Just some work pics

[crane operator]

Dropped the trailer about 2 miles from the job (only place to turn around). Roaded the rt down there, then turned the truck and trailer around empty, and loaded up and 2 hours back home. Took some branches out of the trees when I set them. We use the dozer in the creek to shove the boxes tight together.

 

[crane operator]

Little just in case purchase. 6v92 for my 70 ton, out of a fire truck. I don't really need it, but they are getting kind of hard to find, and this one is a running motor, that if I have issues in mine, I can just swap out. It had a allison behind it, I'll probably try to find someone that wants that.

Also - I saw a little oil inside a drum on the trailer, when I stopped on the way out to the rt job. I took the 80/90 with me today for coming home, I filled it, and it splattered most of it out on the way home. So tomorrow it comes apart.

 

[crane operator]

We were in a rush on the race car move the first time. I went to harbor freight on saturday, and picked up a set of tire dollies so we could roll the car around. I always regret every purchase I make at harbor freight, but at 3:00 saturday afternoon (for a sunday job), my options were limited.

We left the car on the dollies inbetween the second and third installation, and I think they rolled the car in circles for a while in the building. When we went to install the third time, the bolts on the casters had stripped out, and the casters wouldn't turn with weight on them, they would flex in the base and hit the v where the tire hits. They also hit on the carry handle with weight on them.

We welded the studs of the casters to the plate to finish the install, and I took them back to harbor freight. Someone was going to get hurt with them, and we were only moving a car with no engine.

I found a guy with some USA made ones, and bought them to replace them ( for the next time I set a race car in a building- or move this one again)

 

[Tradesman]

Tuesday morning got to set 3 mausoleums at a local cemetary, I've been waiting for it to dry up to set these. They set up on a flat ridge, (doesn't drain) and its been raining here a lot, but there's more rain in the forcast so we set them this morning. Used my 25 ton, they're about 12-12,500lbs, granite.

Before I had my boom truck I saw I guy set off a columbarium in a cemetery, there wasn't any hitching points so he slung under the granite and set it down on sheets of ice, pulled the slings and waited for the ice to melt. That process wouldn't work too well around hear in the winter, but it sure worked slick on a sunny summer day.

 

[crane operator]

I've actually stopped at a gas station on the way to a job, and bought four bags of ice to do what you're describing. Didn't know until the last minute about the job, no time to freeze blocks. The bags didn't work to bad either, they actually melt faster.

I will usually just freeze blocks at home in the freezer before I go if I need them, some of the granite structures don't come with any lifting points, then we use ice.

 

[crane operator]

Had a little truss job saturday morning. Arrived and found out it was my daughters spanish teacher and her husband building a garage for their house. He's a math teacher. Neither one are carpenters.

I set the first couple trusses (they had a uncle helping who is a framer) and it looked like they had a pile of movement in the back wall. I hopped out of the cab for a look, and discovered all the bracing was installed with one nail in the top, and one in the bottom.

I borrowed a hammer, and a handful of nails and locked the bracing up a little better. Glad no one had a camera- tradesman would never let me forget it.

 

[crane operator]

This is from a job we did last spring.

Conexes, airplanes and a water tank, all installed in a amusement building here in town. Not much room to work.

 

[crane operator]

 

[Tradesman]

crane op. said: I borrowed a hammer, and a handful of nails and locked the bracing up a little better. Glad no one had a camera- tradesman would never let me forget it.

 

[crane operator]

Me and my big mouth.

Had to use the old dynamic duo this morning. 25 ton and the winch truck, Jim brought out the 1 ton dodge flatbed pickup too. Where we installed the chiller tower, the 18 wheeler delivery truck had no chance of making the 2 corners to get in there. Offloaded the top of the tower onto the winch truck (5,200lbs) and set the base (2,100lbs) on the dodge.

One corner getting in to the jobsite is a switchback, both the 25 and the winch truck needed a back up and another shot to turn the corner, it's that tight, it was also downhill at about a 18% grade, so 1st gear only, and it was a little tough getting the 25 to back up the hill 1/2 way around the corner, but we made it. I didn't have the pine tree in the way when leaving, so that made getting back out a little easier.

 

[crane operator]

Also got to go weigh a big wooden boat this morning. It's inside in a display, I took two of my wireless scales and blocked one side of the boat, and used two forklifts and rigging to pick up the other side. The engineer's wanted a accurate weight to design a stand for it. I got a weight of the one side of the boat, and told them to double it, I hope one side of the boat isn't way heavier than the other with cabinets or something, but I think we can get close with what I gave them.

They should have just asked me- I guessed 20,000lbs, and the scales came out at 16,000, so I didn't feel too bad. I always find it helps to guess weights on things before I pick them up, every time I think you improve your eye for what stuff is going to weigh, and I still get suprised sometimes by what things weigh.

 

[crane operator]

Becket gremlin's strike again, this one's on a auction up in south Dakota. I know the owner before the current owner/seller. He's got a nice terminator becket, and it's installed right, he just didn't put the clamp in, instead installed the clamp on the cable, not using the hole for it on the becket.

I looked at the crane probably 6-7 years ago, the tires on the dolly were shot then. They drove it from here in southern missouri to South Dakota 6-7 years ago, and it's still got the same tires on the dolly, and they're still shot. I have no idea how they lasted to South Dakota.

 

[Junkyard]

You know....if a man didn't know a darn thing about a becket common sense pretty much tells you how to assemble one. Take a step back, think about the forces involved and how it's supposed to work.

Then again common sense ain't so common. I heard a long time ago, common sense isn't a gift, it's a punishment because you have to deal with all the people that don't have it!

Not long ago we had a crane inspected. Inspector told me becket was wrong. I politely disagreed and showed him the chart for reference as to how that particular one was supposed to be. He said I don't care I want it my way. I smiled, changed it. After he stuck the sticker on and left I put it back right. I don't get it.

I bet those old 10.00's have another 7 years in them that's just a wear indicator so you know you haven't curbed all the sidewall off!

 

[crane operator]

I really don't think those tires look any different than the last time I saw them. I was looking at buying it back then, and had decided that it wouldn't leave the yard it was on, until it had new rubber. Shows what I know, they actually had 5 years more life in them. You may be right that they've got 7 more, but I'd still not take it down the road with what's on it.

I don't think I need to worry about it anyway- it sold today for $48,400, which isn't bad for a 60 ton with 125' main boom (not live power- it's remote power-pin). When it sold back then (found the old listing-10/25/2012) it brought $86,900.

That's actually a pretty good crane for under 50k. It would be woefully under powered, (6-71T with 90,000lbs) and the 10' wide carrier isn't real handy, but 60 ton is 60 ton. Nothing picks like a old grove-or is as smooth. It wouldn't be a great everyday crane- but I bet it did some work moving drilling rigs up there if he was in oil territory. Be a great 2nd crane for a one man outfit looking to grow. At under 50k, it wouldn't take much work to pay for it.

Hours haven't changed at all since then - remember never trust a hour meter.
Miles have only gone up 140 miles- so you know its not working either.

https://www.purplewave.com/auction/170523A/item/K3889
https://www.purplewave.com/auction/121025/item/F4578

 

[Junkyard]

Not too bad. I used to work for a company that had several older groves, 80 ton on 4 axle carriers. Simple and solid old machines. Cummins up and down. You could operate by your a$$ 90% of the time because you were well within the structural area of the chart. It might rock up off an outrigger but there was little worry of the boom folding like a pop can!

 

[Knepptune]

That jimmy may not be able to pull the crane fast enough to build any heat in the tires.

Looks like a decent crane. Like you say tho, 10 wide and those old groves were heavy girls.

Decent amount of boom on board. 125' main with 58' Swingaway?

There was one of those for sale in Cincinnati awhile ago. That one had the Cummins. That same company had a Tms250b for sale that had a 5.9 Cummins according to the ad. Seemed like that would be a little doggy. I always wondered if it was just a typo and it actually had the 8.3.

 

[crane operator]

125' main with 58' Swingaway?

There was one of those for sale in Cincinnati awhile ago. That one had the Cummins. That same company had a Tms250b for sale that had a 5.9 Cummins according to the ad. Seemed like that would be a little doggy. I always wondered if it was just a typo and it actually had the 8.3.

Yes on the 125' remote power pin boom and swingaway with tele jib.

Old boss in iowa had a tms250 with a 5.9, it was a little doggy. I guess at one time grove had a "factory" repower kit for the 5.9 for the 250's.

 

[Knepptune]

I've heard people talking about a kit to put 5.9's in their rt's but never heard of one for the truck cranes. I guess the 5.9 wouldn't have been that far from a 6v53 power wise.

 

[crane operator]

Tree job from this past week- it was mostly laying on the house, root ball had rotted out. Kind of tight for the bucket truck and the crane, but we made it work, they did have a nice view from their back yard.

 

[crane operator]

This was another tree job, they had already laid this tree down, it was just surrounded by buildings and fence and power lines, so there was no way to remove the big stuff. Had just enough room for the 35 ton, about 22' between the fence and the building. Most of the tree was 70-75' over there, the main big trunk piece was right around 5,000lbs, I had to kind of skip it closer to me to pick it up. He had a pretty good load in his single axle topkick, he was taking it to a sawmill, said it was a pecan tree. They will probably use the wood to make camp furniture, (the tree was in a summer camp).

We've had a lot of wind and rain here this spring and it's taken down quite a few trees in our area.