Within the crane industry, the all-terrain crane is a luxury model of a mobile hydraulic crane. The reputation of this crane is like 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 great feature of this particular machinery is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all kinds of off-road terrain. Amongst the main selling features 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 handle various tasks on construction locations. The crane's tires have the industrial strength that could handle all types of tricky terrain and could transport small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, Grove introduced the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model. This model 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 would become the company's most remarkable machine over the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
The rough terrain crane is not without its drawbacks since it is not able to be driven on public roads with any other traffic. Japan is the one country which has made this rule an exception. Moreover, one more problem occurred when the crane's lowered boom tended to block the driver's right and left views, depending upon how the cap was placed. All these problems with the design of the crane ended up being severe and hazardous and lead to many RT crane accidents, especially while turning. As a result, lowboys, flatbeds, low-loaders were used as the primary means of moving rough terrain cranes.