• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

Crane lifting a Crane (youtube video)

colson04

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Messages
2,057
Location
Delton, Michigan
Up way too early with my youngest so we started youtubing to keep her quiet why everyone else slept. Stumbled onto this neat video.

Quick question for those in the know: Did they leave the extra rear counterweights off for clearance with the canal berm, or could they have raised them up higher to clear the berm while doing the initial pick? I can see it wasn't necessary to have them on for the entire pick, but I was wondering if that was standard practice to take them on/off during a pick like this?

 

kshansen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,128
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Not really sure but guessing that they only needed them on for when they needed to boom down. Maybe if they were on too soon they would have made the weight too much on the back to be able to swing?

Maybe Crane operator will see this and give a better explanation, I know what I'm thinking but putting it into words just doesn't come out right!

Something along the line of keeping things in balance not too much counter weight and not too much load on boom end. Add a little at each side and no real stress in either area.
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
What little I've seen with the big crawlers and wheel horses or trays was that they were generally used when the main booms were picked up or set down. As far as the clearance on the berm goes what I've seen was that the trays were only picked up a few feet off the ground as the tray moves in an arc as it moves higher which changes the load center the higher the tray is lifted. Maybe there is a limit on how high the tray can be lifted.
 

Tugger2

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Messages
1,366
Location
British Columbia
That stack needs to hang on its own for the crane to swing ,no wheels or tracks to help carry it when theres no load on the crane. Id say boomed up with no load that machine might be close to tipping backwards . Just my 2csworth. Pretty interesting way across though , slicker than bringing in a sectional barge.
 

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,257
Location
Canada
I think the crane could swing with the additional counterweight as long as the boom was laid down some. Near the end of the video it looks the there is extra counterweights on top of the extension at the back of the crane. With the boom up I agree the crane might go over backwards with no weight on the hook. I think the counterweight was attached before the boom was lowered but the boom may have been lowered slightly before the counterweight was attached. Having all the counterweight on and turning empty might put lots of unequal stress on the slewing ring and rollers.

I had a woman do my taxes years ago that her family had an older crawler crane they were using as dragline. It wasn't a really large one. They were having it moved and told the driver not to go over 35 MPH to avoid bouncing. They were following behind but stopped for a couple minutes to pick up some food for everybody. They were wondering why it took so long to catch back up to the truck. When they did the truck was going 65 MPH! They chewed the driver out but it didn't do much good. I think she said it cost over 15K to have all the rollers in the slewing ring replaced. It was the first and last time they ever used that trucking company, who were supposedly specialists in moving equipment like this.
 

Tugger2

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Messages
1,366
Location
British Columbia
I wonder what kind of bed they were running to do damage like that ? Never had a problem with a bed on airbags.
At 200.00/HR i like to see my lowbed guy pedal to the metal when we are moving.
 

Knepptune

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
757
Location
Indiana
240’ of boom isn’t much on an 18000.

Spec sheet Shows you can put 320’ of main in the crane without the maxer. That means the crane has will pick 320’ of boom off the ground without the maxer attachment.

Beast off a crane. 528k of counterweight on the upper and another measly 320k of carbody weights. That’s without maxer.


To put the maxer in it you can only hang 492k counterweight on the upper but it gives you the option to add 860k counterweight on either a wagon or tray. They have the tray on that crane. The wagon has wheels to allow the crane to slew with floating the tray. I’m gonna say it would take one heck of a load to float a tray with 860k counterweight.

All that to say that an empty hook with 240’ of boom is not gonna float that tray. They simply couldn’t swing without a load on the crane if the tray was attached.
 

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,257
Location
Canada
I wonder what kind of bed they were running to do damage like that ? Never had a problem with a bed on airbags.
At 200.00/HR i like to see my lowbed guy pedal to the metal when we are moving.

If the customer paying the bill says to not drive over 35 MPH, you should respect that, especially if getting paid by the hour. Maybe they know their machine better than the truck driver. It makes sense excessive bouncing could cause damage. The average speed when they moved the 820 tonne vessel was around 2 MPH.
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,274
Location
sw missouri
The crane with tray on, is essentially like two cranes, with two lattice booms. One boom is lifting the load, one boom is lifting the tray with all the extra weights. The crane they are lifting over the canal, had to be 1/2 way across the canal, before lifting the tray, in order to balance the load so to speak.

When they have a wagon on, the extra weight can ride around on the wagon until they need it (have enough load to pick it up), but the berm makes it so they would have needed to be a lot further away to have room for the wagon, and the wagon would have to have mats also. It doesn't look like the best ground in the world they are working on either. So they took the easy way and just hung the weight when they needed it.

Also- the video overstates the load weight of the crane a little. That AT may weigh that with all the weights on, but they lifted it across without all the counterweights on.
 

Raildudes dad

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
411
Location
Grand Rapids MI
My guess is there was a cheaper alternative if the big girl wasn't already on site. My local crane guy (with the cranes around the US) told me he turned down a big windmill project in MI. He said they wanted him to cat his machine all over the wind farm on temporary roads. Said, nope, not putting all that wear on my undercarriage. And with the money he has he can do that.
 

kshansen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,128
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
I wonder what kind of bed they were running to do damage like that ? Never had a problem with a bed on airbags.
At 200.00/HR i like to see my lowbed guy pedal to the metal when we are moving.

Must be I forgot to hit send last night on this one but here it is now!

All I can say is if they requested the speed to be 35 mph and the guy hauling it, or his boss, had a problem with that request he should not have agreed to hauling the load.

If I ask you to paint my car green and you try to give it back painted red then it's not my fault. Feel free to tell the customer why you don't want to do as he asks but as he is paying the bill he is now the boss!
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,430
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Saw similar at the Nuke lifting the Steam Generators with the 600 tonner, counterweight was on wheels ran on a timber mat track covered in steel plates until the load was lifted boom down, then the wheels did not touch as raised counter weight adding weight of load same time, the lift occurred boomed up and tires resumed rolling across mat structure.
 

kshansen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,128
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Saw similar at the Nuke lifting the Steam Generators with the 600 tonner, counterweight was on wheels ran on a timber mat track covered in steel plates until the load was lifted boom down, then the wheels did not touch as raised counter weight adding weight of load same time, the lift occurred boomed up and tires resumed rolling across mat structure.
Sort of like adjusting the pivot point of a teeter-totter to adjust for different size kids!
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,430
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Took a massive Mani to assemble this monster.

OSG & Turb 247.jpg

They had issues, used Mammoet to lift a Truck crane to the platform for insertion into the Round Building, cut the lifting webbing FOUR Times before Safety had a vainer and made them regroup.
 
Top