In the crane industry, the all-terrain crane is a luxury model of a mobile hydraulic crane. The reputation of this particular crane is like 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 remarkable quality of this specific equipment is its multi-functional ability to be able to traverse through all kinds of off-road terrain. One of the main selling characteristics of this particular crane is that it travels equally well at high speeds down highways.
The Very First Rough Terrain Crane
The very first rough terrain crane was put on the market by Grove in 1959. The crane was intended for application and designed to handle numerous tasks on construction sites. The industrial strength of the crane's tires is capable of handling all kinds of tricky terrain and is able to move small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, Grove launched the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model. This unit has a 270 foot or 82.8 meter height under hook in production, in addition to a 135 ton lifting capacity. At the end of the day, the rough terrain crane will become the company's most notable equipment through the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
Among the main 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 nation in the world which will make an exception to this rule. Moreover, one more problem happened when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the driver's right and left views, which depends on how the cap was positioned. All these problems with the design of the crane ended up being dangerous and severe and lead to many accidents with RT cranes, specially when turning. As a result, flatbeds, low-loaders, lowboys were adopted as the main means of transporting rough terrain cranes.