When you spend well over a decade working from cherry pickers, you start to develop a feel for machines long before you actually use them. You notice the little things. The way they’re built. The layout of the controls. Whether they’ve been designed by engineers looking at CAD drawings, or by engineers who’ve actually spent a day in the basket.
When I first saw the Leguan range at Vertical Days, one machine in particular kept drawing me back. It looked purposeful. It looked rugged. More importantly, it looked like someone had designed it with the operator in mind rather than simply chasing headline specifications. That first impression stuck with me for months before I finally travelled to Avant, the UK’s Leguan distributor, to find out whether the reality lived up to my expectations.
If you’d like to see the full review as you read this article, you can watch it here:
▶ https://youtu.be/M9XBw3tj0tM
Then come back afterwards—we’ll go into a little more detail than the video allows.
First Impressions Matter
I’ve reviewed quite a few spider lifts over the last few years, and one thing I’ve learnt is that specifications rarely tell the whole story.
Working height?
Outreach?
Basket capacity?
They’re all useful figures, but they don’t tell you whether the machine actually makes your working day easier.
That’s exactly what interested me about the Leguan 225.
As someone who spends much of my working week carrying out roof repairs, chimney repairs, chimney repointing, chimney flaunching, roof surveys, gutter repairs and all manner of working at height, I don’t really care how impressive a brochure looks.
I care about how quickly I can get onto a job.
I care how smooth the controls are.
I care whether the machine saves me time over the course of an eight-hour day.
Those are the things that actually make a difference to someone who earns their living from a cherry picker.
Why I Travelled to Avant
Avant are the UK distributor for Leguan, and rather than simply handing me the keys, they spent the morning taking me through the machine properly.
Personally, I appreciated that.
Anyone can climb into a new machine and tell you what the buttons do.
What interested me was why those buttons existed in the first place.
Every design decision.
Every automation feature.
Every little improvement.
I wanted to understand the thinking behind the machine rather than simply reviewing another specification sheet.
A Machine Designed Around the Operator
One thing became obvious very quickly.
Leguan haven’t built this machine around sales literature.
They’ve built it around the operator.
That might sound like marketing fluff, but after spending time with it, I genuinely think it’s true.
Almost every feature seems to answer the same question:
“How can we help the operator get the job done quicker?”
That philosophy crops up repeatedly throughout the machine.
The Specifications Are Good… But That’s Not What Makes It Interesting
On paper, the Leguan 225 offers:
- 22.5 metre working height
- 11.5 metre outreach
- 250kg basket capacity
They’re impressive figures.
But plenty of spider lifts offer similar numbers.
What makes the Leguan different isn’t the specifications.
It’s how those specifications are achieved.
It’s also worth mentioning that if you’re looking at the Leguan 195 or Leguan 265, most of what I’m discussing here still applies. They all share the same controls, operating philosophy and operator-focused design. You’re really choosing the size that suits your work rather than choosing between completely different machines.
Built for Rough Ground
Within the first hour I realised something.
This isn’t just another spider lift.
It’s an off-road machine that happens to have a boom attached.
That’s a very different design philosophy.
Most spider lifts begin life as access platforms.
The Leguan feels like it began life as an off-road vehicle.
Everything else follows from that.
Everything Starts With the Tracks
One thing you’ll notice immediately is that the tracks don’t retract.
Some people will see that as a disadvantage.
Personally, after understanding the reasoning behind it, I actually think it’s one of the machine’s biggest strengths.
By keeping the tracks fixed at their full width, Leguan have prioritised:
- stability
- ground clearance
- durability
- off-road performance
There are no extending mechanisms underneath waiting to become damaged.
The machine is always sitting on its widest possible footprint from the moment it comes off the trailer.
It Finally Makes Sense
The more I walked around the machine, the more everything began to fit together.
The large tracks.
The wide stance.
The generous outrigger footprint.
The impressive leg penetration.
The completely enclosed underside.
None of these things exist in isolation.
They’re all working towards the same goal:
Making this one of the most capable off-road spider lifts I’ve ever operated.
As someone who regularly uses a cherry picker for difficult access roof surveys, awkward roof leak repairs, isolated chimney stacks and rural properties, I could immediately see where this machine would excel.
If you’re dealing with a leaking roof or damaged chimney and need safe high-level access before any repairs begin, I always recommend starting with a professional Roof Survey and Report:
https://www.dji-uk-uk.co.uk/roof-surveys
A proper survey often identifies issues long before they become expensive structural repairs.
Levelling That Actually Works
Anyone who’s operated enough spider lifts knows one uncomfortable truth.
Not every automatic levelling system deserves to be called automatic.
Some are brilliant.
Some… let’s just say they require rather more encouragement.
I asked Paul exactly that question.
His answer was simple.
“It’s fantastic.”
After watching the machine work, I’d have to agree.
With roughly 700mm of leg penetration, the Leguan gives you enormous adjustment on uneven ground.
Instead of spending half an hour packing timber under outriggers, you’ve got a machine that does much of the hard work for you.
For contractors regularly working on uneven driveways, embankments or rural locations, that can make a genuine difference to productivity.
An Underside That Looks Like a Tank
One feature I absolutely loved was something most people will never notice.
The underside.
Most machines expose hydraulic pipes, valves and vulnerable components underneath.
The Leguan doesn’t.
Everything is tucked safely inside the chassis.
It genuinely looks armoured.
That reminded me of something that happened with my own machine.
I once managed to knock the battery isolator switch on a kerb because it was mounted underneath.
The result?
I found myself stranded in the middle of the road with a machine that had effectively switched itself off.
It’s little design decisions like that which separate machines built for showroom demonstrations from machines built for everyday work.
The Leguan feels very much like the latter.
Fast Boom Speeds Make a Bigger Difference Than You Might Think
One thing that really surprised me wasn’t just how quickly the Leguan 225 moves – it was how smoothly it does it.
Speed on its own isn’t particularly impressive if the machine feels jerky or forces you to move one boom section at a time. Anyone who’s spent years operating access platforms will know exactly what I mean.
On some machines, as soon as you try to slew, telescope and raise the boom simultaneously, everything grinds to a halt. Instead of one fluid movement, you’re forever making little corrections just to get the basket where you want it.
The Leguan feels completely different.
We timed the machine going from the ground to full working height using its Return to Work function. It reached approximately 22.5 metres in just over one minute, but what impressed me even more was that every boom movement remained smooth throughout the entire lift.
That might not sound particularly exciting if you’ve never worked from a cherry picker.
However, if you’re carrying out chimney repointing, chimney flaunching, replacing chimney pots or undertaking roof repairs, those seconds soon add up.
Over a working day…
Over a working week…
Over a year…
A machine that saves even a few seconds every cycle genuinely increases productivity.
The EDX Hydraulic System
The reason for that smoothness is Leguan’s EDX hydraulic system.
Rather than simply allowing whichever hydraulic function demands the most oil to dominate, the machine intelligently manages how hydraulic flow is distributed between multiple boom movements.
In practical terms, that means I can:
- Raise the boom
- Telescope
- Slew
- Adjust the fly jib
…all together.
Without one function stealing speed from another.
It’s surprisingly satisfying to use.
As an operator, it feels less like controlling several hydraulic cylinders and more like guiding the basket exactly where you want it to go.
That’s a very subtle difference, but after years of operating cherry pickers, it’s something I really appreciate.
Return to Home… and the Feature I Like Even More
Manufacturers often talk about automation.
Some of it is useful.
Some of it feels like technology for technology’s sake.
Leguan’s Return to Home and Return to Work functions genuinely impressed me.
Imagine I’m repairing a chimney.
I’ve removed all the old flaunching.
I’ve filled my buckets with concrete debris.
Now I need to come back down, empty the buckets, mix fresh mortar and return to exactly the same position.
Normally, I’d spend time carefully recreating every boom movement.
Instead…
I simply press Return to Work.
The machine automatically follows exactly the same path back to where I was working.
It isn’t really about laziness.
It’s about removing repetition from the operator’s day.
That philosophy sums the Leguan up perfectly.
Every feature seems designed to eliminate small frustrations rather than simply adding more gadgets.
Little Improvements Soon Become Big Time Savings
One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that productivity rarely comes from one revolutionary feature.
It usually comes from dozens of small improvements.
Leguan seem to understand that.
Take something as simple as setting the machine up.
From inside the basket you can:
- Start the engine
- Stop the engine
- Track the machine
- Deploy the outriggers
- Auto-level
- Reposition
Without continually climbing in and out.
That may only save thirty seconds each time.
But imagine you’re carrying out gutter cleaning or gutter repairs around a large apartment block.
You might reposition the machine twenty or thirty times in a day.
Those repeated trips in and out of the basket soon become surprisingly tiring.
Leguan have looked at those repetitive tasks and asked one simple question:
“Can we remove them?”
For someone who spends much of the year carrying out roof repairs, roof leak repairs, chimney maintenance, and large-scale gutter clearance, I can immediately see the benefit.
If you’re interested in the sort of work I carry out using machines like this, you can find out more about my:
- Roof Repairs: https://www.dji-uk.co.uk/roof-repairs
- Chimney Maintenance & Repairs: https://www.dji-uk.co.uk/chimney-maintenance
- Gutter Clearance Services: https://www.dji-uk.co.uk/gutter-clearance
Better Visibility While Tracking
Another clever feature is the raised driving position.
At the touch of a button, the basket lifts by approximately 400mm while you’re tracking.
It doesn’t sound much.
Until you’re loading onto a trailer.
Or climbing a steep ramp.
Or trying to see over an awkward obstacle.
Suddenly that additional visibility makes perfect sense.
Again…
It’s another example of Leguan designing around real operators rather than simply chasing brochure figures.
Straight Off the Trailer
One feature that genuinely surprised me was the ability to set the machine up while it’s still sitting on the trailer.
That won’t suit every situation.
But there are plenty of occasions where it could save a significant amount of time.
The fewer times you have to unload, reposition and reload a machine, the quicker you get on with the actual job you’re being paid to do.
As someone who runs a one-man business, that’s exactly the sort of practical thinking I appreciate.
Every minute spent moving equipment is a minute you’re not repairing roofs or solving customers’ problems.
My Overall Verdict
Going into this review, I expected to like the Leguan 225.
Coming away from it, I was impressed for a completely different reason.
It isn’t the biggest machine.
It isn’t trying to have the longest outreach.
It isn’t packed with gimmicks.
Instead, almost every engineering decision has been made with one objective:
Help the operator work more efficiently.
That philosophy runs through the entire machine.
From the off-road capability…
To the hydraulic system…
To the automation…
To the layout of the controls…
Everything seems designed to remove wasted time from the working day.
Having spent over fifteen years operating cherry pickers on everything from roof surveys and roof leak investigations to chimney repairs, bird mesh installation, gutter cleaning and difficult access roofing projects, that’s exactly what I want from a machine.
If you’d like to see everything discussed in this article in action, watch the full video here:
▶ https://youtu.be/M9XBw3tj0tM
Then come back afterwards and let me know whether you agree with my verdict.
If you’d like to learn more about the services I provide using specialist access equipment, you might also be interested in:
- Cherry Picker Hire: https://dji-uk.co.uk/cherry-picker-hire
- Bird Mesh Installation: https://dji-uk.co.uk/bird-mesh-installation
- Roof Cleaning: https://www.dji-uk.co.uk/roof-cleaning
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Leguan 225 a good spider lift for roofing contractors?
In my opinion, yes. If your work regularly involves roof repairs, chimney repairs, gutter cleaning, or any form of working at height, the Leguan 225 has been designed with productivity in mind. Features like the smooth boom controls, Return to Work function and excellent off-road capability genuinely help reduce time on site.
What makes the Leguan 225 different from other spider lifts?
Most spider lifts are judged purely on their working height and outreach. The Leguan certainly competes there, but what really sets it apart is its operator-focused design. Everything from the hydraulic system to the basket controls and automation has been designed to make the operator’s day easier rather than simply adding more technology.
Can the Leguan 225 work on rough or uneven ground?
Absolutely.
In fact, I’d say that’s where it really shines.
With its fixed-width tracks, generous ground clearance, excellent leg penetration and impressive automatic levelling, it’s one of the most capable off-road spider lifts I’ve personally operated.
Can a cherry picker reach difficult chimneys safely?
Yes—provided the correct machine is selected.
Many chimney repairs can be completed far more safely and efficiently using specialist cherry picker access instead of scaffolding. Choosing the right machine depends on the height, access restrictions and surrounding ground conditions. You can find out more about my Cherry Picker Hire service here:
What causes chimney leaks?
There isn’t one simple answer.
Leaking chimneys can be caused by failed flashing, deteriorated mortar joints, cracked flaunching, damaged chimney pots or general weathering. That’s why I always recommend carrying out a professional inspection before deciding on a repair. If you’re experiencing a leaking chimney, take a look at my Chimney Maintenance & Repair service:
When should you arrange a roof survey?
If you’ve noticed water ingress, slipped tiles, damp patches or simply haven’t had the roof inspected for years, a professional roof survey can often identify problems before they become expensive repairs. I regularly carry out roof inspections using specialist cherry picker access where ladders or scaffolding aren’t practical.
Find out more here:
Final Thoughts
One thing I always try to do when reviewing machinery is separate marketing from reality.
Manufacturers can all produce impressive brochures.
What matters is how a machine performs on a wet Tuesday morning when you’ve got three chimney stacks to repair, buckets of mortar to lift, and customers waiting for you to finish.
The Leguan 225 impressed me because it isn’t trying to reinvent the spider lift.
Instead, it refines almost every aspect of operating one.
Would I own one?
Without hesitation, yes.
It’s one of the few machines I’ve reviewed where I came away thinking, “Whoever designed this has clearly spent time working from a basket.”
If you haven’t already watched the full review, I’d highly recommend it. You’ll get to see all of these features demonstrated in real-world conditions rather than just reading about them.
▶ Watch the full video here:
https://youtu.be/M9XBw3tj0tM
If you enjoy this kind of content, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I regularly publish in-depth machine reviews, roofing projects, chimney repairs, access demonstrations and honest opinions based on real-world experience rather than manufacturer specifications.
Follow Me Online
- 🌐 Website: www.dji-uk.co.uk
- 🎥 YouTube: @dan_cherrypicker_man
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Thanks for Reading
Whether you’re another access platform operator, a roofing contractor, or a homeowner researching roof repairs or chimney maintenance, I hope this article has given you a genuine insight into the Leguan 225 and why I rate it so highly.
I believe honest, experience-led reviews help the entire industry make better buying decisions, and if they also help homeowners understand the work that goes into maintaining roofs safely, then even better.
👕 My workwear is sponsored by Granite Workwear, and all of the clothing I’m wearing in the video can be purchased on their website: Workwear Clothing Supplier | Protective Safety Clothes.
