How to Choose the Right Truck Mounted Crane for Your Company

There are many sizes, and types of truck cranes working in Canadian market. Having a lot of variety and choice is, of course, a good thing but it is important to know what to look for when taking on such a huge (no pun intended) investment for your company.

If you ask me, the most important consideration when choosing a crane for your company is the intended use of the crane. Ask yourself what load types are being delivered (load size, weight, type, variety, etc.) as well as the typical location and requirements of the jobsites that you will visit. Here is a breakdown of your options.

Rear-mounted large dedicated wallboard cranes are most-often used to deliver large quantities of roofing materials and wallboard to construction sites across the country. These cranes are typically designed to easily manoeuvre large bundles of wallboard up to the 7th floor of a commercial or multi-family residential building. Or, on construction sites for single family dwellings, a large wallboard crane can deliver roofing materials to the top of a detached home from a distance of 50 feet away – a clear advantage on a busy construction site where mobility is restricted.

Medium-sized articulated cranes are typically used to deliver mixed loads. Medium sized articulated boom cranes are mounted behind the cab as opposed to rear mounted – meaning that there is considerable room for overhang of materials on the truck chassis, and the truck may be loaded from a standard loading dock.

Small Mixed Use Cranes are used for smaller loads that are normally delivered from the truck bed to the ground. The smaller, versatile articulated cranes are generally mounted on single axle trucks used by landscapers and small builders etc.

Depending on what your company will typically deliver, you may wish to go for a large dedicated wall board crane for lumber, trussing and wallboard deliveries, or you may wish to go with a medium “knuckleboom” or smaller crane for smaller-sized mixed use deliveries.

For more info on choosing the right Truck Mounted Crane, click on this link for the PDF “How to Choose the Right Truck Mounted Crane“. It is, in my opinion, a very informative read.