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Popular Types of Cranes

Whether you need to move some heavy loads, or you're working in some pretty nasty conditions, making sure you have the right crane can be really impactful for you and your crew. But which crane should you use? What are some of the most popular types of cranes for crews in terms of convenience and performance? Crane Network LLC is here to help, with our breakdown of three of our most popular types of cranes; the Lattice Boom crane, Rough Terrain crane, and All Terrain cranes. Continue reading this handy guide, then let our team get you on your way with one of these popular crane types in no time.

Lattice Boom Cranes

Lattice Boom crawler cranes, crawler cranes, or simply Lattice Booms, are usually some of the largest cranes that you can buy or rent, and for good reason. Lattice Boom cranes give you many of the same features that you'd expect from a tank, such as exceptionally powerful crawler treads that equally spread the weight of the crane across the entire platform making it easy for different ground surfaces and soft ground work. This means that you can lift more, and with a greater sense of stability using a Lattice Boom over traditional wheeled cranes, while still being able to move heavy loads such as large-scale construction projects and heavy machinery with load capacities of up to 300 tons.

Rough Terrain Cranes

You'll find a number of different cranes all qualify for the "Rough Terrain crane" category, because they all meet the same requirements:

Whereas the Lattice Boom crane is considered something like a tank, the Rough Terrain crane is a monster truck that doesn't care about rough or impassible terrain. Rough Terrain cranes typically have oversized tires on two type-sized axles. This makes they are able to apply differing differentials to their wheels while passing over even some of the worst debris and at speeds faster than standard cranes. They also can level themselves, using a H-pattern hydraulic outrigger, giving them a load capacity of 30 to 165 tons.

Rough Terrain cranes do have a few drawbacks, however. They can't travel on public roads in most cases, even to cross public streets between job sites. Their H-pattern hydraulics also need to be deployed when working on uneven or rough terrain for stability, which makes moving loads with them across jobsites challenging.

All Terrain Cranes

If a Rough Terrain crane is a monster truck, the All Terrain crane is like a Range Rover offering greater luxury and performance over a standard mobile hydraulic crane. Both are designed to work in less challenging conditions, but the All Terrain crane comes with benefits such as being able to travel on public roads and even highways while still having an incredible load capacity thanks to the ability to add attachments to their hydraulics such as luffer jibs and superlifts. This gives your All Terrain cranes the capability of up to 1000 tons of load capacity when properly outfitted. They're also larger than the Rough Terrain cranes, giving your crew more legroom while working.

Their hydraulic cranes can also reach up to 500 feet, and offer not only incredible durability but versatility on your jobsites while still being able to handle a good deal of unpleasant terrain. However, All Terrain cranes can also be one of the most expensive cranes to use, so if your jobsite can do without it, it might be wiser to save yourself money. But if you're working in unpredictable weather, multi-level jobsites, remote locations, or need raw lifting power than the All Terrain crane is right for you.

Find Your Crane Type at Crane Network LLC

No matter what kind of crane you are in the market for, you'll be able to get the very best at Crane Network LLC. Our team is here to help you, while making sure that you've got all the tools necessary for your job. We can help you with financing information as well as insurance concerns you might have.