Within the crane business, the all-terrain crane is a luxury model of a mobile hydraulic crane. The reputation of this crane is similar to driving a Hummer or a Range Rover on pavement. All-terrain cranes are considered to be a hybrid between a mobile truck crane and rough terrain crane. One more remarkable feature of this equipment is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all types of off-road terrain. Among the main selling features 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 during 1959. The crane was intended for use and designed to deal with many tasks on construction sites. The industrial strength of the crane's tires could handle all types of tricky terrain and is able to transport small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model was launched by Grove. This specific model has an 82.8 meter or 270 foot 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 most notable equipment of the company through the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
Among the major drawbacks of the rough terrain crane was the problem that it was not capable of being driven on public roads with any other traffic. Japan was the only nation in the world which would make an exception to this rule. Furthermore, another problem occurred when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the left and right views of the driver, depending upon how the cap was placed. These issues with the crane's design ended up being both serious and dangerous and result in lots of RT crane accidents, specially when turning. Thus, lowboys, flatbeds, low-loaders were adopted as the primary means of moving rough terrain cranes.