New Link-Belt RTC-8070 completes job,
saves client money

October 1999 — It’s a simple matter of economics. Today, customers want a crane that can move in, set up and go to work fast. They want their jobs done as quickly and safely as possible, and they then want you out of the way. No expensive move-in and move-out charges as would be with a conventional crane.

Connelly Crane Rental of Detroit, Michigan has been called upon for some very innovative solutions. To provide the solutions, Connelly turned to its newest member of their fleet, an RTC-8070 hydraulic, telescopic boom, rough terrain crane. "We just took delivery on this machine and have been on only a few previous jobs with it, none of which were like this one. We are working in the heart of downtown Detroit, Michigan, replacing the roof of a high rise INN hotel while sitting "shoehorned" into a 2 by 4 parking lot," said crane operator Art Cole.

It’s a two-fold operation. The old roof is coming down in containers that we are lifting off the 163-ft. high roof. Then we are lifting new roofing materials back up to the carpenters on the roof. In order to do these tasks safely we have our new RTC-8070 Link-Belt crane rigged with its main four-section, full power boom out to the maximum 127-ft. reach, plus a 67-ft., two-stage, swingaway jib. That’s a total reach of more than 200 feet.

The crane is rigged with a single part line and the mandatory anti-two block safety device. The load radius is approximately 50 ft. and the boom angle is between 75 to 77 degrees. The uploads weigh about 2,500 pounds and downloads are a maximum of 4,800 pounds. "That doesn’t give us a whole lot of room to maneuver. But the machine’s controls are real sensitive and they are very smooth, " said Cole.

"Initially we had planned to use a 20-degree offset on the jib to give the guys on the roof a better materials placement. But we had to reconsider that idea and use the jib with no offset angle just to get the material up on the roof. Every pick we make has to be well thought out and planned in advance in order to maximize the safety factor. There have been no problems with staying within the machine’s chart and computer limits. Even this high in the air we have been able to boom out and put the new materials where the men want it. It’s a very stable and comfortable crane. I have excellent overhead visibility when lifting and lowering loads. And that’s critical in such a confined working area as we have here," continued Cole.

"Crane safety and operator comfort are directly proportional in this business," says Mike Connelly, president of Connelly Crane Rental Corporation. "With the tremendous cost of liability insurance in our industry today safety is our most important factor." Without it we would be out business tomorrow." Connelly’s experience in crane safety is expanse. They have more than 60 different cranes now in their rental fleet ranging from an eight-ton capacity machine all the way up to 250 tons.

The crane’s outrigger pontoons were each set on cribbing made of four 8" X 8" hardwood timbers. That added stability and protected the concrete pavement from damage. Then the working area was cordoned off with warning tape to prevent onlookers from coming too close.

"One of the interesting aspects of this job was in the erection of the boom and jib. There was a narrow alley on the east-side of the job, and that was the only way to go. I was just able to make the swing around and boom up in that position. Once we were in the air I swung back in the erected position and have stayed there," Cole said.

"About the only other way to do this job would have been to go through the process of getting a city permit to block a lane of traffic and bring in a conventional crane.

That would have been very time consuming, costly and created a traffic gridlock twice a day during morning and evening rush hours. That was really unacceptable all the way around. Everyone would have been inconvenienced, most of the motoring public. By using our new Link-Belt RTC-8070 we were able to avoid all those problems and save our customer some money in the process," concluded Mike Connelly.