Within the crane business, the all-terrain crane is a luxury model of a mobile hydraulic crane. The reputation of this particular crane is similar to driving a Range Rover or a Hummer on pavement. All-terrain cranes are considered to be a hybrid between a mobile truck crane and rough terrain crane. One more remarkable feature of this equipment is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all kinds of off-road terrain. One of the main selling features of this specific crane is that it travels equally well at top speeds down highways.
The Very First Rough Terrain Crane
The first rough terrain crane was put on the market by Grove during 1959. The crane was intended for use and designed to deal with many tasks on construction sites. The crane's tires have the industrial strength that is capable of handling all types of tricky terrain and is able to transport small loads in carry mode. During the 1970s, the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model was introduced by Grove. This unit has an 82.8 meter or 270 foot 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 company's most remarkable equipment over the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
The rough terrain crane is not without its drawbacks as it is not able to be driven on public highways with any other traffic. Japan is the one country which has made this rule an exception. Furthermore, another problem happened when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the left and right views of the driver, depending upon how the cap was placed. All these issues with the design of the crane ended up being both hazardous and severe and result in a lot of RT crane accidents, especially when turning. Therefore, low-loaders, lowboys, flatbeds were adopted as the primary method of moving rough terrain cranes.