Within the crane industry, the all-terrain crane is a luxury kind of a mobile hydraulic crane. The reputation of this crane is like driving a Hummer or a Range Rover on pavement. All-terrain cranes are considered to be a hybrid between a mobile truck crane and rough terrain crane. Another great feature of this particular equipment is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all types of off-road terrain. Among the main selling features of this particular crane is that it travels equally well at top speeds down highways.
The First Rough Terrain Crane
Grove introduced the first rough terrain crane to the market in 1959. The crane was designed for the intended application of being a multi-purpose machine for use on construction sites. The crane's tires have the industrial strength which is capable of handling all types of difficult terrain and can move small loads in carry mode. In the 1970s, the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model was launched by Grove. This particular model has a 270 foot or 82.8 meter height under hook in production, in addition to a 135 ton lifting capacity. At the end of the day, the rough terrain crane would become the company's most remarkable machine over the years.
The Crane's Disadvantages
One of the main disadvantages of the rough terrain crane was the problem that it was not capable of being driven on public highways with any other traffic. Japan was the only nation in the world that would make an exception to this rule. Furthermore, another issue happened when the lowered boom on the crane tended to block the driver's right and left views, that depends on how the cap was placed. All these problems with the design of the crane ended up being dangerous and severe and result in many RT crane accidents, specially when turning. Therefore, low-loaders, lowboys, flatbeds were adopted as the main means of moving rough terrain cranes.