The all-terrain crane is considered in the crane industry as being a luxury model of a mobile hydraulic crane. It has the reputation of being similar to driving a Range Rover or a Hummer on pavement. All-terrain cranes are considered to be a hybrid between a rough terrain crane and mobile truck crane. Another great quality of this machinery is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all types of off-road terrain. One of the main selling characteristics of this particular crane is that it travels equally well at high speeds down roads.
The First Rough Terrain Crane
Grove launched the first rough terrain crane to the market during the year 1959. The crane was designed for the intended application of being a multi-purpose equipment for use on construction locations. The crane's tires have the industrial strength that can handle all kinds of tricky terrain and is able to transport small loads in carry mode. During the 1970s, the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model was launched by Grove. This specific model has a 270 foot or 82.8 meter height under hook in production, in addition to a 135 ton lifting capacity. At the end of the day, the rough terrain crane will become the most notable machinery of the company through the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
Amongst the major drawbacks of the rough terrain crane was the issue that it was not capable of being driven on public highways with any other traffic. Japan was the only country within the world which would make an exception to this rule. In addition, one more problem happened when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the driver's right and left views, that depends on how the cap was placed. These issues with the crane's design ended up being dangerous and severe and lead to lots of RT crane mishaps, specially when turning. Therefore, low-loaders, lowboys, flatbeds were utilized as the primary means of transporting rough terrain cranes.