Boom truck boom in North America

Recent activity in the North American boom truck market has seen many manufacturers introducing bigger and better models and new features. Manitex is introducing a new 45 ton (41 tonne) capacity truck crane targeting the Canadian oil field market, while Tadano America recently showed off to dealers for the first time its newest and largest boom truck, the 20 ton (18 tonne) capacity TM20110. Terex has teamed up with US boom truck specialist Giuffre Bros. to offer two exclusive new boom trucks, known as the Dino 1800 and Dino 2500.

As a boom truck the Manitex 4596T is the largest capacity model available in North America. With a rating of 45 tons at 8 feet radius (41 tonnes at 2.4 m), a 96 foot (29 m) boom, a two-stage offsettable jib, and an option for a second hoist, the machine is designed for heavy duty work in Canadian oil fields. The subframe was designed to pull oil field trailers and haul related equipment. It is available with radio controlled outriggers, an industry first, the manufacturer claimed.

An exclusive contract with Terex sees the introduction, by Milwaukee-based Giuffre Bros. Cranes, of two new boom trucks. The Dino models are 18 and 25 ton (16 and 23 tonne) capacity. Under a licensing agreement, Giuffre Bros. will be the only crane distributor to handle these two new products, according to the company.

“Our customers have been asking for truck-mounted cranes with more capacity,” said Dominic Giuffre, vice president of Giuffre Bros. Cranes. “We worked out an agreement with Terex that will enable us to make these products available for immediate or near- immediate delivery.”

At its second annual dealer meeting in Houston, Tadano America showed off its new 20 ton TM20110 mounted on a Sterling chassis with a 22 foot (6.7 m) flatbed. With 110 feet (34 m) of boom, the 20 tonner is the largest boom truck in the Tadano line. It has a new five section proportional pentagonal profile box boom for a 120 foot (37 m) maximum tip height and is based on the TM1882 platform. The outrigger system is out and down with ratings at different spans, including straight down.

Elliott Equipment Company has introduced its SuperLink outrigger system where outriggers can be extended, in a typical A-frame configuration, on one side of the crane and dropped vertically on the other to allow operation in confined space. The company said the new outrigger system was developed after realizing that when working in tight spaces with an A-frame machine, some boom truck users do not deploy outriggers on one side of the machine.

This is a safety problem that Elliott says SuperLink can solve because it allows the user to get full penetration on the extended side and non-extended side. Operators are locked out from rotating to the non-extended side by a proximity switch, allowing for work in narrow areas but with the ability to get full penetration from a set of “A” outriggers. Actutation is by inserting a pin into a collar on the outrigger leg to lock it vertically so it deploys straight down, according to the company.