Hi Im looking for some opinions out there.As an owner of a number of older American cranes ,5299 crawlers and a 4460 truckmounted,ive been thinking of rebuilding them.Having seen prices on new smaller size crawlers,i think theres room to rebuild one especially the 5299.Start at the under carraige and work up,including new tier 4 power,cab improve ments,hydraulic third drum certified for personel lifting.These cranes haved served me well over the years ,tough reliable machines.The biggest complaints i get with them are safety concerns,operator comfort,and now emission standards.Years ago i worked as a machinist welder for a logging outfit that owned American line loaders.We rebuilt those machines completly in house,making shafts, bushings and building up the undercarriages.The only thing we subbed out was the gear and spline cutting.Dollar wise??seems like theres room,create some good employment,recylce something and come up with some good RELIABLE SIMPLE machines.Any thoughts from from you operators or owners out there? Regards Dave
Dave, first of all, welcome to the HE forum. I really like those old Americans a lot. They’re loud as hell and not very comfortable, but so easy to operate, trouble shoot, work on, adjust and repair. You seem to be going in the right direction for the right reasons too. These old beasts can be made to be compliant for swingin’ beef in a personnel basket. Many have a flipper valve on the console that will make the load hoist brake full auto when the hoist clutch is moved to neutral. Technically, it's free fall feature doesn’t need to be deactivated by US law, but it can not be used for lowering. Private policy or customer mandates might be more stringent than the law tho. Anyhow, the new stuff these days are so electronically dependent and complicated that upgrading a fleet is more than just replacing the cranes with newer models. They still require mechanics that are competent and qualified to diagnose and repair them, but that means a very costly dollar/time investment in sending them to factory schools to take specific courses in these modern hydro lattice machines. Even then they would likely still need several follow up advanced classes to be very efficient at field repairs if they are to go it alone. The days of a crane mechanic getting it done with the basic tools such as wrenches and sockets are all but gone now. So upgrading the fleet with new rigs isn’t the best option in some cases, unless you expect to need some expensive dealership or factory rep visits with expended down times.
Welcome Dave , The company I work for still has 3 5299s One with a cummins and independent swing , Also has a multi piece counterweight . The bridge side of the company has used these machine for years . The 4 banger Detroit's have a sound all their own . If you read my signature you know I am a driver but I cant remember how many times I stood on the catwalk with an " X Box " operator showing him which lever to move to switch from swing to travel . That may be the only thing that might hinder you , Finding Guy's that know how to run them .
I almost completely agree. Most new machines are a pain. They have replaced some of the labor and skill involved in mobe and operation with specific technical knowledge and gadgetry that can hinder or even prohibit certain jobs in the name of others. The only crane i think got just about everything right is the 218 hylab 5 from the early 2000's. The ones that still used frictions and bands. But that's a different topic. I say, ahead full! It will be worth it in the end. The old Americans are awesome. The mani's got all the attention, and i love them like everyone else, but Americans are just as good. A few are a little different with the actuator control on the swing (can't remember what number that was but Ness has a 180 truck with that set up) and different swing setups but once you are comfortable with an American there's nothing better. You also know that it's is going to last for decades to come. Good luck! And post pictures.:thumbup:
Tugger, Great that you're looking at restoration work. Those old Americans are great cranes and in my opinion, make great restoration projects. I work for a company that does restoration work on all types of cranes, and I wanted to point you to a blog post we did on restoring crawler cranes. If they end up being a project that you don't have time to complete in house, we would happy to talk with you about the costs of doing it third party. http://wheco.com/2012/02/crawler-crane-restoration-its-all-about-the-roi/ If a crane is down, it's not making money! Regards, Jacob
craneslug, I see you're a recent new member here, welcome. Please take some time to review our Rules Page and note the section devoted to soliciting. HEF is not a site for vendors to solicit business. I trust this will be your last post of this type. Thank you