How good is a Grove TMS 475 for a beginner

[old-iron-habit]

Seems like it don't matter where you are in the world. Big companies like to hold your earned money as long as possible. Good luck and keep up updated. I enjoy your posts.

 

[davo727]

Congrads on the two additions to your fleet !

 

[Evans]

Just pics @ a coke cola plant.we had to negotiate a very tight space to bring out an old transformer and replace it with a new one.
We also had to remove a 100 year old dead tree ,actually a 10 ton stub with all its roots to make way for a new building.

 

[VitalCrane]

Sincerely hope you get paid for all your hard work. Great story have enjoyed reading your success thus far.

 

[Evans]

Thanks so much VitalCrane ,hard work is never rewarded most of the time . another challenge here is no one wants to hold your hand in this trade.once you are in, you are own your own especially on this side of the world.

 

[Evans]

Hello everyone, i am looking for some advise . which is a better machine than the other .A grove TM875 and TMS 875.
All i know is one has 2 engines and the other has one. can 2 engines make one a better machine.
Our government wants to put a ban on importation of 70s and 80s models ,so i want to try to bring in one of these old school type before the ban.
My competitors are also a problem since they are very few guys with 80ton cranes ,so once you get a contract for smaller crane ,they tell customer that"'next time you want 80ton we will not give it to you because you are not giving us small jobs. The clients will end up giving these guys most of the jobs even if their rates are high to secure a 80ton.

The double engine or the single engine machine ,which one do you prefer ?.

 

[Knepptune]

Better is a little subjective. I would tend to think the old tm cranes would be a little simpler just due to their age. Its generally cheaper to idle a small engine in the upper all day then have a big engine in the lower idling all day. Also you dont have a swivel to go bad like the single engine cranes do. One thing about those old groves is they are heavy old girls. Picking machines but very heavy. The two engine cranes almost feel like two different machines.

 

[Knepptune]

Forgot to mention that there seems to be more of the tm875's with the full power 114' boom then tms875's with the full power. The dead section gives a better chart but the full power would be less headache everytime you need more then 88' of boom. You could get an 88' jib with the tm but it really takes another crane to put the inserts in for anything over 32'. The tms jib came with a stinger that i believe was 56' total jib. More boom on board but less total. I think I would look for one that came with the 88' jib. You may never need it but if you lost a job due to not enough boom you'd kick yourself.

Then you have to consider the carrier. I beleive the 6 axle carrier was maybe 9' wide or so while the 4 axle carrier is 11' wide. The 6 axle carrier has 2 stage outriggers while the 4 axle carrier I believe has single stage outriggers.

 

[crane operator]

If I was choosing, I'd go the 2 engine one also. I'd also love one with the pierce carrier, just because they're super overbuilt. Full power main boom is nice. Find one that has all the jib too, like knepptune says. I know for me the 875's are too heavy, I can't get them to make axle weights from my highway department, but that's probably not a issue for you there. They're 130,000lb rigs, which is also about what a 165 ton gmk or demag weighs with no counterweights.

Pierce carrier




Standard grove carrier

 

[Evans]

Thanks gentlemen, Pierce carrier looks really a monster ,130 000lb .ooh i will loose an arm and a leg to ship this to Africa .i was overlooking this machine all this time because of the weight but technically this is the monster that can keep my rivals at bay and also will kill my big appetite to buy cranes for a long time to come.
i really appreciate your advise gentlemen .i will start to read more about these pierce carrier TM875.

oooh my Tms 250c is doing great though not yet on a long contract.

 

[Knepptune]

I guess I didnt realize there were three different carriers available. For some reason I'm thinking this is a Crane Carrier Company or something like that. I think I would.like the idea of having tri-drives back there.

Those cranes are huge for 80t cranes, physically they're as big as a 110-120t crane as crane op said. Swing over the back and pick up whatever you want with those. If it gets a little light chain a dozer to the front and cable up. Lol. Can't do that these days but you can bet that was standard procedure back when those came off the assembly line.

 

[crane operator]

The three steer and three drive is factory from grove. And they do have a better chart than the tandem steer, tandem drive. The pierce ones came from out west (I think washington/oregon), also had their own charts. I've seen the CCC ones on smaller cranes, (my first 25 ton was one). This one below is actually a Hendrickson carrier, which were also pretty stout:





I've never seen a grove ad showing the pierce option, I don't know if pierce just bought the uppers from grove and married them, but they do have a grove furnished load chart in them.

 

[crane operator]

Page 8 of this pdf shows the grove furnished options.

 

[crane operator]

I've been thinking about your situation evans. As much as I like the beefy pierce carrier, I think you would be better served with a grove carrier, preferably the 4 axle. Pierce isn't going to have the parts resources that are still available as a grove carrier. Grove worldwide will still get you outrigger seal kits, extension and retract solenoids, etc, straight from the factory.

The 4 axle is simply less moving parts to maintain, and the 6 axle is really just for less weight per axle, and I don't think you are worried about that.

 

[Evans]

Thanks Crane op , I thought as much.I think I am over ambitious on this one. I will keep it simply as you correctly stated. These tm875 come with dolly .are they possible to drive them with boom not on dolly on a long journey. I was offered one with no dolly and I was also trying to cut cost on the voyage to Africa.. If dolly is a must then i will go for one with dolly. It will be about 18m long in length.

 

[crane operator]

The crane is designed to be driven without dolly, you don't have to have one. In the us, most states make you get under 26,000lbs per axle. Here in the state of missouri, I have to get under 20,000pounds per axle for the bridge /dot laws, to keep from destroying the roads and bridges. If your road department/ road laws don't require you to meet a certain axle weight, I would run without dolly.

The rear axles are designed to handle the load without dolly, that said, if your roading it 500 miles (or way more- I don't know how far you have to go), you better have pretty good tires, and check inflation often and don't run too hard. They're running 40,000 lbs per axle on the rears, with the counterweight mounted on a 8x4 carrier. And with 44,000 total up front, you're pushing load rating on a 14.00r20 on both the front steers, and rear drive axles.

It would be nice to remove the counterweight at the port, and haul it on a separate truck, it would really lighten you up on the rear axles. Just the counterweight is 20,000lbs. You can remove the counterweight with the crane, and you could send a separate truck to carry it.

You can more easily purchase one that isn't set up for dolly, it will be cheaper to buy and to put on the boat (you pay by cubic space on the boat?) . Not a lot of the older tm cranes were set up for dolly from the factory.

 

[Evans]

Hello everyone, hope I find you well.
Just some pics, check out the fake tree made in China. It's a Wi-Fi booster for internet company. 35 meters up.they putting them all over the city.
My first double lift.we had to bring out a old 8ton machine through the roof .

 

[joe--h]

Web site needs more pictures, don't see many of these beside the roads here in New Mexico. https://wisejetcranes.co.zw/

Joe H