Within the crane industry, the all-terrain crane is a luxury model of a mobile hydraulic crane. The reputation of this particular 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. Another remarkable feature of this particular machinery is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all types of off-road terrain. Amongst 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 in the year 1959. The crane was intended for use and designed to handle numerous tasks on construction sites. The crane's tires have the industrial strength which can handle all types of difficult terrain and is able to move small loads in carry mode. During the 1970s, Grove introduced the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model. This unit has an 82.8 meter or 270 foot height under hook in production, together with a 135 ton lifting capacity. At the end of the day, the rough terrain crane would become the company's most remarkable equipment through the years.
The Crane's Drawbacks
Among the main drawbacks of the rough terrain crane was the problem that it was not capable of being driven on public highways with any other traffic. Japan was the only country within the globe that will make an exception to this rule. Additionally, one more problem 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 the issues with the design of the crane ended up being both dangerous and serious and lead to a lot of RT crane mishaps, specially when turning. As a result, flatbeds, low-loaders, lowboys were used as the primary method of moving rough terrain cranes.