The all-terrain crane is considered within the crane business as being a luxury kind 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. Another great feature of this specific machine is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate 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 roads.
The First Rough Terrain Crane
Grove introduced 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 that could handle all kinds of tricky terrain and could transport small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, Grove introduced the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model. This particular unit has a 270 foot or 82.8 meter height under hook in production, along with a 135 ton lifting capacity. At the end of the day, the rough terrain crane would become the company's most notable equipment over the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
The rough terrain crane is not without its drawbacks because it is not able to be driven on public roads with any other traffic. Japan is the one nation that has made this rule an exception. Furthermore, one more problem happened when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the left and right views of the driver, depending upon how the cap was positioned. These issues with the crane's design ended up being serious and hazardous and lead to lots of RT crane accidents, specially while turning. Thus, low-loaders, lowboys, flatbeds were used as the main means of transporting rough terrain cranes.