The all-terrain crane is considered within the crane business as being a luxury type of a mobile hydraulic crane. It has the reputation of being similar to driving a Hummer or a Range Rover on pavement. All-terrain cranes are considered to be a hybrid between a rough terrain crane and mobile truck crane. One more remarkable feature of this specific machine is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all kinds of off-road terrain. Among the main selling characteristics of this specific crane is that it travels equally well at high speeds down roads.
The First Rough Terrain Crane
The first rough terrain crane was put on the market by Grove during the year 1959. The crane was intended for application and designed to deal with various tasks on construction sites. The crane's tires have the industrial strength that could handle all kinds of difficult terrain and is able to move small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model was introduced by Grove. This particular 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 would become the most notable machine of the company through the years.
The Crane's Drawbacks
The rough terrain crane is not without its disadvantages because could not be driven on public highways with any other traffic. Japan is the one nation that has made this rule an exception. Moreover, another issue happened when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the left and right views of the driver, which depends on how the cap was placed. All these issues with the design of the crane ended up being dangerous and severe and result in numerous accidents with RT cranes, especially while turning. As a result, low-loaders, lowboys, flatbeds were utilized as the primary means of moving rough terrain cranes.