Crawler cranes are amongst the most versatile cranes out there that are used in various industries like manufacturing, construction or transportation, and are easily available with every crane rental service. These cranes feature telescopic booms and are designed to perform various lifting tasks. So, let’s take the discussion ahead and see what these cranes are capable of doing.
How Does A Crawler Crane Work?
Structure
Crawler cranes feature a crawler undercarriage on which a standard cab is mounted. Instead of using wheels, the undercarriage uses tracks to navigate on different types of terrains. Furthermore, the upper deck has the ability to rotate 360 degrees and includes controls that allow the operator to operate the boom.
Mobility
As mentioned earlier, crawler cranes use tracks just like tanks that help them overcome any type of terrain at construction sites. Moreover, these cranes do not use outriggers like other types for stability. Additionally, the lattice boom tends to be lighter than the booms found on other cranes, which allows the crawler cranes to have a relatively wider operating radius due to lesser boom weight.
However, the downside is that crawler cranes cannot move easily from one place to another due to their sheer size and weight. As a result, most of the cranes need to be disassembled and then re-assembled once transported to the site.
Lifting
Although the lattice boom is lighter than the others, it is still able to lift extremely heavy loads. This makes crawler cranes an efficient option for large-scale production projects. Even though their size can pose certain restrictions, but still, crawler cranes tend to be a great option for heavy lifting.
Advantages Of Using Crawler Cranes
Rough And Challenging Terrain
The biggest advantage of crawler cranes is perhaps the ability to handle rough and challenging terrains. Since crawler cranes are equipped with tracks, there is no terrain out there that they cannot travel on. At the same time, these cranes do not have stability issues either. They can easily handle weights up to 3,500 tons. This makes them a popular option at construction sites where lifting and shifting heavy loads is a regular process.
Eco-Friendly
Another benefit of crawler cranes is that they are eco-friendly machines. What this means is that these cranes produce relatively less sound, can be controlled via remote, and can be used for multi-use applications. In fact, the newer crawler cranes come with specifically designed eco-friendly formats with varying lifting capacities to meet the needs and preferences of the construction projects.
Disadvantages Of Using A Crawler Crane
Crane Collapsing Or Buckling
If you were not aware, crawler cranes come with weight limits that help them keep stable while lifting heavy loads with the boom fully extended. Meanwhile, other types of cranes use outriggers to help them keep stable.
However, in the case of crawler cranes, if the weight tends to exceed the maximum lift capacity, the crane will be in danger of tipping over or the boom may collapse. As a result, the cost of using the crawler crane increases.
Improper Crane Assembly
One of the major reasons contributing to a boom collapsing is improper crane assembly. As mentioned earlier, crawler cranes are not easy to shift from one place to another, which requires them to be disassembled and reassembled. So, it might be that the crane is not properly assembled, which might cause the boom to collapse.
Improper Employee Training
Even though crawler cranes are technologically advanced and smart machines, it takes a team of properly trained employees to work alongside such machines. The reason is that anything could go wrong unexpectedly and result in a huge loss both in terms of monetary and human.
Crane accidents can be serious and the people on the ground tend to be the most in danger. This is why it is equally important that the employees are updated and regularly trained to keep them prepared for unexpected situations.
Final Word
Crawler cranes are an interesting human invention. These are multi-purpose machines but you first need to define your needs and preferences before renting them from a crane for rent VA company. This will help you narrow down your options and pick the right type and size of a crawler crane.