Mobile Cranes Need Mobile Skills

Mobile cranes come in all shapes and sizes, from small cranes suited to small construction sites to huge cranes that require huge flatbed truck trailers to move about. These cranes have a boom that is mounted to a platform, the crane then relies on pulleys or levers to raise and lower the boom.

The mobile crane’s platform can be a traditional truck style with standard wheels, railway type wheels to run on train tracks, or caterpillar tracks like a bulldozer. The base of the crane is bolted to a concrete foundation which supports the weight of the crane and the weight of the loads it moves.

The mast or tower is the vertical portion of the crane. It is connected to the base at the bottom. At the top of the tower is the slewing unit. The slewing unit is a term for the gears and motor which allow the crane to rotate.

Self-erecting cranes arrive on job sites where the operator uses the power from the crawler or truck to slowly extend the crane. Instead of being anchored in a concrete base, the self erecting crane is supported by four outriggers that fold out from the crane’s body and rest on the ground.

For training on how to operate heavy equipment like trains, contact ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.