Four Cranes That You Might Use On Your Contrustion Project
Cranes can be part of a lot of construction projects in a lot of different ways. A crane is simply a piece of equipment designed to lift heavy loads and put it in the desired location. Sometimes that is on a roof or sometimes it is simply in a location that is inaccessible by other means. In either case, a skilled crane operator can put the load where it needs to be, saving you time and cost.
Tower Cranes
Commonly used in the big cities for the construction of skyscrapers or other tall buildings, tower cranes are bolted to a concrete pad and can expand in height as the job requires. They lift around 20 tons and have a reach about 200 feet making them versatile and perfect for lifting heavy loads from the ground to the workers high in the building. There are some large tower cranes that have been developed for larger jobs but they are less common. Sometimes you will see 2 or even 3 of these cranes on a job, especially if it is a large project.
Vehicle Mounted Cranes
Vehicle mounted cranes are smaller than those big tower units but what they lack in size, they make up for in portability. A vehicle mounted crane can be taken apart, transported to a work site and reassembled there. Some of these cranes are big and require a smaller crane to come to the site to help assemble the sections of the arm or boom section. These cranes use outriggers to help support the weight and keep them from tipping during a lift so require a little extra space to set up.
Crawler Cranes
A crawler crane is a large crane that can typically lift forty tons or more and is mounted to a chassis that has tracks on it. The tracks make the crane very mobile and because of the large size and capacity, they are very useful on a job site. Transportation of these cranes requires disassembly of the boom and is typically done on a lowboy trailer. Once on site it can be reassembled and moved across rough or even ground on its tracks pretty easily.
Floating Cranes
If you live near a river you may see floating cranes from time to time. They are basically a standard crane but mounted to a barge instead of a mobile chassis. The crane can be moved up and down the river easily this way and can work in places other cranes may not be able to reach. Often floating cranes are used in river dredging operations, log recovery, and salvage operations along the water.
For more information, talk to a professional like Nimble Crane.