Choosing an erecting crane

Popular crane manufacturers

German manufacturers, such as Liebherr, Grove and TEREX are the most popular among construction equipment producers. Liebherr has introduced its Liebherr LTM 11200-9.1 – a Mammoet model with a record cargo lifting capacity up to 1,200 tones. Reliability and unfailing high quality are the main characteristics of this model. Japanese erecting cranes such as KATO have occupied their place in the market already. These vehicles have gained positive reputation in the market, and there are also several types of models among them, for example RT cranes that make it possible to move an object very closely to the wall. TADANO and KOMATSU are also produced in Japan. These companies offer multi-axis and all-terrain cranes. Chinese manifacturers XCMG and Zoomlion also offer decent machines with good usage features and low prices.

Choosing a crane

Used cranes that are going to be put on sale require very accurate examination besides technical features checking. Latent defects of such machines will definitely show up in the course of the work and can become the reason of an accident. That is why the seller has to check the vehicle in operation and provide theclient with an opportunity to examine the machine by himself.

Parts you have to pay attention to when buying a used crane.

• The condition of the lifting arm. The internal side of the arm has to be checked for the presence of cracks, distortion and welding marks. During such examination the arm has to be placed horizontally. An insignificant distortion is permissible, because this part is exposed to more stress. Crane arm extension must be smooth and without any kicks. You have to choose whether the arm can drop spontaneously.
• The condition of thrust rods.The surface of thrust rods must be free from rust, be clean and smooth.
• The condition of the turning platform.All strange sounds must be excluded when the platform is turning. When the arm is being extended up, swinging must be excluded as well. Platforms braking system must be in undamaged condition. The bearing and crone’s lobes of the supporting motor system must have no marks of significant wear and tear or welding.
• The condition of cables and hose tubes.Wires and cables must convolve in a right manner to avoid their tearing in the future. It is also necessary to make sure that there are no cracks in hose tubes to avoid leakage.
• The condition of the frame of the basic chassis.There must be no rust or welding marks on the bottom and the upper part of the frame.
• The presence of tables with serial number of crane’s parts and their correspondence to the documents provided.
• The outside appearance of the crane. It is always good if you can find some factory paint on the surface of the crane. A freshly painted crane can have “secrets” like holes that have been hidden with the help of filler. You can check this with the help of an ordinary magnet.

Features of some of the crane models

You have to take into consideration the characteristics of each of the models if you decide to compare the vehicles on the basis of their cargo lifting capacity. For example, when the lifting capacity of one model is around 160 tones (as for Liebherr LTM 1160-5.1), its total length is 15,02 meters, the arm radius is 60 meters, then other model’s (for instance, Kato NK 1600) length is 16,3 meters, and the arm radius reaches 70 meters. The cab of the Liebherr LTM 1160-5.1 is made of anticorrosion sheet steel, and the cab of XCMG QAY160 is made of composite materials, what provides lower price of the latter. Liebherr LTM 1160-5.1 is fitted with a patented system of inner locking-up of the telescopic arm. Besides that, such model is equipped with numerous extra functions what increases the security and safety of the vehicle. This feature influences the price of the machine, of course.