The Low-Visibility Crane

Enlarge Image Broderson IC-200-F Industrial Crane

Subject: IC-200-F industrial crane, manufactured by Broderson Manufacturing Corp., Lenexa, Kan.

Serial Number: 576545

Date in Service: June 27, 2005

Hours in Service: 505.6

Equipment Owner: RSC Equipment Rentals, North Kansas City, Mo.

Service Area: Greater Kansas City

Date of Review: November 28, 2006

 

January 10, 2007 ­• Although not a typical machine found on construction jobs, self-propelled industrial cranes, or more widely known as carrydeck cranes, are becoming increasingly popular because of their maneuverability. The day we visited RSC Equipment Rental's North Kansas City branch, General Manager Jeff Reynolds said RSC had four or five industrial cranes on rent, including one that had been shipped to Wichita the day before, and they were expecting another Broderson IC-200-F to arrive later that day. “These machines don't sit very long,” he said, adding that within an hour of the Wichita machine's arrival, it already had two rental inquiries from potential customers.

 

Mark Lynn, district manager for Broderson Manufacturing Corp., which has been manufacturing industrial cranes for 34 years, said that rental is one of the main avenues for getting Broderson's cranes to market. “They can be used anywhere there are tight spaces,” he said. “But they aren't very visible machines on jobsites because they are often inside or behind a wall.” But rather than staged behind the scenes, this 15-ton IC-200-F industrial crane, on-rent by CDI Industrial and Mechanical Contractors, Kansas City, Mo., was parked in the street and used to set iron columns on the exterior wall of the U.S. Gypsum's paper manufacturing plant in North Kansas City, Mo. 

 

Appearance

According to Lynn, the IC-200 was first introduced in 1985 as an A model. The product has since evolved into today's F model, which Broderson launched in 2003. This particular rental unit was put into service in June 2005, and although the rental machine was nearly 1-1/2 years old and had logged 505.6 hours of use • which Lynn said was about average for its age • the IC-200-F was in excellent condition.

 

Enlarge Image The boom chains and slide pads were well greased and showed little wear.

Featuring a 50-foot main boom and a 16-foot self-storing jib, the IC-200-F's boom chains and slide pads were well greased and showed little visible wear. However, the grease zerks in other areas may have been over greased. Hydraulic hoses were routed to stay clear of boom movement and showed no apparent leaks.

 

Enlarge Image The IC-200-F's tailswing stays inside the outrigger stance.

For this job, the crane was positioned on a side street, which happened to be a well-traveled route for loaded tractor-trailers to reach the interstate. While we witnessed one accident on the narrow roadway during our visit to the construction site, the IC-200-F was not one of the vehicles involved. In fact, the crane's tailswing stays inside the outrigger stance, and Lynn said you never have to worry about the crane's tailswing going into oncoming traffic • a perfect addition for this particular application.

 

The exterior of the crane showed very little paint wear. Areas with wear were limited to the corners of the machine, which could be attributed to operators and other workers using those areas to climb on to the deck. Reaching the engine required you to climb onto the deck, which we found wasn't the easiest way to get to service points and would've liked an additional foothold in the back of the crane near the engine. The spacious 72-square-foot deck has a 17,000-pound load capacity when centered over or between the axles.

 

Enlarge Image Because the crane has minimal movement on construction sites, its tires were in great condition for its age.

Lynn said industrial cranes spend a lot of time sitting on the job, but are more active during prep time and while spotting other equipment. Because of its minimal movement, the crane's tires were in great condition, showing very little deterioration.

 

Enlarge Image Hydraulic oil is filled on the deck platform while the fuel fill is on the side of the crane, minimizing all chances of contamination.

The IC-200-F offered an impressive distance between the fuel and hydraulic oil tanks Fuel is filled on the side of the machine, while the hydraulic oil is re-upped on the deck platform. Unless the cans are labeled incorrectly, there should be little if any chance of contaminating either tank.

 

Enlarge Image Welded steel grills protect the headlight and taillights from damage.

Because of the crane's rectangular shape, the lights are often in a position where they could be knocked out easily with tools or other jobsite materials. Welded steel, protective grills are fitted to protect the headlights and taillights, which not only shows Broderson's keen attention to detail, but also its knowledge and experience with this product. “We try to keep everything out of the way,” Lynn said.

 

Enlarge Image The vinyl operator seat showed no apparent cracks.

In the operator's cab, the vinyl covering over the seat was fully intact with no apparent cracks, and all decals were legible and in good shape. We noted that the rubber pad around the door frame was not sticking properly, which made it difficult to close the door. The IC-200-F was fitted with a Greer MG586 rated capacity limiter, and Lynn noted that one built-in safety feature was that the RCL would not allow for lifting at full capacity unless all outriggers were fully extended. The cab also featured fully hydraulic controls and independent outrigger controls.

 

Service issues

A review of the IC-200-F's service records indicated that in June 2006, the transmission was not working. After consulting Broderson, RSC found that the torque converter was not engaging far enough into the pump, which was causing it to skip and damage the torque converter and pump. RSC corrected the transmission by replacing the pump, torque converter, and put spacers between the flywheel and converter. Repair costs totaled $1,385 but were made while the machine was under warranty. In February 2006, the outrigger light and alarm would not go off, which RSC determined was a bent outrigger mounting plate due to customer damage. The company spent $166.25 to remove and straighten the plate, which solved the light problem. The door seal that wasn't sticking properly during our review also was replaced, which cost $302.54 for a new window and molding. We found this to be a small price, considering the crane's high utilization.

 

Operator's impressions

At the U.S. Gypsum facility, Cliff Christopherson, a union ironworker for CDI, had been running the IC-200-F daily on the jobsite and said that the company rents Broderson's quite a bit, the IC-200-F in particular. RSC confirmed that CDI had rented industrial cranes from them a half dozen times. “It picks up what we need,” Christopherson said, adding it is the “handiest piece of equipment” for what they do. “Otherwise, we'd have a boom truck come in,” he said.

 

After running the IC-200-F for some time, Christopherson said he was pleased with how this crane operated. However, he had two design recommendations that would make running the crane easier: a tilt seat and a headrest in the cab, so your “neck doesn't get quite so stiff,” he said.