I need a crane about as much as most of the Range Rovers I see need 4WD. I'm going to get one anyway. I had a decent old Grove RT 515 and it was a huge help with a gabion wall project. I had scheduled a month with an excavator and with the crane we finished it in 7 working days. I sold it for a profit when we finished the job and circumstances have changed to where I may have a use for one again. With the idea that a recession is looming large, what would a realistic budget be? The crane weighed right at 50,000# and we move it on a 35 ton lowboy being pulled by a BCIV 350 with a 9 speed. If there are any hills around, it's more than the old KW wants. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with the AT400-422's or the Link Belt smaller ATC's. I could road them locally and they would scale less on the lowboy than the 515 did for longer moves? Any thoughts/experiences/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
The AT would get you a better roadability than a RT. Its pretty hard to see to the right when roading a RT, the lower cab in a AT helps out with that. They aren't real fast up and down the road, and they don't have a lot of boom, but if you were fine with a 515 then a 400 is right up your alley for size. Most of the AT in that size don't sell for a lot of money- they are a little small for the rental guys, and the jobsite guys want a RT. If the smaller crane still has enough chart for you, I don't think you'll be unhappy. The at 400 would be new enough that I'd look the LMI system to make sure its functional before purchasing, that can be a big expense if its not working and you want it working.
Crane operator thanks for your good advice. Sorry I'm so late getting back. A local quarry is selling a couple of late 90's model 528C's I am going to look at next week. They need work. One needs a head gasket, 6BT Cummins, I believe, and the other has brake issues. I see RT 500 series cranes selling at auction from less than 5K to around 20. Head gasket doesn't bother me but I remember the brakes on the old 518 being a PITA. I expect the maintenance has been good, should be in or recently out of cert. What would something like this be worth. Most everything we have is older, we have a pretty well set up shop. What do you think a fair price for the pair might be?