All Terrain Cranes Dismantled Machines

About All-Terrain Cranes

While some pieces of equipment are only suited for work under certain conditions, all-terrain cranes live up to their name by working both on and off the road. In fact, that’s what makes this versatile style of crane different from its counterparts. It has highway speed capabilities like a truck-mounted crane to easily move from one site to another, but it’s also rugged enough to go off-road and powerful enough to do the heavy lifting when it gets there.

As its name implies, a road-transportable all-terrain crane can also navigate rough terrain to an extent using all-wheel or multi-wheel drive. Multiple steering axles and modes such as crab steering give it the mobility to maneuver into position on the jobsite, while a compact design allows it to fit into confined spaces. After deploying its outriggers, the two- to nine-axle crane uses either a hydraulic telescopic boom (and an optional jib) or a lattice boom to hoist heavy loads in a broad variety of lifting applications. Some all-terrain cranes, called “taxi cranes,” can bring all or most of their counterweights along with them, negating the need for additional transport vehicles.

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Liebherr LTM1110-5.2 All Terrain Crane

Capacities & Hook Heights

Grove, a Manitowoc company, is a prominent manufacturer of all-terrain cranes. Its GMK line shows a typical range of capabilities these mobile cranes offer.

At the compact end of the Grove GMK product range is the three-axle GMK3050-3, which can lift a maximum of 55 tons (50 metric tons). The GMK3050-3 has 131 feet (40 meters) of main boom, and it can reach a maximum tip height of 167 ft (51 m).

On the upper end of Grove’s all-terrain lineup is the GMK7550, which has a lift capacity of 550 t (450 mt), a main boom length of 197 ft (60 m), and a max tip height of 448 ft (136 m).

Other models are even more powerful, such as the Tadano AC 9.700-1, which is capable of lifting 800 t (700 mt) and has a 497-ft (147-m) max hook height. Liebherr’s mammoth LTM 11200-9.1 goes even further with a 1,500-t (1,200-mt) lift capacity and a 617-ft (188-m) max tip height.

Features

Current all-terrain cranes come with a variety of features, depending on the manufacturer. All-wheel and multi-wheel steering have become commonplace, as have tilting cabs and video cameras on key components and blind spots. Modern all-terrain cranes support telematics and fleet management systems, and many manufacturers offer related mobile apps.

Ever-evolving control systems such as Manitowoc’s Crane Control System and Liebherr’s LICCON make cranes safer and easier to use, even for inexperienced operators. Several all-terrain cranes feature real-time load charts that update on the fly according to boom and outrigger position. Speaking of outriggers, manufacturers such as Liebherr and Tadano offer variable deployment lengths to fit irregular spaces on cramped worksites.

Finally, variable counterweight positioning systems are gaining ground in the mobile crane industry. In the all-terrain sector, for example, Liebherr’s VarioBallast is a hydraulic slewing ballast platform that allows counterweights to be moved inward for extra tailswing clearance or outward for a greater radius and lift capacity.

Find The Right All-Terrain Crane

You’ll find new and used all-terrain cranes on the market from current and former manufacturers including Demag, Grove, Liebherr, Tadano, Tadano Faun, and Terex.