Spotlight Cranes By Seth Skydel
New Heights
By Delivering for a Range of Industries, Boom Trucks Are in Greater Demand for a Variety of Applications
There are several reasons to like boom trucks featuring cranes on commercial chassis, noted Randy Robertson, director of sales at Manitex, Inc.“ They offer ease of service compared to other equipment,” he said.“ In addition, commercial chassis are highly maneuverable and provide operators with more space in the cab and creature comforts to reduce fatigue.”
Bob Ritter, product engineering manager for National Crane at Manitowoc, related why he thinks boom trucks have become increasingly popular among fleets doing taxi crane work.“ With their ability to travel at highway speeds, boom trucks make it possible to do even more jobs in a day,” he said.“ Furthermore, getting truck chassis service can be done at a greater number of locations compared to traditional truck cranes.”
Manufacturers also point to the value for operators of having boom trucks that are designed and specified by truck chassis and body, and crane manufacturers.
“ Having an excellent relationship with the chassis manufacturers means we get the latest information necessary to configure our equipment,” said John Lukow, senior vice president at Load King, part of the Custom Truck One Source family of brands.“ We also have direct lines of communication with engineering and service people at OEMs [ Original Equipment Manufacturers ] to help our customers.”
Customers utilizing boom trucks can benefit from relationships between equipment and chassis manufactures in multiple ways, noted Ryan McGiboney, cranes market manager at Altec.“ Working closely with chassis OEMs helps us
National Crane has focused on providing ergonomic features in boom trucks that improve the operator’ s experience and jobsite visibility.
20 CRANE HOT LINE ® December 2024 • www. cranehotline. com