Mobile Crane / Truck Crane

The use of Mobile Crane

A mobile crane is a crane mounted on crawlers or rubber-tired carriers. It's usually a self-propelled machine. Most often truck-mounted cranes are referred to as mobile cranes. Such a crane can easily travel between different working sites and carry various loads, also while moving. It is a heavy machinery used in the construction of buildings for example. Apart from ordinary construction works mobile cranes are used for different kinds of work like bridge construction, demolition, ware loading and assembling of wind turbines or tower cranes.
The most common truck-mounted mobile crane (boom truck) has a slewing ring, a boom and a hook (or a grapple) on a cable or on wire rope with sheaves. The operating cab is mounted near the platform, unlike the cranes on non-truck carriers that are controlled from the driver's cab.

Mobile Crane - the main manufacturers

A mobile crane can be powered with one or several engines (it is usually the case for many construction equipment). In the former case the whole machine is powered by one internal combustion engine. There are also cranes with separated power for the carrier and for the boom which has its own electric motor or other power source.

First mobile cranes appeared in the 1860-1870 and were steam-powered. Among their manufacturers were Appleby Brothers who in 1922 started to produce truck-mounted cranes powered by internal combustion engines. The next milestone in the development of mobile cranes was the introduction of fully telescopic booms in the 1960s.

Modern mobile cranes have a telescopic or latticed boom. The former is easy to use and can quickly change the length what makes it proper to work inside steel constructions. The use of a lattice boom is more demanding. However, such a boom is much lighter than a telescopic one what enables it to lift heavier loads.

To the main manufacturers of mobile cranes belong, to name just a few, Demag, Faun, Kato, Kobelco, Liebherr, Palfinger and Sennebogen.