The all-terrain crane is considered within the crane industry as being a luxury kind of a mobile hydraulic crane. It has the reputation of being similar to driving a Hummer or a Range Rover on pavement. All-terrain cranes are considered to be a hybrid between a mobile truck crane and rough terrain crane. One more great feature of this specific equipment is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all kinds of off-road terrain. Among the main selling characteristics of this crane is that it travels equally well at high speeds down roads.
The First Rough Terrain Crane
The very first rough terrain crane was put on the market by Grove during 1959. The crane was intended for application and designed to deal with various tasks on construction sites. The industrial strength of the crane's tires could handle all kinds of tricky terrain and can transport small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model was introduced by Grove. This particular model has an 82.8 meter or 270 foot height under hook in production, together with a 135 ton lifting capacity. At the end of the day, the rough terrain crane would become the company's most remarkable machine through the years.
The Crane's Drawbacks
The rough terrain crane is not without its drawbacks because could not be driven on public highways with any other traffic. Japan is the one country which has made this rule an exception. Moreover, one more issue happened when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the right and left views of the driver, which depends upon how the cap was placed. All the problems with the crane's design ended up being both serious and dangerous and result in numerous RT crane mishaps, particularly while turning. As a result, flatbeds, low-loaders, lowboys were used as the primary method of moving rough terrain cranes.