Hitrack D7 Hanging From the Hitch

There is absolutely no reason to take this chance. I've got more than enough time in the seat of big cranes to tell you that the risk is far greater than the reward. Some moves in a rig are being a cowboy, this is plain stupid. You couldn't swing at all hooked up like that either.

I agree with JoeG. I have over 25 yrs. in the seat and any operator that attempts this should lose their license. The business is all about safety.

That crane had to have all kinds of bells and whistles going off long before she tipped over. Someone had some splaining to do!

The more I think about it, how could you even get to the tipping point with all the load sensing and safety lock outs on the newer cranes.

The more I think about it, how could you even get to the tipping point with all the load sensing and safety lock outs on the newer cranes.

On one of my jobs on the Shinnecock Canal the contractor was pulling old zp27 sheet piling out with a LB 78 crane,--hard pulling and chained a payloader to the counterweight to keep it from flipping into the canal. The crane eventually did end up in the canal later on when they were loading old timber bulkheading into a truck, the operator was making 180 degree swings over the canal without his outriggers out. This happened after they dropped a 1200gpm pump when unloading, and knocked out all the power to the Eat End of Long Island when they swung the boom into a 17000 volt transmission line . I won't mention how they lost a double zp27 out of the jaws of the vibro hammer and it clipped my leg as i was on the run!
Was I ever glad when that job was over!!!!

On one of my jobs on the Shinnecock Canal the contractor was pulling old zp27 sheet piling out with a LB 78 crane,--hard pulling and chained a payloader to the counterweight to keep it from flipping into the canal. The crane eventually did end up in the canal later on when they were loading old timber bulkheading into a truck, the operator was making 180 degree swings over the canal without his outriggers out. This happened after they dropped a 1200gpm pump when unloading, and knocked out all the power to the Eat End of Long Island when they swung the boom into a 17000 volt transmission line . I won't mention how they lost a double zp27 out of the jaws of the vibro hammer and it clipped my leg as i was on the run!
Was I ever glad when that job was over!!!!

Hi, Folks.
I too have gotta wunda just how they even got to that point without disconnecting or by-passing a whole heap of alarms and limiters. There are some pretty good reasons why those alarms and limiters are there and disconnecting or by-passsing them is just plain STYOOOPIDDD. I think it qualifies as an 'I.D.10.T' mistake

I have seen that photo a good few times now and I also hafta wunda what kind of supervision they had on the job, never mind about the INSANITY of both the crane and dozer operators in allowing themselves and their machines to be involved in such idiocy. Work being scarce or not, safety considerations should ALWAYS be paramount. The paperwork is a bitch.

Hi, Dependzic.
I once operated a Link Belt LS78 track mounted crane on a bridge building site where the foreman wanted to hang a heap of sideboom counterweights on the back of the crane to compensate for lifting weights beyond the rated capacity of the crane just 'cos he didn't want to shorten the jib by 5 feet. I hit that idea on the head right away by going over his head to the project manager and the jib got shortened to where it would work with the required loads at the required radii.

I have seen many photos and videos of sidebooms, singly and in multiples, coming to grief because their operators were attempting lifts beyond their capacity and/or in unsafe/unstable situations. Apparently, a LOTTTA pipeliners seem to have a death wish.

Have you got your flights booked for Santa Margarita, CA., yet? It starts in just over 1 1/2 weeks.

Just my 0.02.

Got my room booked for San Antonio but won't make Santa Margarita as I have surgery scheduled for next week.