arrives, the operator can't do the job, and you've still got to pay a callout fee.

The opposite mistake is hiring a Franna for residential placement work. Frannas are great machines but they're industrial-grade — you'll pay double for capabilities you don't need on a backyard spa lift.

The third one is assuming all 'crane truck' operators have the same gear. Always ask specifically: HIAB, Franna, or tilt tray? If the operator can't answer clearly, ring someone else. (For a deeper look at what a HIAB can handle, see our guide on reach, weight and access. And for what it'll actually cost, the Perth pricing guide has typical job ranges.)