I should have permits to build my shop in a few weeks. I wanted opinions on what I should get to raise the columns, rafters, and purlins with. None of the picks will be heavy, but I’d prefer not to drive anything on the slab as it will still be pretty green, so I was thinking an RT crane. Also, they seem to be cheaper than the tele-handlers you commonly see on-site. The building is readily accessible from 2 sides. 1:12 pitch, 18’ eave height. The slab will be 8” of mud, with #4 bar 12” grid. I know a lot of people like telehandlers but I never cared for them. I have also considered renting, but would prefer to buy something for this project and then sell once I am finished. My skid steer will be on-site all the time with a set of forks, so shuttling material is not a concern, just raising it so it can be bolted together.
This is a 1993 Grove RT518 I was looking at. 65’ of boom. $25,000. 3100 hrs. Apparently it was owned by a fabricator for 20 years then was sold as the kids didnt want to take over the business. What should be inspected on a crane that’s different from excavators and dirt equipment? Since the crane is out of state I was considering having a crane service do an inspection on it and telling me what it would need to be certified. Apparently this crane was not inspected as it was privately owned and operated.
do you have an operator for it? I'd still do it with a telehandler for a single machine.
Yes, I have an operator. I am curious as to why you would prefer a telehandler?
Do you have other uses for a crane? $25K to build your shop seems excessive. I'm pretty sure they used a manlift to lift the trusses on my pole shed. I think the trusses were only 200 and some pounds.
Rental truck with operator for setting trusses, zoom boom or reach fork for the rest of it. (I was a carpenter for 10 years)
Just about every single steel building I've seen go up, by pros, uses just one or sometime two telehandlers. I'd think re-selling a tele would also be easier, but I like your idea of buying a piece of equipment rather than renting it, it'll take all the time pressure off, no hurry as when the rental clock is ticking. With an 8" slab, after 30 days anyway, I wouldn't worry about it.
I own cranes, and I would rent a 10k 54' telehandler to build a building, and bring in the crane to set the rafters. I would probably set the columns also with the crane, but it would be just as easy to set the columns with a telehandler. I would want a Telehandler with a jib and a manbasket. The only awkward thing on your building with the telehandler, is setting the 6 rafters. (assuming 10' bays). If the concrete was set, and you could bring the forklift into the building, you could set the trusses with it also. And if you don't want the tele in the building, just bring in someone with a boom truck to set your rafters in a day. You won't need the crane for anything else. A while back we had a thread on building some log cabins, and we discussed a lot about crane vs. telehandler. The guy originally wanted a crane, and I don't know what he ended up doing. I've built steel buildings with nothing but a straight mast old hyster forklift. Second best thing to a telehandler, is a outdoor "flying carpet" type scissor lift. We had one that was big enough to put steel on and go up to the eave and work off. Makes sidewall and roof steel a breeze. Get one with the big platform and outriggers. You'll love it even more if you line the interior. looking at cranes for some cabin and shop projects @crane operator , I have a couple different guys to inquire with about that independent inspection. Thanks for all your help. HeavyEquipmentForums
That was a good discussion. There is your answer, @Keith Merrell I'm a crane operator and have had both available to me on the same job site. I had a swing carriage, a jib, and a 6' set of forks on another swing carriage for the 56K telehandler. We'd use that anytime we could, over setting up the crane. It was just faster and easier. Even when we used the crane, we needed the forklift to spot the materials closer on most of the jobs.
THIS is what you really need!
We build buildings and I could put that building up with a 6k tele-handler, 25,000 lb lift it will pick up to 36'. They are fairly cheap to buy and they have a left right tilt feature that will allow you to easily line up the base plates to truss connections.
I had a guy apply to work for me, and he spent all kinds of time talking about how he was involved/ knew some of the people building that huge track machine. And what a great machine it was. I figured if he thought that was such a great machine, he was too dumb to work for me.
Well it looks impressive to me anyway. But I am not a crane operator, what drawbacks do you see with it?
Too big, to long, it would be awkward as a cub bear for most telehandler work. Very few jobsites I've been on, have room for something like that to get around on. I've also set up too many dumped over telehandlers, to trust the average telehandler operator with something this size. The video is a hilarious promo piece " we don't even need cranes" and "nothing else is like this" . Well, its basically a crawler crane that can't swing. The real push behind bigger telehandlers is simply to get away from the certification requirements of crane operators. Typically anyone and their dog is allowed on the jobsite telehandler. Making ever bigger telehandlers isn't the answer.
They do make those rotator telehandlers too. Outrageously expensive and complicated. I do like having a swing carriage. You can sneak in and get a fork load that seems impossibly encumbered with one of those, and they make unloading in an alley possible with what is a really big machine. Give me a 1055 and a swing carriage, and a short jib. That is what we will probably set those log cabins with. A 44' would do it but requires more manuevering and site grading .
Steel crew is erecting a building a couple of lots over in our industrial park. Telehandler, big scissor lift and 40' boom. 3 guys. IIRC the building is 10K sf, looks like 16-18' eaves. Pretty much every PMB is done this way around here anyway. A telehandler will be much handier for all around yard/construction work than the RT IMO. Ol' Blue - 1996 Gradall 534D6 that I bought new is still on the yard and I used it last week to unload a pallet. Handier than a shirt pocket.
They are super rare around here. Like 1 in 100 telehandlers will have them. See way more with the rotating carriage.
Another highly specialized european piece of equipment, that won't hold up under the abuse that most construction sites will put out.
So after thinking about it a while and talking to a few friends, I decided I will rent my neighbor's 8k telehandler off of him. He gets a little extra cash, as its not used frequently, and I can pretty much use it all I want. So the time crunch rental clock thing isn't an issue. As much as I love equipment I'd love to buy the crane and play operator but I will use my budgeted "crane money" to pay for my fire sprinkler system. That RT would be perfect for this project, however I would have a real hard time selling it once I am done with it. It would just sit in the yard for the most part once I was finished. I own a slab scissor lift, and I am considering buying an RT scissor to help with installation of my wall sheets. 2 of the sides of the building are 10' off of my fenced property line, so an RT scissor without outriggers would barely squeeze between the building and fence. That wouldn't leave much room for a man on the ground to work where the scissor was, so I am also considering a boom lift. This is my own project so I really don't have to worry about meeting a strict schedule. Thanks again for all the advice.
From what I can tell at the operating engineers training center, close to my property, the biggest test for a telehandler (ticket?) is stacking a bunch of concrete jersey barriers and putting a pallet on top of the pile.
I was unfamiliar with what it can do. DESCRIPTION In a category all its own and affectionately nicknamed Trackzilla, the XR50100-G smashes the limits of material handling capabilities. With a record-breaking 100-ft maximum lift height and forward reach of 75 ft, this telehandler is a game-changer in the world of heavy lifting. Xtreme’s first tracked machine tackles rough terrain with ease and can lift up to 50,000 lbs. Engineered for operator safety and comfort, the XR50100-G, is built with all the features that make our machines so popular with users. 360° operator visibility Suspension seat Easy service access Protected tilt & extend cylinders Steel hydraulic & fuel tanks Long-life Lexan labels Large-capacity fuel tank Trunnion-mounted sway cylinders Melonite pins Dual auxiliary hydraulic circuits Steel dash Triple batteries Hydraulic cab lift/lower & rotate Rear back-up camera Ductile steel manifold Easy cab-mounted grab handles Master disconnect switch Boom lift point Manual lowering valve (cylinders) Large cross-section boom Easy tiedowns Heavy-duty pre-cleaner Additional high-pressure hydraulic filter Multi-function display screen Long-life boom rollers Solid steel plate chassis Rear axle stabilization (RAS) Back-up alarm with light It weights 150,000 lbs. I was curious as to how easily it could be moved compared to a 300 ton crane. I was told it takes 18 truck loads to bring the 300 ton cranes in for these tilt wall buildings at a cost of 36k to move it in and out. I have had to clip a grade closer to level with my motor grader for the big 300s on a few jobs. Watching them try to track around unlevel areas and seeing the jib move about is a little unnerving. Definitely needs some space to move it around.
Reading all the features they list, most of it seems like fluff that has nothing to do with how usefull or maneuverable the machine is. I'm going to buy it because it has a steel dash and a heavy duty pre-cleaner. 360 degree operator visibility but the boom doesn't swivel. Obviously they can't mention how much real estate it takes or the turning radius.
That's gotta be a gov't spec'd and paid for machine. No sane business man would create that expecting to sell it on the open market. Reminds me of the movie Pentagon Wars.
A 150,000lbs machine is nothing like a 300 ton crane. 150,000lbs compares to more like a 100 ton crane. It only lifts 50k, which is right in line with a 100ton crane. Tilt up jobs are 200-300,000lbs plus panels. Which is 300 ton crane territory. Its a specialized machine for a special use. Its not going to revolutionize the construction industry.
I think you'll be much happier and more productive with that list. I hope the building goes well, and don't be afraid to ask advice, there's lots of guys who have done this before. The first one I built, I got handed a set of plans and just figured it out. I probably spent a lot more time squaring and measuring out the building and walls, than the guys that do it every day. Its not cabinet work. Good luck!
That's a great deal Keith. Just being able to drive it over when you need it is awesome.
Thanks. Perhaps I will create a thread on the build.
That'd be an interesting thread.
Owning both cranes and a just a 6000lb 34ft telehandler, if I were going to build a building this size and could only have one on-site it would definitely be the telehandler. They're just more versatile on a jobsite for material handling. After two weeks I wouldn't give the concrete a second thought but even after a week I wouldn't be too concerned driving a telehandler on it. Setting rafters you're probably not going to be doing it fast enough to really notice a difference with either machine.
Darn, I was hoping you were going to get a TrackZilla!