Within the crane business, the all-terrain crane is a luxury model of a mobile hydraulic crane. The reputation of this particular crane is 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 remarkable quality of this 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 particular crane is that it travels equally well at top speeds down roads.
The First Rough Terrain Crane
The very first rough terrain crane was put on the market by Grove in 1959. The crane was intended for use and designed to deal with numerous tasks on construction sites. The industrial strength of the crane's tires is capable of handling all kinds of tricky terrain and is able to move small loads in carry mode. During the 1970s, the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model was launched by Grove. 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 company's most notable machinery through the years.
The Crane's Drawbacks
The rough terrain crane is not without its disadvantages 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. Furthermore, another issue occurred when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the right and left views of the driver, that depends on how the cap was placed. All these problems with the design of the crane ended up being both severe and hazardous and result in a lot of accidents with RT cranes, especially when turning. Thus, low-loaders, lowboys, flatbeds were adopted as the main method of transporting rough terrain cranes.