City Cranes
The term "City Crane" means a small 2-axle mobile crane that is designed to be utilized specifically in tight areas where standard cranes are unable to venture. These city cranes are great alternatives to be utilized within buildings or through gated areas.
In the 1990s, city cranes were originally developed in response to the growing urban density in Japan. There are continually new construction projects cramming their ways into Japanese cities, making it vital for a crane to have the ability to navigate the nooks and crannies of Japanese roads.
Basically, city cranes are small rough terrain cranes that are built to be road legal. These cranes are characterized by having a 2-axle design with independent steering on each axle, a slanted retractable boom, a single cab and a short chassis. The slanted retractable boom design takes up less space than a comparable horizontal boom would. Combined with the independent steering and the short chassis, the city crane can turn in compact spots that will be otherwise unobtainable by other crane designs.
Conventional Truck Crane
Traditional truck cranes are mobile cranes with lattice booms. This boom is a lot lighter boom than is found with a hydraulic truck crane boom. The many sections on a lattice boom could be added so that the crane can reach over and up an obstacle. Conventional truck cranes do not raise and lower their loads utilizing any hydraulic power and need separate power to be able to move up and down.
Manitowoc built the first ever Speedcrane. It proved to be a successful machine though many adjustments needed to be added later on. Manitowoc hired Roy Moore as a crane designer to help streamline the design. He understood the industry was moving towards internal combustion engines from original steam powered means and designed his crane to change with the times. The Speedcrane was redesigned for a gasoline engine.