Crane News

What is a Mobile Crane

Mobile Cranes | Oct 18 / 16

Learn what a mobile crane is and how technology has advanced to the point that mobile cranes can lift and move just about anything your heart desires, in a wide range of different situations. From carefully squeezing a kitchen sink in through a skylight window, to moving a grand piano from one floor to the next, TNT Crane & Rigging knows there is little a mobile crane can’t take on. As a consequence, they come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and heights.

In fact, their versatility is such that it can be hard to keep track of what kind of mobile crane is required. Below, we pick apart the most common.

500 ton all terrain crane

Hydraulic Cranes

Run on hydraulics, oil is pushed from one cylinder to another to give this type of crane its awesome strength. Hydraulic mobile cranes are robust and reliable, so it comes as no surprise that they’re the most common. Most cranes today are hydraulic because of their safety features and smooth operation.

hydraulic crane rentals

All Terrain Cranes

As the name suggests, this type of crane is an all wheel drive crane that can travel on both highways and gravel roads to get the crane into position for the lift. With the new engineering advancements in crane set up, these cranes are now ideal for remote job site locations like wind farms. Compared to the heavy lifting power of a crawler crane, all terrain cranes are easier to set up and move around the job site which means they can help the installation crews get the job done quicker.

rough terrain crane

Rough Terrain Cranes

Specially designed to operate off road, rough terrain cranes have all-wheel drive capabilities and rubber tires to help them navigate ditches and potholes in the road. With lower capacity lifting abilities, these cranes work well in situations where the lift radius and rough ground conditions don’t need high or heavy lifts. Many iron framed buildings implement the use of rough terrain cranes.

Crawler Crane

Crawler Cranes

Working in partnership with telescopic and lattice booms, crawler cranes are self-propelled cranes on tracks. They are incredibly powerful machines that range from 90 to 1200 ton in capacity. Typically crawler cranes are used in bridge construction, concrete tilt up and wind farm installation projects.

carry deck crane

Carry Deck Cranes

This type of mobile crane can rotate on a full 360 degrees axis, making them perfect for operating in confined construction areas. Exactly as the name suggests, carry deck cranes have small decks where they can lift and place equipment, like barrels, onto it’s deck and relocate it to another location on the job site.

An increase in the construction of building projects in challenging places means mobile cranes are heavily leaned upon to problem solve. The demand has led to the production of super large cranes with increased capabilities, such as the 500 to crane from Leibherr, Grove or LinkBelt – a machine we frequently put to good use at Eagle West Cranes, Stampede Cranes and TNT Crane & Rigging.

With the above featuring on every construction workers’ ‘must have’ list, mobile cranes are now more important than ever.