• 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!

"Truck crane" which is a crane on truck?

ichudov

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2014
Messages
432
Location
United States
I sometimes have jobs like these. Something very easy to do with a crane.

This job did not even require a crane, I could do it with a 15k forklift. It was to unload six generators from a semi truck and place them on the ground.

However, some instruction somewhere said to use a crane to unload those, so I said, yes, I can use a crane but you pay extra because it is a crane. They said OK.

But what I do in these cases is brace the outriggers and do not even unload or untie the crane from the truck. Saves a lot of time unloading the crane from the truck.

I wonder if it is somehow a bad idea and if anyone else does this.20181101_095313.jpg 20181101_100339.jpg
 

Tradesman

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2013
Messages
1,075
Location
Ontario
Occupation
Contractor
On first look my arse puckers up but when I think about it your set up on four outriggers and you have the extra weight of the float as counter weight because you’re chained down to it.
But you need to have the weight of the float off the suspension, and you need a good set up on your out riggers ie: level,all beams parallel and adequate cribbing
PS. I’m a little girly so I probably wouldn’t do it.
 
Last edited:

ichudov

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2014
Messages
432
Location
United States
Tradesman, thanks, this is how I see it, the trailer is an additional counterweight. It is not an excuse to exceed the chart, but these jobs are always well below the chart.
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,275
Location
sw missouri
Personally, your cribbing stack looks a little narrow to me, but it may just be the angle the picture is taken from. That said, the big danger with a narrow cribbing stack, is if you happen to bump the crane a little with the swing or boom, you can tip the cribbing out with a tall narrow stack. Then you could fall off the block stack. But you can't really fall off your blocks, because the trailer is under you.

I'd rather unload the crane than pile up all the blocks, but your mechanical detach isn't that easy to hook and unhook, so the blocks is a quick and dirty way to do it.

I think I would worry more about hurting the trailer than the crane, twisting the trailer, but you would probably only do that with a big load.

So- I don't think your actually going to hurt anything, especially just unloading generators like that. You aren't pushing chart or anything, the crane would probably do it on rubber.

But if we are being honest, I might do something like that on my own yard moving my own stuff, but I wouldn't do it on a customers yard, with customers stuff. I'd unload it.
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,275
Location
sw missouri
Saves a lot of time

That's the start of a slippery slope, and they are all bad things at the end. I can see that your trailer is backed uphill, I know the crane is not level the way the trailer is sitting. You'd have the 5th wheel loose or off the tractor if you were level.

You can justify what you're doing any way you want.

The trailer actually would get twisted in being chained to the crane during "normal" operation. You actually would twist it just getting it on jacks. The whole crane also moves as you are lifting and swinging. Wouldn't be much on unloading those generators, but it would be quite a bit with a load on.

I have a welded in toolbox on my 35 ton grove truck crane, just ahead of the tandems. The door opens and shuts fine up on jacks, boom over the front. If you spin over the other corner with boom shot out, and want some rigging from the box, you're going to need a hammer to pop the pin on the door.

And that's a pretty rigid frame crane, terex rt's are all over when they are swinging. Your old grove is pretty rigid, and not much stick.

I don't think the twisting pressure would be any different than being loaded up and driving through a ditch while turning, or any different than the frame twisting that goes on in a boom truck bolted to a truck chassis, but if you don't think its moving the trailer, you're kidding yourself. If its chained tight, and you're going up on jacks, its moving with the crane.

I don't want to throw stones. I just set up a crane on a bridge with 1/2 outriggers and a blocked front outrigger beam, which isn't a approved method at all, but I didn't have any other options.

I always feel like I have a limited number of "wow, that could have been bad- I'm glad it worked out" opportunities. I think I only have so many times at that well, so I don't use mine unless I have to.
 

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,258
Location
Canada
If the customer wants a crane used, use a crane and charge accordingly without trying to save time. Customer appears to have agreed with this. I agree with crane operator that you only bend the rules when there are no other options. Trying to save time is basically the same as saying you were too lazy. What if OH & S happened to come by or the customer wasn't pleased with how you unloaded.
 

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
I look at it as a " Field Expedient " in this case …….

Outriggers are all out & under cribbing . Load of the generators in the radius well under load chart .

The truck & lowboy never felt it with the crane on the outriggers .

Why bother unloading it for a small task ?

Way to think outside the box Chudov ! :cool:
 
Top