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Service truck crane. Curb side vs street side? Knuckleboom vs stiff boom ?

707

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
Messages
85
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
Occupation
Heavy Duty Equipment Technician
What are your thoughts. Pros cons I want to hear them all.
 

norite

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2010
Messages
483
Location
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Check out HEF member TOM V, and the thread "some work pictures " He has the nicest service truck I ever saw. He has a "stiff" hyd. extendable boom with a winch on it, mounted on the ditch (curb) side of his Peterbuilt tandem service truck.
 

707

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
Messages
85
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
Occupation
Heavy Duty Equipment Technician
Yes I have seen his rig. It is pretty impressive. I would however like to know what guys prefer and why they prefer it. Its primarily knuckleboom vs stiff boom. Curb or street side is a personal choice but I have only run stiff boom and I want to hear from guys who run a knuckle boom. I know we cant side load the boom cant get into tricky up and over spots but other than that what are the pros and cons to a knuckleboom. How is it for maintenance? How much skill does one need ?
 

Old Doug

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2013
Messages
4,484
Location
Mo
From the ones i have used the knuckle booms are not great for mechanic work were something needs to be placed just so so without damage. I think curb side is better. One thing i am always thinking of is if you have to use it along a street or highway were curb side is always better.
 

Mike L

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
1,897
Location
Texas
Occupation
Self employed field mechanic
I've had both (curb side and street side) and I prefer the street side. That's the side my tools are on and usually the side I work from. Most cranes seem to be on the curb side though and I never knew why. Never had a knuckleboom but another member on here named hatch equipment has one and loves it.
 

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
Good question 707 .

My first service truck we mounted the crane on the drivers / street side . Now that was due to how the Knapheide bed was built . Mounted the crane on top of a tall box that went down to the frame & of the truck . Had to line the box with re enforcement & tie it in to the frame & rear bumper for added strength .

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.co...re-on-the-fiat&p=146170&viewfull=1#post146170

On larger units I like a center mount at the rear of the bed .

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.co...utriger-repack&p=567050&viewfull=1#post567050


Most of the time we just roll with whatever is handy or on site at the time . 750 Holmes twin boom bed also works good .:) I aint that particular how it gets done . LOL ! Just as long as it gets done .:D

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.co...5-Wabco-c-pull&p=342531&viewfull=1#post342531
 
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FSERVICE

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
635
Location
indiana
I have had both types of cranes, they both have advantages the thing I like bout the knuckle boom is IF you work on big stuff you can use it to push the pins out/in the booms/buckets & save your back!! also the lift capacity of the knuckle boom is usually more.. they can be fitted with a winch option also. i also like the crane on the street side. i never understood the thinkin of the body engineers putting the crane mount on that side of the truck & the tool drawers on the other side!!! "work smarter not harder" & save a few steps= more work!! the nice thing bout a knuckle boom is that it can be mounted center or back & you can work off both sides of the truck depending on the situation!!!
 

willie59

Administrator
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
13,361
Location
Knoxville TN
Occupation
Service Manager
I've never really given much thought to curbside/streetside, it just seems most trucks with a straight boom come set up curbside so I've always just worked with it that way. On jobs that just require my tools, place the rig with the streetside boxes near the machine to do the work. But if it's a job that I need the crane, back the bumper against the machine and work from the rear. I guess I've just got used to doing it that way. If I may offer some logic to curbside mounting of the boom, maybe because the boom has some weight, which will be applied to the right side of the chassis. But by the time you load the streetside of the chassis with a welder, compressor, and all the tools in the streetside boxes, seems to balance the chassis pretty well. I guess that's the logic.
 

SocalHDR

Active Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Messages
27
Location
Ontario CA
My new truck has the crane on curb side and my toolboxes are on the curb side. I like it that way cause when I'm out on the side of the road I'm not in the way of traffic getting my tools.
 

JDOFMEMI

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
3,074
Location
SoCal
For everyday use, I think the straight boom is good, and the type of work you do may be the determining factor on what side to put it on. If you are working alongside a road often, you don't want to be in the road working.

For bigger jobs, I like the knuckle boom. It requires a bit more skill to use, but when fitted with a winch on the folding arm, it maintains the precision of a straight boom, with the added up and over ability.
I like the reach of the knuckle, and I have one that will pick about double of the straight booms common on service trucks, though I have seen straight booms that will lift as much. They are not common though.

The knuckle boom is more rugged, and can be side loaded more than normal. It can also push or pull large pins. I rarely use the winch on it, as I am usually lifting something heavy or awkward, so I just hook up direct and go. It is a heavier crane, and takes up more space.

Like most things in life, it is a trade off, and the kind of work you mainly do will be the determining factor.
 

95zIV

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2006
Messages
795
Location
Cincinnati, OH
Occupation
RR Contractor Super.
One thing about the crane being mounted on the curb side, if you have a piece of equipment that you have to work on from the road, you can pull the truck right up beside it and still get in and out of the cab comfortably. I haven't done mechanical type work with cranes, but I have run both styles delivering product. The straight cranes are nice if you have the room to use them, but the knuckles can get in and work in lower clearances and can be snaked into spots instead of everything having to go over the top. As for placing objects, there were definitely times when I would have killed for a cable, as all of our Knuckles were direct connect and trying to slide a 6-7 foot tall concrete box down into a hole that's just larger then it could be a pain.
 

theironoracle

Senior Member
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
940
Location
PACWEST
Occupation
OWNER/OPERATOR MOBILE HEAVY EQUIPMENT REPAIR
I have always wanted to put a telescopic crane on each side! It would be way handier to have 2 6000 lb cranes verses 1 12,000 lb crane.....TIO
 

caterpillarmech

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2011
Messages
533
Location
Florence Texas
Occupation
Field Service Supervisor
Now that would be sweet. Dual Cranes :thumbsup Mine is curb side and I was always told it was for balance. Most of the larger work is done from the rear of the truck. The smaller work I boom out and do it on the drivers side as that is where the bulk of my tools are.
 

monster truck

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Messages
267
Location
cali
Mine is a manlift/crane combo boom, so like most manlifts it is center mounted. It has nowhere near the capacity of a dedicated crane, but is plenty for what I need to do. My only complaint about it is that it is not a continuous rotation, and it stops 90 degrees out to the passenger side, what makes that a bit of a pain, is that the ground controls are on the passenger side... It is handy that it reaches out equally to both sides, but it would be nice if the swing stops were at the front, and the ground controls were at the rear


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8b5c4bc706ccd914fb0ae34034ba5b0d.jpg
 

jjimbo

Active Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
39
Location
so cal
Occupation
Field mechanic/ owner operator
I have used and owned each type of boom. As stated earlier there are advantages to both. I miss the knuckle when doing under gear work. It makes rail placement very easy. I installed radios on both booms so as to work alone.
 
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