Within the crane business, the all-terrain crane is a luxury type 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 rough terrain crane and mobile truck crane. One more great feature of this machinery is its multi-functional ability to be able to traverse through all kinds 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
Grove introduced the very first rough terrain crane to the market during 1959. The crane was designed for the intended application of being a multi-purpose machine for use on construction sites. The crane's tires have the industrial strength which can handle all types of difficult terrain and is able to transport small loads in carry mode. During 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, along with a 135 ton lifting capacity. At the end of the day, the rough terrain crane will become the company's most notable machine through the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
One of the major disadvantages 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 country in the world which would make an exception to this rule. Furthermore, another issue occurred when the crane's lowered boom tended to block the right and left views of the driver, depending on how the cap was placed. All the problems with the design of the crane ended up being serious and dangerous and lead to a lot of RT crane accidents, especially while turning. As a result, lowboys, flatbeds, low-loaders were used as the primary means of transporting rough terrain cranes.