The all-terrain crane is considered in the crane business 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 equipment is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all types of off-road terrain. Amongst the main selling characteristics of this particular crane is that it travels equally well at high speeds down highways.
The First Rough Terrain Crane
The first rough terrain crane was put on the market by Grove in 1959. The crane was intended for application and designed to handle many tasks on construction sites. The industrial strength of the crane's tires could handle all types of difficult terrain and could transport small loads in carry mode. During the 1970s, Grove launched the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model. 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 remarkable machine of the company through the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
One of the main disadvantages 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 nation in the world which will make an exception to this rule. Furthermore, one more problem occurred when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the left and right views of the driver, that depends upon how the cap was positioned. These issues with the crane's design ended up being both serious and dangerous and result in lots of accidents with RT cranes, particularly when turning. Therefore, flatbeds, low-loaders, lowboys were used as the main method of transporting rough terrain cranes.