Grove Cranes Handle Windy Project with Ease
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July 23, 2014 - When Howell Crane and Rigging was scheduled to complete a project at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, strong winds could have made the job a challenge.
Tasked with lifting several HVAC units, as well as strucutral steel, atop the hospital's roof, the company employed a Grove GMK6400 all-terrain crane and a Grove TMS800E truck-mounted crane to make the lifts. The GMK6400 handled the heavy loads, moving 8-ton HVAC units to heights of up to 200 ft.
Audie John Howell Sr., president of the company, said he chose the GMK6400 for its reach and capacity, and that it was a great tool on the job site. “The Grove crane did just fine in the strong winds,” he said. “The GMK6400 is my largest crane, and we paired it with the Mega Wing Lift and a luffing jib for even more reach and capacity.”
The GMK6400 features a 197-ft. boom. When rigged with the luffing jib that extends from 82 to 259 ft., the maximum tip height reaches 438 ft. The self-rigging Mega Wing Lift attachment used by Howell can boost the cranes’ capacity by 70%.
A single-engine drive system on the GMK6400 drives both the carrier and superstructure. This reduces its overall weight and improves fuel economy. The MegaDrive system gives the crane both conventional and hydrostatic drive capabilities.
The TMS800E truck crane installed the luffing jib on the GMK6400, as well as lifted structural steel pieces that each weighed approximately 1 ton onto the hospital’s roof. The compact footprint of the TMS800E enabled it to move easily through the hospital’s parking lot.
The Grove TMS800E has an 80-ton capacity and a 128-ft. four-section, full power Megaform boom. A bi-fold lattice swingaway extension is also available for the truck-mounted crane that manually offsets at 0°, 20°, and 40° that reaches from 33 to 56 ft.
“The GMK6400 and the TMS800E are two of nearly 25 Grove cranes in our fleet,” Howell said. “They did great on this project, despite the windy conditions.”
Howell purchased the two cranes from Anderson Machinery.
