I run a small crane service in Idaho, and have for 18 years now. Another old construction hand here, I got my carpenters journeyman union card about 40 years ago, and then gradually got out of the union and went into business for myself. I kept busy for a lot of years, but somehow also got older, and in order to make things easier I bought a JLG 10 ton boom truck with 55' of stick and no jib. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, and am equally proud, and ashamed, over the fact that I was totally self trained! For the type of work I do here in Idaho, to this day the only requirement seems to be having the keys to the boom truck, if you have the keys and the truck, you're good to go. All I have for paperwork is a cert showing I passed a OSHA training course for boom trucks.
Anyway, after that huge (at first) 55' stick started looking small, I saw a rental JLG exactly like mine, with a jib, so I copied it exactly and with the help of a friend with a water jet cutter, made my own jib, amazing, I know that now, thinking back, but that's what happened! So, with that 55' boom and 17' jib, I was in hog heaven, and then an amazing thing happened, another carpenter building down the street came over and asked if I had time to set HIS trusses after I was done on my own project. "Why not", I thought, and then one thing lead to another. So I started doing more and more "crane" work.
I had one little setback, when I was for the first time running a 4 part line up at the local ski area that their mechanic had rigged up for me. We were attempting to hoist the big reel of cable for the lift, and with no load computer and just an estimated weight (what we failed to take into account was the weight of the shipping frame the cable came on, not realizing they were still hooked together for shipping, this increased the weight and made a 95% capacity lift 125% or so) I just winched up until "a loud noise happened." The loud noise was the boom bracket where it connected to the boom cylinder busting off. Amazingly again, and again thanks to my buddy with the water jet cutter and his expert welding (every welding cert in the book, for sure not a hack welder like me) after we determined that the only damage seemed to be the attach bracket itself, we made a new one and welded it back on, and two days later I was back in business! That little JLG went on to pay for itself 3 times over, while working faultlessly after those few little hiccups. Yes, I'm being sarcastic here.....luckily, I didn't know enough to know you couldn't do what I did, we just used our common farm boy/carpenter sense and put it back together, wow. I did wise up a bit after that fiasco, and bought a Crane Smart wireless load cell. It ended my breaking things.
I quickly realized that running this machine paid a heck of a lot better and was easier then bending nails, so I started to get a bit more serious about things. I traded in the JLG for a monster boom truck, a whole 17 ton capacity with 70' of boom and 40' of jib, more stick then I would ever need, right?! I ran that used Terex 3470 for a few years, until it paid for itself 3 times over, even after buying a wireless remote unit for it, and then sold it for I had in it. Then I bought a brand spanking new one just like it from Guiffre Brothers, paying 115 K for it, owning it free and clear, the usual few years later it had paid for itself several times, and then I sold it for only 30K less then what I had in it.
I happened to see a rider type boom truck going down the interstate one day, it was a Manitex 101S from a rental outfit in SLC, and the light went on...... I could back into a job site and get the crane closer to the work, I could swing with the load while sitting down, no more neck craning while standing up!! After some research, I bought a used one in Florida and drove it back to Idaho over the weekend, working it by 8 Monday morning, don't tell the DOT that please. Now I really had a crane so big and capable, I'd never need a bigger one! That crane made me once again many times what it cost in just a few years, meanwhile I was gradually getting up to speed about what I wanted next, and that was a heated cab for it. So, I built my own, for around $3400.00 including the heater. Life was good.....but the 101S had some issues, coming out of a rental yard it looked pretty with that new paint job, but it had a lot of hard hours on it, so I sold it to the same buddy who had bought my first Terex 3470 (who now has his own small boom truck business in Arizona, running three different rigs) and got what is my current rig, what I'm sure is so big and powerful I will NEVER need to trade up, right?
It's a National 13110A (yea baby, now we're talking) 30 ton rider with 110' of boom and 44' of two part jib, clean, one owner, bought new by a metal fab family owned business in Wisconsin and only operated by the adult son. Gently used, with a factory built deluxe cab, and complete with plenty of rigging boxes and dunnage racks. I paid 215K for it, mounted on a Mack Granite chassis with 425 hp, and best of all NO DEF as it's a 2007! That was going on two years ago, and it has been everything I had hoped for, especially since I added the available 1400 lb. counter weight to the rear of the turret (that makes it a real crane, right?) Same structural capacity of course, but what a difference in stability, at least from my operator seat when getting out there a ways, that counter weight is a great idea! That's it for now, I'll post a few pics and talk about the work I do with this CRANE in a few days.
Anyway, after that huge (at first) 55' stick started looking small, I saw a rental JLG exactly like mine, with a jib, so I copied it exactly and with the help of a friend with a water jet cutter, made my own jib, amazing, I know that now, thinking back, but that's what happened! So, with that 55' boom and 17' jib, I was in hog heaven, and then an amazing thing happened, another carpenter building down the street came over and asked if I had time to set HIS trusses after I was done on my own project. "Why not", I thought, and then one thing lead to another. So I started doing more and more "crane" work.
I had one little setback, when I was for the first time running a 4 part line up at the local ski area that their mechanic had rigged up for me. We were attempting to hoist the big reel of cable for the lift, and with no load computer and just an estimated weight (what we failed to take into account was the weight of the shipping frame the cable came on, not realizing they were still hooked together for shipping, this increased the weight and made a 95% capacity lift 125% or so) I just winched up until "a loud noise happened." The loud noise was the boom bracket where it connected to the boom cylinder busting off. Amazingly again, and again thanks to my buddy with the water jet cutter and his expert welding (every welding cert in the book, for sure not a hack welder like me) after we determined that the only damage seemed to be the attach bracket itself, we made a new one and welded it back on, and two days later I was back in business! That little JLG went on to pay for itself 3 times over, while working faultlessly after those few little hiccups. Yes, I'm being sarcastic here.....luckily, I didn't know enough to know you couldn't do what I did, we just used our common farm boy/carpenter sense and put it back together, wow. I did wise up a bit after that fiasco, and bought a Crane Smart wireless load cell. It ended my breaking things.
I quickly realized that running this machine paid a heck of a lot better and was easier then bending nails, so I started to get a bit more serious about things. I traded in the JLG for a monster boom truck, a whole 17 ton capacity with 70' of boom and 40' of jib, more stick then I would ever need, right?! I ran that used Terex 3470 for a few years, until it paid for itself 3 times over, even after buying a wireless remote unit for it, and then sold it for I had in it. Then I bought a brand spanking new one just like it from Guiffre Brothers, paying 115 K for it, owning it free and clear, the usual few years later it had paid for itself several times, and then I sold it for only 30K less then what I had in it.
I happened to see a rider type boom truck going down the interstate one day, it was a Manitex 101S from a rental outfit in SLC, and the light went on...... I could back into a job site and get the crane closer to the work, I could swing with the load while sitting down, no more neck craning while standing up!! After some research, I bought a used one in Florida and drove it back to Idaho over the weekend, working it by 8 Monday morning, don't tell the DOT that please. Now I really had a crane so big and capable, I'd never need a bigger one! That crane made me once again many times what it cost in just a few years, meanwhile I was gradually getting up to speed about what I wanted next, and that was a heated cab for it. So, I built my own, for around $3400.00 including the heater. Life was good.....but the 101S had some issues, coming out of a rental yard it looked pretty with that new paint job, but it had a lot of hard hours on it, so I sold it to the same buddy who had bought my first Terex 3470 (who now has his own small boom truck business in Arizona, running three different rigs) and got what is my current rig, what I'm sure is so big and powerful I will NEVER need to trade up, right?
It's a National 13110A (yea baby, now we're talking) 30 ton rider with 110' of boom and 44' of two part jib, clean, one owner, bought new by a metal fab family owned business in Wisconsin and only operated by the adult son. Gently used, with a factory built deluxe cab, and complete with plenty of rigging boxes and dunnage racks. I paid 215K for it, mounted on a Mack Granite chassis with 425 hp, and best of all NO DEF as it's a 2007! That was going on two years ago, and it has been everything I had hoped for, especially since I added the available 1400 lb. counter weight to the rear of the turret (that makes it a real crane, right?) Same structural capacity of course, but what a difference in stability, at least from my operator seat when getting out there a ways, that counter weight is a great idea! That's it for now, I'll post a few pics and talk about the work I do with this CRANE in a few days.
