Just realized I picked the wrong crane for a tight lift in Dallas

Last Tuesday, I had to choose between a 90-ton crawler and a 100-ton all-terrain for a lift downtown. The site was cramped, so I went with the all-terrain for its setup speed. It worked, but the outrigger pads sank a good two inches into the soft ground they didn't tell me about. Had to stop and crib it all up, which ate an hour. Anyone dealt with a surprise like that on a 'fast' pick?

3 comments

3 Comments

robert_anderson6911d ago

Setup speed" means nothing without a proper ground check.

hugo_schmidt6d ago

Yeah, exactly. It's just lazy. We had a crew next door last year that rushed the setup on a small telehandler, didn't even poke the ground. Looked fine, just some dead grass. Thing punched right through the crust into a sinkhole from an old pipe. Took out a fence and nearly clipped a guy. That "saved" hour turned into a three day mess with the city.

owens.ben11d ago

Man, tell me about it. What's the point of a quick setup if you're just gonna dig yourself a hole? I had a 50-ton truck crane on a fresh gravel pad that looked solid, but it was just a thin skin over pure mud. One lift and the whole rig started to list like a sinking ship. Cost me half a day and a mountain of timber to fix.