The all-terrain crane is considered in the crane business as being a luxury type 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 mobile truck crane and rough terrain crane. One more great feature of this machine is its multi-functional ability to be able to traverse 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
Grove launched the first rough terrain crane to the market in the year 1959. The crane was designed for the intended application of being a multi-purpose machine for application on construction sites. The crane's tires have the industrial strength which is capable of handling all kinds of difficult terrain and can move small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, Grove introduced the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model. This specific 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 will become the company's most notable equipment over the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
One of the main drawbacks 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 within the world that will make an exception to this rule. In addition, another issue happened when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the right and left views of the driver, that depends upon how the cap was placed. These problems with the crane's design ended up being both serious and dangerous and lead to lots of RT crane mishaps, specially while turning. Thus, lowboys, flatbeds, low-loaders were used as the primary means of moving rough terrain cranes.