The all-terrain crane is considered in the crane business as being a luxury kind of a mobile hydraulic crane. It has the reputation 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 machine is its multi-functional ability to be able to traverse through all types of off-road terrain. Among the main selling characteristics of this 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 during the year 1959. The crane was intended for application and designed to handle various tasks on construction locations. The crane's tires have the industrial strength that is capable of handling all types of difficult terrain and can transport small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model was introduced by Grove. This model 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 will become the company's most remarkable machinery over the years.
The Crane's Drawbacks
Among 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 country within the globe which would make an exception to this rule. Moreover, another issue happened when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the left and right views of the driver, that depends on how the cap was placed. These problems with the design of the crane ended up being dangerous and severe and result in a lot of RT crane accidents, particularly while turning. Therefore, lowboys, flatbeds, low-loaders were adopted as the main method of transporting rough terrain cranes.