As loader cranes above 20 tm are getting longer and larger, they are competing with telehandlers, rough-terrain cranes and even self-erecting tower cranes

摘要

New medium-duty and heavy loader cranes do more than just set down large loads by the side of the trailer. They can now be specified with eight or nine hydraulically-extended boom sections to reach out more than 20m, dropping off their cargo over obstacles or past inaccessible areas. Hydraulic fly jibs and manually-pinned boom extensions that are available on most of these new cranes can increase reach even further. With outreach comes lifting height-they can reach up a building as well as across a site. This makes them versatile, and a contender for general site lifting jobs. If a truck loader can pick up a pallet of bricks from a builders' yard, drive it to the building site and place it on the third storey of a building, who needs a telehandler or rough terrain crane? Standard models generally only come with as much boom as will lift the load off the back of the truck. But nobody buys a standard loader- most often, these cranes are tailored to fit the user's lifting needs. Manufacturers are especially enthusiastic about how far they can make their loaders go. Available boom length seems to be the most important characteristic of new medium-to-large loader cranes, even if they can lift only about 500kg at full stretch.