I'll take a lattice boom over hydraulic any day for rough terrain jobs

Been running both types for about 15 years now. Last month I had a job up in the hills outside Boulder where the ground was just soft and uneven. The Grove hydraulic I was on kept sinking and needed mats every 50 feet. Buddy of mine showed up with a old Manitowoc lattice boom and walked right through the same spot. Less counterweight too. I get that hydraulics are faster to set up but for real nasty ground conditions give me the lattice boom every time. Has anyone else found one type way more forgiving on soft soil?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren97623d ago

Used to be a hydraulic guy all the way until I ran a Link-Belt lattice on a muddy pipeline job. Night and day difference. Never looked at soft ground the same way after that.

nina18023d ago

Buddy of mine had a similar experience on a job down in Louisiana. He was running a Manitowoc 4100 on some swampy ground that was just pure gumbo mud after a rain. Said the hydraulic crane next to him was sinking like a rock, tracks half buried by lunchtime. His lattice crane just sat there on mats, no issue at all. He told me he didn't even have to chain down the outriggers because the ground was so soft the crane just settled in nice and even. That story made me rethink everything I thought I knew about crane types.