"Neck breakers" Down cab rt's

[crane operator]

Okay- who's run what and likes what. Looking at grove rt58's, galion 150's or broderson rt 300's. I've liked the smaller carry deck brodersons I've run. Own quite a few larger groves, but no small ones.

The grove gives you quite a bit more chart at 40-50', and I can find some that have 70' main plus jib. All the other ones have 60' plus jib. I've heard the galions are a lot handier in that size. Their booms are a lot smaller, makes it easier to get in a tough spot.

Most of the used galions are 20-30k, groves run a little bit more. brodersons are horribly expensive new, but I've seen a few deals on the early mid 90's ones.

 

[Tradesman]

You poor tortured soul, why can't you just stop looking to buy more cranes! Maybe we should start a support group. Poverty is the only thing that stops me from buying a hole fleet of them.

 

[Junkyard]

I suppose they have their place. Having run them on jobs pulling casing they are less than convenient for the operator lol. I've run older groves and broderson. I suppose it's a matter of chart or boom length and then budget. I still have that old grove cab down. Just needs a little work

 

[willie59]

Well, you mentioned the Galion 150, are you looking for a carry deck or a small RT? As for Galion, 150A has a smaller cab than a 150F, more like a dog house, and you pretty much have to be an octopus to work all the levers. Good part, they're built like an anvil, and yes, back in their day millwrights loved them because they have a much smaller boom head than pretty much any other hydrocrane, you could stick that boom head in some really tight spots. Bad part, well, not really bad, but different, that is the way they connect the control lever control cables to the main valve, really can't describe it, can only say if the spool of the control valve starts leaking it will send oil up the housing of the control cable and spit it out inside the cab. Also worked on a 150A once that had a funky hydrobooster for the brakes, hydrobooster was bad, and replacement was insanely expensive. But overall they were a solid machine.

As for the carry deck, yes, Broderson is a decent machine, we usually keep at least one around and I use it in the shop quite frequently, those things are handy as a pocket on a shirt. Boss got a wild hair and moved a bunch of our equipment to auction, and dang good stuff, a lot of it from our rental fleet. He was going to send that Broderson as well and I told him "oh heck no you ain't, not until you buy one to replace it!" We still have the Broderson.

 

[crane operator]

I'm really needing down cab RT. Carry decks don't have enough boom to do what I need it for.

I really blew it a couple weeks ago there was a ritchie bros auction in houston and a bunch of the galions went for between 10-20k. I have a customer that we're needing a rig this size for, and I really think the grove with a 70' boom would be handier for other projects, they're just a little more than I want to spend. A galion would reach the particular project I need it for.

www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/for-sale/21100899/1996-galion-150fa
$25,000 Galion 150fa, 5.9 cummins. 60' main 20' jib.

 

[crane operator]

Broderson rt 300
www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/for-sale/20086307/1993-broderson-rt300-2b

$32,000, 60' main 20' jib.

 

[crane operator]

/www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/for-sale/11266189/1990-grove-rt58d

70' main, 20' jib. $29,000 cummins 5.9.

Probably one of the things I really like with the grove's vs a broderson, is with the grove you independently steer the rear axle with a control lever. The brodersons are like a telehandler, you chose front steer only, circle steer, or crab steer, you can't independently steer the rear.

It doesn't seem like a big deal, but I've run quite a few swing cab RT's. Grove's usually have the independent rear steer, link belts and terex's don't, and it makes a big difference getting into a tight spot.

This particular one has a front mounted winch also, which I really don't have a particular use for, but could see it being handy once in a while. I think you could two line work if you had to over the front, by hanging a snatch block from the main boom, say for flipping a tank in a tight spot.

But you can see how much bigger the boom head is on the grove. Its got a little bit wider footprint- 16' wide vs. 14' for the broderson or galion.

All of them are right around 42-44,000lbs, but the factory specs say the grove is a little shorter, 10'6" (depending on tires, could be 10' 9") vs 11' 2" for the other two. If it is only 10' 6", I could haul it on my single drop roll back trailer, instead of my triple axle double drop, which would be a big plus also.

 

[willie59]

Those are both good looking machine, and both reputable brands. I've spent a bunch of hours in those Galion cabs when I was young and full of $hit. Well, I guess I'm still full of that.

 

[Hank R]

Broderson rt 300
www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/for-sale/20086307/1993-broderson-rt300-2b

$32,000, 60' main 20' jib.

You can knock 20 to 25% off the price the way our dollar is to yours. It was at 82 cents to your $1.xx on Friday but it is always 4 or 5 cents less

 

[crane operator]

Chart at 40' 360 deg. rotation

Grove 6,940lbs
Broderson 4,800
Galion 4,970

20' radius 360 deg.

Grove 21,000
Broderson 16,900
Galion 15.700

 

[willie59]

IIRC, the Galion 150 had a lever to operate the rear steer allowing them to steer like you stated the Grove did. When it comes to the crane capabilities and boom, hard to beat a Grove. But yes, they can't compare to Galion when it comes to tights spots. It's really your needs and application that matters which rig to go with.

 

[crane operator]

You can knock 20 to 25% off the price the way our dollar is to yours. It was at 82 cents to your $1.xx on Friday but it is always 4 or 5 cents less

I think it would be a big pain to get it through customs, I know if the emissions label is missing and its too new, its almost impossible (I looked this summer at one from ontario that was 1999, if it was a 97 it didn't need it). I need it by the first of october.

IIRC, the Galion 150 had a lever to operate the rear steer allowing them to steer like you stated the Grove did. When it comes to the crane capabilities and boom, hard to beat a Grove. But yes, they can't compare to Galion when it comes to tights spots. It's really your needs and application that matters which rig to go with.

Yes willie, the galions also have independent steer control. There are quite a few of them closer to me, they use them a lot in the refineries texas/ oklahoma, pulling pipes etc. With the current oil prices, a lot of those guys are still unloading machinery. Any one of those cranes 3-5 years ago was probably a $50-60,000 crane, because they were all in use.

The job I have currently for it, the boom head size wouldn't matter, and the extra 10' of stick would be better for a truss job in a bad spot with the grove. It would just be in a factory or refinery setting that the boom head size really is a issue. Factory work I may have, refinery not.

 

[crane operator]

I suppose they have their place. Having run them on jobs pulling casing they are less than convenient for the operator lol. I've run older groves and broderson. I suppose it's a matter of chart or boom length and then budget. I still have that old grove cab down. Just needs a little work

I appreciate the offer on the old one, I'm probably looking a little newer than that. And yes, they aren't really set up for operator comfort. They don't call them neck breakers for nothing.

On a side note, the older grove 58's are mostly 4-53's. I'm really thinking 5.9 would be more jobsite friendly.

You poor tortured soul, why can't you just stop looking to buy more cranes! Maybe we should start a support group. Poverty is the only thing that stops me from buying a hole fleet of them.

Now when you're saying a hole fleet of cranes, is that like a boat- a hole in the water into which you pour $.....

 

[Welder Dave]

I started my apprenticeship at an oilfield tank manufacturer in 1981. They had 2 RT58D's but if I recall one was 20 ton and the other only 14 ton. They would pick up a tank and have it resisting up against the front of the machine to move it around in the yard. They had an old tire tread cut and mounted on the front for the tanks to rest against. One of them was parked in the bay where I worked in the winter. They'd open the door to start it and take it out but it took all day for the shop to warm back up. Definitely had screaming Detroits in them. LoL

 

[Junkyard]

It would be a "project" and then some. I keep threatening to scrap it or dismantle it at least. It had a 4-53 in it that just went to the scrap man a couple days ago along with 8,000 pounds of other stuff.

 

[BobCatBob]

Some one say Galion? I haven't posted in a while (after 3 1/2 years rebuilding the 150a).....but I'm finding lots of uses!

 

[BobCatBob]

 

[crane operator]

Nice to see your galions still giving good service. I really think that I'm going to end up with a galion, but the F series with the bigger cab.

I bid on a broderson rt 300 this week on iron planet. It was missing its cylinder for the right rear jack (no one knows where it went). New cylinder was available from broderson, list was $2900, only can get from dealer.
It was only 3-4 hours away from me, so I had a guy look at it for me (he lives by there, he's my 3rd party crane inspector). Its been a oilfield worksite crane, and he knows the outfit, and they run their stuff into the ground. He said both boom tele cylinders were running oil out the back of the boom, cab all torn up, glass missing in the doors.

I ran it to 10,500, and decided that at anymore than that, and I could go buy one already fixed, and not have to do the work. The other guy wanted it more than I did. I had figured $10,000 was about it for me, + 3k for the cylinder, + 2,000 for the boom tele rebuild. That's $15,000, and I didn't know, but figured there would be some other things.

http://www.ironplanet.com/jsp/s/item/928887?kwtag=p13n-V&h=

 

[BobCatBob]

I had the over/under cylinders in the boom rebuilt as well as the 1st part cylinder (hangs under the boom). Together they we're just over $10k (it was outside my capabilities.....I thought of a dozen ways I could do it myself, but always came back with "not safe" for reasoning).

If you do find a working Galion, figure $5k for tires, a couple thousand for hoses. Check to make sure there is no fluid coming up through the control cables in the cab (if so, that's a timely repair....I've done it... new control cables and 3 gasket plugs ...about a grand).

In my neophyte humble opinion....its an awesome machine (you can pretty much fix or rebuild everything). And they're tanks! Its the F150 pick up truck.. in cranes ...of yesteryear: reliable, uncomfortable, loud....but damn cool!