Stick with a crawler crane on soft ground over a truck crane any day

I had to pick between a crawler crane and a truck crane for a job up in Portland last fall. Ground was all sandy loam from a recent river deposit. Everyone I talked to said go with the truck crane, faster setup, easier to move around. I went with the crawler crane instead because it spreads the weight out way better. Truck cranes just sink and get stuck in that kind of dirt, I watched it happen on another site a year back. The crawler took a bit longer to get into position but I never even left a rut. It handled the load steady and I finished the lift without any drama. Has anyone else had better luck with crawlers on soft ground compared to what the crew told you?

2 comments

2 Comments

benc5322d ago

I hear you saying it spread the weight better, but I've had the opposite luck with truck cranes on soft ground when you drop the outriggers on wide pads. Crawler tracks still sink if the ground is wet enough, and then you're stuck waiting for mats anyway.

stella_baker22d ago

Oh man, you're definitely not wrong there. I've spent more time than I'd like to admit staring at a crane that's just parked and sinking, like it's having a little sit-down break in the mud. Once had a job where we had to lay down three layers of plywood mats just to get the outriggers to stay put, and by the end of the day I was pretty sure the ground was just laughing at us. So much for my genius plan of just showing up and lifting stuff. Guess that's why they call it "working in the field" and not "winning in the field," right?