My 150-ton crane boom got stuck in the mud near Baton Rouge last month

I was setting up for a job at a construction site off Highway 61 and the ground was softer than I thought. The outriggers sunk about 6 inches into the mud before I realized what was happening. Had to call in a second crane to pull me out and it cost us 3 hours of schedule time. Anyone else dealt with bad ground conditions and have a trick for checking soil before setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

alice_kim24d ago

Heard from an old crane operator once that you can drive a long steel rod into the ground and see what comes up on it, like mud or sand or water. Sounds simple but he swore by it for checking soil before setting up. Your outriggers sinking 6 inches sounds NIGHTMARE material, glad you got the second crane sorted quick.

the_angela24d ago

Man I learned that one the hard way too. We had a job where the ground looked solid, just a little damp on top, so we set up and started lifting. First outrigger went down slow, second one just sank like 4 inches before we even put any real weight on it. That old trick with the steel rod works way better than any fancy soil test I've ever paid for. I started carrying a 4 foot piece of rebar with a sharpened end in my truck after that. Simple stuff like that, man, it just saves your whole day sometimes.