The all-terrain crane is considered within the crane business as being a luxury type of a mobile hydraulic crane. It has the status of being similar to driving a Range Rover or a Hummer on pavement. All-terrain cranes are considered to be a hybrid between a rough terrain crane and mobile truck crane. One more great feature of this equipment is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all types of off-road terrain. Amongst the main selling characteristics of this particular crane is that it travels equally well at top speeds down roads.
The Very First Rough Terrain Crane
The first rough terrain crane was put on the market by Grove during 1959. The crane was intended for application and designed to handle many tasks on construction locations. The industrial strength of the crane's tires is capable of handling all types of tricky terrain and can transport small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model was launched by Grove. This particular model has a 270 foot or 82.8 meter height under hook in production, along with a 135 ton lifting capacity. At the end of the day, the rough terrain crane would become the company's most notable equipment over the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
Among the main disadvantages of the rough terrain crane was the problem that it was not capable of being driven on public roads with any other traffic. Japan was the only country in the globe that will make an exception to this rule. Additionally, another issue happened when the crane's lowered boom tended to block the right and left views of the driver, depending upon how the cap was placed. All these issues with the design of the crane ended up being both serious and dangerous and lead to many accidents with RT cranes, particularly when turning. Therefore, lowboys, flatbeds, low-loaders were adopted as the main way of moving rough terrain cranes.