A Complete Guide on What Are Mobile Cranes

A Complete Guide on What Are Mobile Cranes

Meta Description: Explore the types, features, and applications of mobile cranes, from truck-mounted to crawler cranes. Learn about their advantages and versatility.

Mobile cranes are highly versatile lifting machines widely used across different industries for various applications. Whether you need to lift and transport heavy equipment, materials, or other cargo, mobile cranes provide an effective solution.

This article will explore these cranes’ types, features, applications, and uses in mobile. We will examine various categories of mobile cranes based on mobility, lifting mechanism, and load capacity. Their advantages will also cover their fixed cranes, which will also be in this guide.

Key Takeaways

• Mobile cranes, including truck-mounted cranes, are versatile heavy-duty cranes used in various industries and job sites.
• They offer flexibility for lifting and transporting heavy loads, materials, and equipment, even in challenging landscapes and muddy terrains.
• Forklift trucks and small cranes provide additional support for specific tasks.

What are Mobile Cranes?

Mobile cranes are lifting machines mounted on wheels, tracks, or floating platforms. They can be easily transported and operated in various on-road and off-road sites.

Engines and hydraulic systems power them, and wire ropes and a boom lift move heavy loads, materials, and equipment.

Applications of Mobile Cranes across Industries

• Construction Industry: Mobile cranes are widely used in construction sites to lift framing trusses, hoist heavy cargo like bricks and materials, and transport equipment across job sites. Truck-mounted cranes are commonly used to handle loads in confined spaces.
• Shipping Industry: Floating cranes and side lifters are employed to load and unload heavy cargo, such as containers, from ships, barges, and trains onto docks and vice versa. They also help handle awkward cargo.
• Mining Industry: Mobile cranes, such as rough terrain and all-terrain cranes, transport heavy mining machinery, engines, and other materials across challenging off-road areas within mines. Their four-wheel drive powers enable operation in muddy landscapes.

Types of Mobile Cranes based on Mobility

Mobile cranes can be broadly classified into different types based on their mode of transportation and ability to navigate various terrains. Some key categories include wheel-based and track-based cranes.

Wheel-based Mobile Cranes

Here are two types of wheel-based mobile cranes, including:

1. Truck Mounted Cranes

Truck-mounted cranes are self-propelled and famous mobile cranes that can be easily driven on public highways. They are mounted on the rear of rugged trucks with robust rubber tires, allowing safe operation across job sites.

Using hydraulic booms and wire ropes, these cranes can lift heavy loads and equipment in confined workspaces. Depending on the site’s needs, triggers can be extended horizontally or vertically deep enough.

2. Terrain Cranes

Rough terrain cranes are designed with four-wheel solid drives and wide terrain tires that give them enough power and traction to operate smoothly in challenging off-road areas and landscapes with difficult, muddy conditions.

They require no site preparation and can transport heavy cargo and machinery across difficult terrains to remote construction or mining sites.

Crawler Cranes

Crawler cranes are heavy-duty mobile cranes that move from one location to another using tracks instead of wheels. Often called “crawlers,” they are very stable even on soft, muddy terrains due to their wide tracks or “crawlers.”

Crawler cranes can lift hefty loads and materials weighing over 3,500 tons, making them well-suited for civil engineering and bridge construction. They provide maximum lifting capacity and are self-propelled over all types of job sites, including difficult landscapes.

Some crawler cranes may require disassembly for transportation on public roads or highways.

Floating Mobile Cranes

Floating cranes are specially designed to be mounted on barges, boats, or floatable platforms. They are beneficial for construction work around ports, docks, and bridges. Floating cranes can lift and transport weighty cargo weighing over 10,000 tons.

They are used to load or unload ships and handle awkward equipment. These cranes can also lift and relocate entire sections of bridges. Their mobility allows operation in all water bodies and transportation to different job sites.

Mobile Crane Types Based on Lifting Mechanism

In addition to mobility, mobile cranes can also be categorized based on their lifting mechanism and configuration. The main types include:

Boom Cranes

Boom cranes have a fixed or swinging horizontal beam structure mounted on a rotating platform. The boom uses wire ropes and a hoist to lift and lower various loads. These traditional cranes lift stable heavy equipment across construction sites and job locations.

Knuckle Boom Cranes

These feature a boom hinged at the midpoint that can be folded in half for compact transport. When operational, the two-part boom extends to lift loads using hydraulic or electric hoists. Knuckle boom cranes are highly versatile and can access confined work spaces for lifting cargo and materials.

Telescopic Cranes

Telescopic cranes have a sliding or folding extensible lifting arm that can be extended or retracted hydraulically.

This variable reach feature allows them to lift loads from greater heights using less space. They are helpful for the construction and maintenance of buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure projects.

Features and Advantages of Mobile Crane

Mobile cranes have certain inherent features that make them preferable over stationary cranes in many applications. Some key advantages include:

Mobility

Being easily transported from one location to another, either under their own power or on trailers, gives mobile cranes a big advantage. This allows operators to lift and assemble heavy equipment across multiple job sites without needing fixed infrastructure. Their wheels, tracks, or floats allow navigation of different terrains.

Versatility

Mobile cranes are designed to handle a wide range of lifting tasks. Models like rough terrain, all-terrain, and crawler cranes can transport heavy cargo and machinery to off-road construction or mining sites. Floating cranes help load and unload ships and barges.

Knuckle boom cranes access confined spaces. This versatility makes them suitable for varied industries.

Ease of Transport

Most mobile cranes require little to no site preparation or assembly and can be effortlessly transported between locations on public roads and highways using their engines, wheels, or undercarriage. This allows contractors to deploy the right cranes where needed without much difficulty or infrastructure changes.