A crane can be strong enough to lift what you need it to, but if it can’t reach the location you need, it’s worthless.
Whether you’re in construction for highways, building new neighborhoods, or working at an industrial plant, you have to understand the different types of terrains and which crane will work best for you.
Keep reading to learn about the different types of workspaces and what you need to know about them before buying a mobile crane.
Rocky Road
If your construction site is in a less developed area or off of a city, you may encounter rocky roads that not every crane is built to drive on.
For these situations, you need an all-terrain crane. You can drive these on highways to get to remote locations and easily drive them on unfinished roads without any issues or breakdowns.
Rough, or Undeveloped Land
Sometimes you’re starting from scratch with a new area, and you need a crane that’s going to be able to drive on undeveloped land. When your site is on grass, dirt, or areas that a typical vehicle can’t drive to, you need a rough terrain crane.
As you may have expected, a rough terrain crane has an engine and strong enough wheels to drive on rough terrains. These cranes use a 4-wheel drive and usually have a single-engine it operates on that powers its boom and undercarriage.
Highway Construction
With highway construction sites, your best option is to use a truck-mounted crane. About 75% of all cranes in service today are truck-mounted cranes.
What’s great about these cranes is they’re able to be adapted to plenty of different types of jobs, outside of just highway construction, which is what makes them so popular. They can lift as much as 1,300 short tons, and most of them can swing a full 360 degrees.
These cranes can be driven on the highway, making them convenient for highway-type terrains.
Concrete Flooring
If you’re in an industrial manufacturing plant, you may have concrete that’s ideal for most types of vehicles to drive on. In this case, large cranes like we mentioned before might be too large for you. This is when you should consider a telescopic handler.
Essentially, they’re forklifts that have a telescoping boom attached to their front end. They can be driven in any direction and can be used to move pallets or put large trusses away. If you don’t have a long way to go, and the loads aren’t overly heavy, a telescopic handler is a suitable choice for you.
Remember, though, not every crane can drive on concrete, so be sure it’s under the weight limit so you don’t crack your floor.
Buy Your Mobile Crane Today
Now that you know about the different types of terrains you could come in contact with, and what the best option for each is, it’s time to buy your crane!
If you need more help determining what mobile crane is right for you, speak to an expert today!