Manitowoc 31000

[BigIron25]

Gostr8r, they offer to fly you up to Wisconson to see the crane? You think you might get some seat time? Who puts the cranes together for your company? Operators, ironworkers, laborers?

[gostr8r]

Actually they did fly me up there twice. Once in '96, as a prize for the highest CCO test scores and again in '11 for training. The second time it was along with another operator, an erection foreman and our service manager. I rode my motorcycle up there in '82 and then again in October of '09. The classes last summer covered set up, tear down, maintanence and operational. Yes we will erect it on the projects. Each day the two 31000's were busy being load tested, and at times reconfigured, so I only got a short time in the seat of the one with a 680' luffer, as it was on the ground and they needed to lay over the luffing jib strut. The pics of the factory visit are on my photobucket link that I've posted already. I'm the wrinkled redheaded guy in the pics. I'll repost the link in case the older links don't connect. http://s1029.photobucket.com/albums/...towoc%2031000/

[Donns]

gostr8r
I haven't talked with you in a long time. I had hoped that we were going to get you and the 31000 on this job in Mississippi to keep your 18000 and the linkbelts from you guys company. Got a Blue Iron Transilift instead. I really don't like those things. Any machine that takes 3 operators to make a lift scares me. You should see the cranes here. Looks like a Ritchie Brothers Auction yard. 66 booms up at last count. So many holes poked in the sky I'm afraid we are going to let the air out. We are starting to get parts of our 85 yard Dragline in. That is my main function here so I can get busy after sitting around for 5 months.

[gostr8r]

That company got around the safety record requirements for bidding by not using Lampson directly as a hoisting contractor on a manned crane. They bare rented it and subbed it out to themselves. Lampson's record wasn't anywhere near as good as ours and I hear it was too poor to even bid the job at all. The winning bid was much lower too, but they will lose all that savings in ground prep for that darn tail swing crawler and handling those c'w chunks over and over again. The bean counters don't see the big picture they only see the bonus they might get at the end. I don't feel sorry for any of the guys that have to deal with the TL at all. 3n op's and a lot of trouble for a lesser monthly rate. Their loss in my opinion Donns.

[3DCGMODELER]

It would be great to see some more pictures of the Swing Motors..

Wow only dream of being next to one of those 31000, wow..

[Donns]

Morning gostr8r
You were pretty much right on about the Blue Monster. They had to spend 2 weeks @ 24 hour days driving piling to get a roadway stable enough for it to walk on. Really a scary machine and I watch it from way back. Couls have definately used the 31000 in my personal opinion. I could have set up an American S-70 Derrick on a tower and done the job as well as the Blue Monster.

[gostr8r]

Donns, it’s good to hear from you. I knew they would regret not using our Manitowoc 310000. and not only that, they would regret not using us for the heavy hauling. They already dropped one of those heavy loads when it rolled off a Burkhalter transporter. Anyhow they still need a super level and very solid tail swing path, at each new set up location, for it’s rear crawler assembly which carries that massive 1000 to 2000 tons of counterweight. After they make a lift and cut it loose, sometimes it can’t swing, because it won’t come around without a substantial forward moment to lighten the rear crawler. That means bring in another big rig, and then start pulling chunks off until it will swing. More cranes, more hauling, more labor and unnecessary rigging, more time and more costs! Some bean counter for that outfit, which had no clue about how things work in the field, made that decision. I don’t feel sorry for them and hope they continue to regret it!

[Hoister]

Just looking through here and I'm curious. Where is #1? Still at the factory? Anything solid for a first job? Or has it already went to work?

[gostr8r]

As far as I know, no buyers and no contracts as of yet, but serious interests are there, from all over the world. Number 1, or the first to be ordered, is still there and waiting to be purchased. It has already been put thru some very intense proof testing, and had a great number of updates and changes made, as the result of feedback from those of us that attended training classes there on it, and has been put in the shop and given a new paint job too. It sits blocked and ready for shipping, for someone with a deep pockets who sees the potential that this amazing crane has! It’s fully mobile with 100% of any rated load and any configuration, but it still has some ringer advantages. Imagine having a job that was so heavy that it usually required a ring type crane, or one with a trailing counterweight, rolling or suspended [which are a time consuming and costly pain in the ass to deal with all the time] but it had to be mobil too. I think that’s why Manitowoc is now reportedly considering doing mods and offering the ‘floating and never touching’ VPC attachments for some of the other of it’s already impressive line up of bigger crawlers. I believe that our’s, which has had even more proof testing and all the updates too, will soon show the lift crane world it’s next heavy lift star, and then someone else will quickly step up and buy the second one.

[capt546]

As far as I know, no buyers and no contracts as of yet, but serious interests are there, from all over the world. Number 1, or the first to be ordered, is still there and waiting to be purchased. It has already been put thru some very intense proof testing, and had a great number of updates and changes made, as the result of feedback from those of us that attended training classes there on it, and has been put in the shop and given a new paint job too. It sits blocked and ready for shipping, for someone with a deep pockets who sees the potential that this amazing crane has! It’s fully mobile with 100% of any rated load and any configuration, but it still has some ringer advantages. Imagine having a job that was so heavy that it usually required a ring type crane, or one with a trailing counterweight, rolling or suspended [which are a time consuming and costly pain in the ass to deal with all the time] but it had to be mobil too. I think that’s why Manitowoc is now reportedly considering doing mods and offering the ‘floating and never touching’ VPC attachments for some of the other of it’s already impressive line up of bigger crawlers. I believe that our’s, which has had even more proof testing and all the updates too, will soon show the lift crane world it’s next heavy lift star, and then someone else will quickly step up and buy the second one.

I am a port captain in Houston and as a follow up we just loaded a 31000 aboard a ship bound for Korea on last week. All 150 truck loads. I understand that she is going out on a 4 year lease.

[gostr8r]

Thanks for that update info capt546! I knew it was headed out there and it’s great news is is finally on its way! Did all the loads actually make it on the one big ship?

[gostr8r]

The one in South Korea is making lifts now and they are impressed with the new red beast! I hope ours here gets some work stateside now that the rig has done some work on a job site and not just the factory test pad. http://www.vertikal.net/en/news/story/17189/