A crane is a derrick or a tower that is equipped with pulleys and cables, that are used to lower and lift various materials. Cranes are used very commonly in the manufacturing and construction industry, in order to lift heavy equipment. Moreover, they can also be rented via crane truck rentals in case you want to lift up and transport a heavy object.

Cranes are controlled by trained and certified operates that sit in the cab that travels along with a crane. The cab includes radio type controls or a push-button control station.

Just like all the other equipment used in construction and manufacturing sites, operators of cranes are responsible for a big part of site safety.

Different types of construction cranes

In this article, we talk about the different types of cranes that are used in the construction industry. These cranes include the following:

Mobile cranes

Mobile cranes are considered to be the standard crane that you can find almost everywhere. These cranes are versatile and tough. A mobile crane makes use of a telescopic boom or a steel truss that is mounted on a mobile platform. The mobile platform could be wheeled, or a rail. At the same time, it also features a boom at the bottom which can be lowered or raised using hydraulic cylinders and cables.

This type of crane is highly versatile due to its mobility and footprint. The footprint of the crane affects crane capacity. It is the area that that is required to set the outriggers in the correct position so that the crane can hoist the material well within the limits.

Telescopic cranes

Telescopic crane makes use of a boom that includes many different tubes inside one another. It makes use of a hydraulic cylinder to retract or extend the tubes. This increases and decreases the boom’s length.

Today, telescopic cranes are very popular in the construction business due to the long length of their booms.

Tower cranes

Tower cranes are a type of balance crane. When these cranes are fixed in the ground, they offer a good combination of lifting capacity and height. Hence, they are very useful in the construction of huge buildings.

Tower cranes can go up to 1000 meters in height. Hence, tower cranes are considered to be giant yet incredible machines. Moreover, atop a certain height, it is very important for these cranes to be connected to the building. This will prevent them from tipping over which could result in a catastrophic event.

So while these gigantic structures are eye-catching, they require a lot of care! Otherwise, they may quickly turn into a huge liability.

Rough terrain crane

A rough terrain crane features an undercarriage that has four tough rubber tires. These cranes are designed for off-road operations where there is rough terrain.

These are single-engine cranes and are ideal for construction areas that involve rocky and dirty terrain. Usually, they are preferred due to their great mobility. Moreover, they are also quite versatile, which makes them ideal for light construction, highway, and infrastructure work.

Truck-mounted cranes

Picker trucks or boom trucks are craned that are mounted on a truck. These cranes are often used by crane rigging services DC due to their immense mobility. It features outriggers that extend both horizontally and vertically. These are used to stabilize and level the crane as it hoists a material.

What is the capacity of truck-mounted cranes?

These cranes do not usually have a capacity greater than 50 tons. Hence, they are used mostly for small-time work and on minor construction sites. However, in terms of mobility and versatility, truck-mounted cranes are extremely popular.