Hydraulic loader crane manufacturer Palfinger has launched its first cranes mounted on a crawler chassis.

The Palfinger Crawler Crane PCC will make its debut at the IAA Commercial Vehicles exhibition in September in Hannover, Germany. Three models, between 50 and 150 tonne-metres, will be available initially. The idea is for the crane to be able to work on sites with difficult terrain without the truck having to struggle or reach its limitations.

It is a modular “system” type concept where the three modules; crawler, crane and counterweight, can be individually combined and operated. Commenting on the idea, Michael Hagenauer, head of the crawler crane product division at Palfinger, said, “On difficult terrain, for example, when constructing power lines or cable lifts, helicopter transport is normally the only alternative to a truck-mounted crane. With the PCC, such jobs can be completed safely, efficiently and inexpensively.”

PCC is 400 mm narrower than a standard truck and it can handle gradients up to 60 per cent, Palfinger said. The crane is an articulating or knuckle boom folding type, like the cranes the Austrian manufacturer is well known for. Confined spaces in urban areas and indoors in factories are other areas of potential application for this new crane series. A strong feature of the type is that it can easily and quickly be repositioned on site.

The manufacturer said the crawler and crane can be controlled, transported and operated separately, the benefits of which are useful where there are weight restrictions. The crane module can also use its stabilisers for propulsion without the crawler undercarriage in a process Hagenauer calls “shifting”. Mounting is also possible on the transport truck.

PCC needs a minimum clearance width of 2 metres and, minus the crawler undercarriage, a travel height of 2.2 m. In addition to moving in confined areas on job sites, the process of shifting (moving the crane using just the outriggers) allows it to load into a container. On uneven ground the stabiliser travel allows slope gradients of up to 20° to be levelled out.

The three versions available are as follows: PCC 57.002 with a maximum reach of 29.5 m, maximum lifting height of 32 m, and a capacity of 17.9 tonnes. Next up, the PCC 71.002, has a reach of 31.6 m, to a height of 34 m and lifts 19.1 tonnes. Largest of the three is the PCC 115.002, which reaches 33.3 m, lifts to a height of 35.8 m and a lifts 30 tonnes.

Additional equipment available includes personnel baskets, vacuum lifters and pipe manipulators. The two larger models are available now and the PCC 57.002 will be available in the second quarter of 2019.