Carrydeck Cranes Excel in Projects With Space Constraints and Demanding Requirements

In Carry Deck Cranes: The Versatile Lifting Solution for Your Next Project, Maxim Crane, a coast-to-coast crane rental and lifting services provider with a fleet of carrydeck models, details how the cranes are an essential tool for a wide range of applications.

Carrydeck cranes offer a unique combination of attributes, Maxim noted. Including:

• Mobility: Carrydeck cranes are wheeled, allowing them to maneuver easily around jobsites. They do not require large clearances, and their compact size enhances their agility, especially in confined spaces.
• Rotating Boom: Equipped with a 360-degree rotating boom, carrydeck cranes can handle loads from various angles, offering flexibility and precision without needing to reposition the entire vehicle.
• Multi-functional: Carrydeck cranes can effectively replace multiple pieces of equipment on jobsites. 
• Single Operator: Most carrydeck cranes require only one operator, reducing labor costs.
• Space Optimization: Their compact design allows them to operate efficiently in tight and confined spaces.
• Self-loading Carrydecks: These cranes can load and unload materials onto their decks without requiring additional equipment or personnel.
• Fully Hydraulic Controls: With precise control over lifting and movement operations, these systems enable pinpoint accuracy in positioning loads and safely maneuvering materials.
• Outriggers: Ensuring stability during lifting operations, outriggers allow the machines to handle heavier loads safely.
• Integrated Counterweights: Unlike other types of cranes that require manual setup of counterweights, carry deck cranes have counterweights integrated into the design, simplifying setup.

Maxim also identified the types of projects where carrydeck cranes are best suited. On construction sites, for example, their compact design allows them to navigate tight areas, maneuver through narrow spaces and operate underneath overhead obstacles. This makes them ideal for urban use with limited space, residential buildings and interior construction tasks where larger cranes cannot fit.

Used in industrial maintenance operations, carrydeck cranes can easily access hard-to-reach areas within factories or plants. Their uses include relocation of machinery and equipment, routine maintenance tasks such as replacing parts or lifting materials and for emergency repairs that require quick and precise lifting solutions.

On utility and infrastructure projects in often complex and confined work environments, carrydeck cranes are suitable for power plant maintenance and upgrades, water treatment facility repairs and bridge and overpass construction where mobility and compactness are crucial.

For storage facilities and warehousing projects, carrydeck cranes offer a flexible solution for moving heavy items. They can efficiently perform tasks such as loading and unloading shipments, reorganizing heavy inventory within crowded warehouse spaces and transporting large, bulky items between different sections of a storage area.

In manufacturing plants that often require the precise positioning of materials and equipment, carry deck cranes can easily handle intra-plant material transport, equipment installation and removal and production line reconfiguration projects.

In shipyards and dockyards, carrydeck cranes are valuable for their ability to operate in tight spaces. They can be used for loading and unloading ship components, repairing sections of a vessel in restricted areas and transporting materials between different points within the yard.

New Technologies

A new offering on the market from Broderson Manufacturing Corp. is the ICe 80 electric industrial carrydeck crane. The battery-powered, zero-emissions model is rated at 9 tons and features a three-section, 30-foot continuous rotation main boom that can be used with an extension to reach a 46-foot, 8-inch maximum tip height. The ICe 80 has a 16,750-pound GVWR.

Powered by a 73kW permanent magnet synchronous motor that provides infinitely variable speed control up to 17 mph on a flat surface, the ICe 80 features four-wheel steering — where the front and rear wheels steer in opposite directions — to permit a very tight turning radius for quick positioning in constrained spaces. Operators can quickly switch between rear-wheel, four-wheel or crab steering. 

There are also four hydraulic independently controlled outriggers on the ICe 80 and a rated capacity limiter that warns the operator of impending overload with audible and visual signals and stopping boom functions.

For carrydeck cranes manufactured by Manitowoc, including Shuttlelift and Grove models, emissions and engines have been a key focus, noted Briette Baxter, product manager for carrydeck cranes. “We recently enhanced our 15-ton machine with a Tier 4 Final engine,” she said.

“Upgrades to the product line have also included expanded storage and a larger cab to boost operator efficiency and comfort,” Baxter continued. “Additionally, the rated capacity limiter system now features a full-color display, replacing the earlier grayscale format. We’ve also introduced extra work light options for improved visibility.”

Optimistic Outlook

Overall, according to Baxter, the current outlook for industrial cranes is very optimistic. “Our backlog remains strong, and both dealer and end-user demand are at high levels not seen in the past decade,” she related. “We anticipate that high demand will persist, particularly in plants and mills as many of those facilities are upgrading their infrastructure or conducting routine maintenance.

“We’re noticing a shift in field work requiring larger units, with tasks previously handled by a 9-ton machine now being performed with 15-ton and larger units,” Baxter added. “It appears that the scope of jobs for carrydeck cranes is expanding across the entire product line.”

Port Cranes

The Mi-Jack Travelift 900P rubber-tired gantry (RTG) crane is a purpose-built machine designed for the port industry. The 90,000-pound capacity crane, powered by a Cummins QSM11 diesel engine, has 90-degree transverse steering, automatic inching control, and anti-sway technology for front to back and side to side spreader stability.

Mi-Jack also offers the Translift MJ1200REH, an electric hybrid RTG crane developed to meet environmental demands of the North American intermodal transportation industry. The crane has a 100,000-pound capacity and is driven by a power unit consisting of an electric generator and diesel engine, which only runs while charging the batteries and to provide average power. Standard on the MJ1200REH is a 20- to 40-foot expandable spreader with top and bottom pick capabilities.

Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd. has delivered a third ship to shore (STS) container crane manufactured in Ireland to PSA Penn Terminals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With over 130 of the machines now in operation, Liebherr has been providing container cranes to U.S. ports for over four decades.

“This delivery highlights Liebherr Container Cranes as a trusted partner for U.S. container ports,” said Winston Ziegler, head of sales, Maritime Cranes, Liebherr USA, Co. “Supported by our U.S.-based team, at a time when performance pressure is constant, Liebherr STS cranes ensure smooth and efficient port operations during vessel operations.”

Expanding their fleet of Liebherr equipment, the third Liebherr STS crane at PSA Penn Terminals complements two models commissioned in 2018. The new STS crane features a 157-foot outreach, a 60-foot span, a 50-foot back reach and a lift height of 115-feet over rail.

The STS crane was added by PSA Penn Terminals to boost operational efficiency and capacity at the terminal. “This new Liebherr ship to shore crane demonstrates our commitment to being one of the best equipped, privately owned container terminals on the East Coast,” said John Brennan, president and CEO of PSA Penn Terminals. “These facilities, combined with our dedicated and experienced workforce, allow us to provide efficient and reliable services to our customers.”