The all-terrain crane is considered within the crane business as being a luxury kind of a mobile hydraulic crane. It has the status 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. Another remarkable feature of this machinery is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all types of off-road terrain. One of the main selling characteristics of this crane is that it travels equally well at high speeds down roads.
The First Rough Terrain Crane
The very 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 tricky terrain and can move small loads in carry mode. During the 1970s, Grove introduced the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model. This unit has a 270 foot or 82.8 meter 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 notable machine 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 roads with any other traffic. Japan was the only nation in the world that would make an exception to this rule. In addition, another issue occurred when the crane's lowered boom tended to block the driver's left and right views, that depends on how the cap was positioned. These issues with the design of the crane ended up being dangerous and severe and result in lots of accidents with RT cranes, especially when turning. As a result, lowboys, flatbeds, low-loaders were adopted as the primary way of transporting rough terrain cranes.