Maybe this should be in the safety section but it's crane related so here goes. It seems here lately I've been seeing boom trucks laid over with the outriggers not extended on one side. I can understand trying to stay out of the road when your only working on one side but I've never taken the chance. I have traffic cones on the truck for a reason. My question how common is this. Seems like if your boomed up and out very much a small gust of wind could take you on over.
Knepptune , That was standard practice around the old company I worked for 20 years ago . Had times that the boss's had me getting as close as possible and use no outriggers to load median barrier back when I was young and too dumb to say NO! . Small bridge job close to home had a guy do that back a few years .. he laid the boom right down the middle of a state truck . No one hurt but it made that state truck look like a giant hot dog bun . Old habits are the hardest to break . It took a long while before I and others finally asked them to show us in the book that it was an accepted practice . An older operator once told me that if you keep baiting a trap you are bound to catch something . A smooth operator Might get by for a while doing that but all it takes is one brief moment and you are in deep stuff .
I do it if conditions don't allow me to get the outrigger down on the unweighted side. Just don't forget it's not there and swing around.
Oh for the love of God, Listen to the guys above me. There is a reason they are called boom trucks! They have no counterweights, they are not cranes .They rely on the outriggers for stability.
Not a chance, any time I can't get all four out all the way I reduce my charts to half out riggers. It's always some guy with not a penny invested that wants you to risk your life and lively hood so he doesn't have to think far enough ahead to realize the crane may need some room to set up.
Cranes are mainly used for movement of materials from one place to another in industries, storage areas, power stations, construction sites etc. Cranes differ in their designs widely according to the need for the operational requirements.
So should we have our own section for boom trucks?
My personal opinion is no . Cranes are a slow forum to start with.... Besides the basic principles of operation are close . In my way of thinking boom trucks are taken for granted way more than they should be . Between a boom truck and a 150 ton crane ... Which one is more likely to be working at the far end of it's chart , every day . Who would ever run a crane with outriggers down only on one side ? I was on a job that a gentleman picked up a man in a basket on one side then swung around to the other side . Outrigger was not down and God smiled on those two as the boom came down beside the basket . I crawled up the truck laying on it's side and shut it down . Getting a job done might seem important but what will it amount to in 50 years . I defy any of you to show me any information from the boom truck manufacturer that allows operation on outriggers down only on one side or one end .
hear yee !!, lets put our hands together for Tiny truer words have never been spoken.:notworthy Almost every day I go out ,especially new clients they want me to do something to kill them or wreck my machine. Shame on them, but its up to me to say NO and to educate them why. Most understand and the rest, ointhead a few hundred bucks ain't worth wreckin my crane over ( boom truck)
I think I see the problem. Like I said above, you have to remember when it's not down.
If you feel comfortable then that's fine. Im not a huge safety guy. I push limits sometimes. Also seems like there's a big difference between doin this with a 15t vs a 30t boom truck. I know my self well enough that I know if I get into a rhythm running a boom truck or crane that after 30 minutes I will forget. So I don't chance it. Just another example of it's all ok until it's not. I was just wondering how common this is.
Always put out full outriggers on crane or boom truck when possible . The manufacturer put them on the machine for a good reason . Some sites wont have room for full outriggers and at that point it's up to the operators experience of what to do next ? Just have to get to know what the cranes limits are . When in doubt set the crane or boom truck up in the yard with a similar load & outrigger spread and see how the machine feels ? Get to know the machine before you get to the job . What we see today with modern crane units is some companys will send a 150 ton crane to a jobsite and short on counterweights . .... It's the equivalent of setting up on partial outriggers . End result is the same .
That's pretty much where I fall on the spectrum too. It's only been one job in the past two years I couldn't get one of my outriggers down. It was only when I was at the back of the lot, the front of the house had plenty of room. The whole time I was chanting in my head 'outrigger's not down, outrigger's not down'.
One oops erases all your attaboys. I have been on a few boom trucks, and none of them had anything other than a full outrigger chart. If it ain't on the chart, YOU JUST CANT DO IT! If you don't believe me, spend some time on YouTube looking at all the "operators" who went from hero to zero in seconds because they thought they were smarter than the chart.
Unless your sitting in an old grove. I don't really buy that anyone that has ran a crane much hasn't hit the override. Your taking on a lot of liability if you do it tho. same with running a boom truck with no outriggers. If I was running a 12 or 15t boom mounted on on a big tandem truck I wouldn't be that worried about small lifts with no outriggers. Anything bigger then 17t boom and I'm prob not gonna do it.
Yeah Knepptune , some of the older Grove truck cranes had a load chart for working on rubber without outriggers . The TM 150 model was one that had both on rubber & outrigger charts . http://www.manitowoccranes.com/en/cranes/grove/grove-product-literature/archive