Had to choose between a 50-ton and a 70-ton for a tight downtown job yesterday

Picked the 50-ton thinking it'd squeeze in the alley better, but the reach was off by about 6 feet and I had to re-rig the whole load on a concrete slab. Anyone else get burned by picking the smaller crane just to fit the site?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_anderson11d ago

Jeez, that's a tough break. I see guys make that call all the time and it almost never works out like they think. The reach is the one thing you can't fudge once the crane's set, but you can usually find a way to squeeze a bigger truck down a tight street if you take the time to spot it.

hart.taylor12d ago

Man I used to be all about squeezing the smaller crane in, figured it was always the smarter call. Then I had a job last year where I brought a 60-ton into a tight parking garage, thinking I was being slick. Ended up needing 10 extra feet of reach for a steel beam and had to bring in a second crane just to stage the load. Cost me half the day and made me look bad to the GCs watching. Now I always double check the radius before I even look at the road width. That 6 feet will bite you harder than the alley ever will.