There are different types of cranes in the industry. We have telescopic cranes, mobile cranes, tower cranes, floating cranes, aerial cranes, overhead cranes, and loader cranes, just to name a few. Mobile cranes are the most basic of them all. However, mobile cranes are expensive to purchase; thus contractors hire a mobile crane rental company. The benefit of renting machinery is that it saves money. The rental firms also ensure that your construction or industrial job is done correctly, safely, and on time.
These cranes have been designed in such a manner that the boom is mounted on a mobile platform. The boom is hinged at the bottom and is both raised and lowered by cables and hydraulic cylinders. The platform could be a rail, a cat truck or a wheeled platform. These variations give us different types of mobile cranes. Here are the five most popular ones in the industry.
High Up Trucks / Truck Mounted Mobile Cranes
The crane is mounted on the back of a truck. They are good for loading, transporting and off-loading heavy materials. The length of the boom can extend from six to nineteen feet and they are able to lift weights of up to one hundred tonnes. They can offer from 180- 360 degrees of rotation, depending on the make.
All Terrain Mobile Cranes
These are mounted on wheeled platforms and can be driven almost anywhere and at high speeds. Compared to other cranes, they are easy to manoeuvre when lifting heavy things. The length of the boom can reach up to three hundred feet and they are able to lift weights of up to one thousand tonnes.
Rough Terrain Mobile Cranes
They are mounted on four rubber tires and are designed to operate in off-road rough terrains. They are multifunctional. These are perfect for difficult terrains and uncharted site territories and they also have the advantage of being able to navigate through narrow spaces.
Pick and Carry / Carry Deck Mobile Cranes
These are smaller cranes mounted on four wheels with lower profile designs. They go through tight spaces with ease. They have the ability to lift heavy loads and are easy to manoeuvre. They have spacious cargo decks which enable the easy movement of large quantities of material. Their booms can rotate through 360-degree turns.
Crawler Mobile Cranes
Instead of wheels, these ones use crawler tracks to move. This makes them very stable, (even on soft soils due to the large surface area of their tracks), and thus very ideal for heavy duty work. They have very long booms and can lift very heavy loads. They have telescopic or lattice booms. They are huge and heavy, making their mobility from site to site an issue.
The beauty of mobile cranes is that you do not have to worry about how to move them from site to site as mobility is already inbuilt. With the growing demand for mobile cranes, maybe your interest in this article is because you too would like to acquire and use one. Follow this link to see one way in which you can easily do so.
Mobile cranes are versatile and you should be able to spot them being used in shipping projects, power plant construction, rail and roadworks, dam construction and in the oil and gas industry.
