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Found a trick to keep my crane level on soft ground at a job site in Jacksonville
Last week I was setting up on this sandy lot after a rain and the outriggers kept sinking unevenly, messing up my lift angles. I tried laying down two layers of 4x8 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood under each pad instead of just one, and it held solid through the whole job. Anybody else use double plywood on loose dirt or do you have a better method?
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the_patricia12d ago
Jacksonville sand is no joke. I've been on a few residential builds there and one layer of 3/4 never cut it for me either. I started using two layers of 5/8 plywood stacked crosswise, so the grain runs opposite on each sheet. Keeps the load spread better and stops the edges from digging in. Plus the 5/8 is way easier to haul around than the 3/4 stuff.
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christopher_sullivan12d ago
The double plywood trick saved me last month near Daytona on a site that was basically wet flour disguised as dirt. @the_patricia is right about the crosswise stack, I do the same thing with two sheets of 1/2 inch plywood and it keeps my outriggers from turning into posthole diggers. I once tried just one sheet and my crane looked like it was doing the limbo by lunchtime, so I learned that lesson the embarrassing way. Do you ever bother with steel plates on the really bad stuff or is plywood your go-to for everything?
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