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HEMTT Material Handling Crane Curiosity

papercu

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crane

as much sense as owning one tractor and having several different trailers you could tow with it
Great idea in civilian life but if you have to bug out, something going to be left behind. Wayne
 

cranetruck

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Re: RE: Crane

Jones said:
.....
MV frames are designed for a certain amount of flex over rough terrain but that's using the axles as fulcrum points and allowing it to 'wind-up' one direction or the other. A crane behind the cab shortens the twist area by about half and the wind-up is in two reverse directions at once.
Granted, two tons isn't much compared to some of the loads I've seen deuces and 5 tons carrying; but those load's were distributed correctly, mostly over the rear axles, not piled tight against the headboard.
.....
You will have a certain amount of frame twist no matter where the crane is mounted but it doesn't cause any permanent damage. Driving off road on "frame twister " terrain also doesn't cause permanent damage, like you said, it's designed to move a little.

A 2-ton load carried almost 3 ft behind the rear axle is also not a correct way to load cargo. The weight of the crane must be used 100% when considering the load on the rear axle(s), while only a portion of the midvehicle mounted crane need to be considered.

My K-boom is mounted exactly midway between the front axle and the forward rear axle. In the figure 4 config it can serve as a headboard and ROP even, but mostly the boom is carried over the bed for good load distribution.

Many commercial K-booms are installed at the end of the bed, so it's not only the HEMTT or FMTVs, it does limit the use of the bed though and a dumper version is not possible.
IMHO a Grove crane from a HEMTT is not very practical on a deuce and certainly not on a bobbed one. The K-booms come in many sizes, some very suitiable for smaller vehicles like the Unimogs, however, they are more expensive, for sure, so that may also be a consideration.
 

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Jones

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RE: Re: RE: Crane

Well Bjorn, I guess it's like comparing apples and oranges.
The original poster asked about cranes and if I can give him some additional points to consider then I figure he's not locked into only one way of thinking; and his options are increased. He might even get to avoid some pitfalls if he's more informed before just diving head-first into something.
For MY project the Grove/HEMTT crane is MY choice and will do everything I want it to. For someone else's needs; well that's a choice they're best equipped to make themselves... anything from a rope with block and tackle to the latest hydraulics is out there to choose from.
I think giving people additional information isn't a bad thing even if it means they end up NOT taking the course I did. My way of doing things is not the only way, it's just one way. You'll have to agree that opinions are like noses-- everybody has one. IMHO
Laying out the points I took into consideration is to explain, not justify, how I reached MY conclusions.

Sure, my crane choice won't do it all-- but it will handle everything within my capabilities criteria.
This is the same reason I don't lay awake nights worrying that I don't have the new Whiz-Bang 8000 computer when my Whiz-Bang 2500 does all I require of it. If it reliably runs my CAD program, handles the internet and stores my files and project folders, who cares what it won't do?
Lots of bells and whistles on anything are just that many more components and systems to troubleshoot, struggle to work around, or worry about failing when you can least afford the down-time. There's a lot to be said for simplicity. IMHO
Up deep in the woods; or far, far from home isn't when I want to be trying to figure out why I'm not making any forward progress and how in the world do I fix the problem.
IMHO
 
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