How to squeeze in a 70ton crane

[No_Bivy]

Had a tight access job this week. Always stressful wondering if the setup will work. Tree was 94' from the crane set up....I feared having to swing the jib(would have really sucked) Anyway, at the furthest pic, ball was about 6 inches from the end of the boom....close!

Homeowners just bought the place and discovered a large White Oak uphill from the house leaning hard. After a closer inspection it was totaly hollow at the base. Bumped this removal to the head of the list.

With just inches to spare we managed to get the crane up the drive. Also we were able to leave the rigging/couterweight truck right beside the set up. No one wanted to go up and down the drive again.

sorry no pics of the removal in progress.....

 

[No_Bivy]

backing out of the drive.....we all held our breath!!!!!!!

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e8_6JkwNjEw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e8_6JkwNjEw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>




<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SHy3Ou3i5ps?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SHy3Ou3i5ps?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

 

[No_Bivy]

all wheel steering RULES!

 

[MasterBlaster]

Plenty of room!

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Excellent work John. You've got organizational skillz bro

 

[No_Bivy]

heating up lunch at the same time!!

 

[PCTREE]

John, Im geussing you had the crane co. look at the job prior right? If they couldnt get set up they wouldnt have charged you right??

 

[SkwerI]

TCOB John!

 

[No_Bivy]

yeah....I wasnt sure. The big if was actually the counterweight truck....long wheel base backing up. We were gonna use a different 70 ton which has a sectioned counterweight. We could have left it parked where my one ton was...then set up. BUT, the day before it blew out the rear end driving, so we went for it with this rig. Counterweight truck has to be close to crane. Counterweight is 27000lbs

I was really surprised we did not crack any of the pavers at the top of the drive....lucky me!

 

[SkwerI]

Pavers are almost impossible to crack with a truck. Typically they are rated for 8000 psi or better, whereas our crappy concrete is lucky to be good for 2000 psi.

 

[winch]

Nice work, John. I just heard about that rear-end blowout yesterday - it's making their schedule really full without two 70-tons. What was in the foil, egg sandwich?

 

[No_Bivy]

only bad part though is when the crane is stopped and the wheels turn, you could see them move. I was afraid it would pull them up....should brought a bag of sand to spread over them for a little more slippage.

forgot to mention the water meter was in the drive....rolled the dice and drove over it

 

[No_Bivy]

Hambones' rack of ribs

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Damn that was tight.. Nice work John ! Good on the crane guys for the gentle maneuvering too. That was an ugly stick looking for a place to fall for sure. Are you doing more there?

 

[wiley_p]

Nail biter set up for sure. Glad you got the machine in and out.
By the by, I have not located another fid for you yet.

 

[No_Bivy]

no worries

 

[brendonv]

Always enjoyed your pics, nice going.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Experienced crane operators can make a very good assessment of where and where not they can get in to. Sometimes, it still comes down to trying, though. I see where they can often get into a location, but maneuvering from there set-up point is problematical. I often hear our guy mumbling to himself about disconnecting the computer when assessing a location. He talks to himself aloud a lot when doing that. I like to stand apart and listen. The whole job can get condensed into a few minutes of self conversation, or sometimes it drags on.

Nice work going on there, John.

 

[Bodean]

Nice, John.

 

[inztrees]

Nice work