# Crane size for tree work



## Natewood (Mar 13, 2011)

Well,as I get older I start to wonder what can make my life easier! Just wondering what size crane would be adequate for tree work in a residential/suburban enviroment. Looking for tonnage and height.i can't believe I don't know the answer to what seems a fairly simple question but we hired out our cranes and the operator/estimator would never tell us the rigs capabilities or specs.Thanks in advance1


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## A&Atree (Mar 13, 2011)

*crane size*

hey buddy i have used a few diff size cranes regulaury and i am most happy with the 23 1/2 ton with 100ft live boom and 45 jib which we never use. the only problem with that truck is the weight. the truck weighs 55000 lbs empty and legaly can haul up to62500. But as far as the boom i love it good capacity at 30-50 ft. i have also used a 17ton with 75ft live, the problem with that crane is that you are always putting on the jib and there goes your capacity. a 14ton with 63ft boom i used but its a tiny boom it still can get the job done but would not suggest that size at all its way to small.


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## teamtree (Mar 13, 2011)

We rent our cranes right now and I would say go with a smaller boom truck (23 1/2 ton) that you can manauver easily and is not going to cost you a ton in DOT and License fees. You can always rent bigger and not have the overhead of maintaining it. If we buy something, I would buy something in the 17-25 range with at least a 90' stick....but I am learning the crane game and we have the luxury of having big yards and big drop zones in this area.

But it really comes down to how you are going to use it. We may do removals one day and then go trim for a few days. There is very little need for a crane in trimming.


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## mpatch (Mar 13, 2011)

normally we contract out a 40 ton but have gone as large as 180 ton for really long reaches. The 180 ton we used last time we were picking around 175 feet from the crane to the stump, slow and set up and take down time is forever on the larger cranes. When we use a crane there is no way we could get away with only having a 100 foot stick, trees are too tall.


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## mikewhite85 (Mar 15, 2011)

mpatch said:


> normally we contract out a 40 ton but have gone as large as 180 ton for really long reaches. The 180 ton we used last time we were picking around 175 feet from the crane to the stump, slow and set up and take down time is forever on the larger cranes. When we use a crane there is no way we could get away with only having a 100 foot stick, trees are too tall.


 
wow. How much is the date rate for a 180 ton?? a 40 ton is around 1500 around here.


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## mpatch (Mar 15, 2011)

180 runs $375 an hour if I remember right and you get charged an hour of travel time at least. Most of the crane jobs we do are done in 3-6 hours of crane time actually making picks. When we used the 180 it took 1.5-2 hours to set up and a bit less than an hour to take down. Not to mention you have to shut the street down because of the outrigger spread.


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## Natewood (Mar 15, 2011)

I'm starting to get the idea crane ownership is not a good idea....


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## mpatch (Mar 15, 2011)

here are some pics of the big crane, could have rigged the tree down but the backyard had beautiful landscaping and the homeowner wanted minimum impact. first pick around 9am last pick around 1pm ish


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## mikewhite85 (Mar 15, 2011)

mpatch said:


> here are some pics of the big crane, could have rigged the tree down but the backyard had beautiful landscaping and the homeowner wanted minimum impact. first pick around 9am last pick around 1pm ish


 
Expensive tree removal! That's a huge machine. Hope you were able to make some money for yourself as well.


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## tomtrees58 (Mar 15, 2011)

we run a 100 foot 18 ton and rent a 50ton some times


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## mpatch (Mar 15, 2011)

pics of the 40 ton we normally use. tree had a drainage ditch on both sides of it. biggest pick was 7100 lbs.


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## sgreanbeans (Mar 16, 2011)

A few years ago, we went to a seminar/workshop that Vermeer was puttin on. They were telling horror storys. One of them was about this guy who had a monster crane come in for a 25' tall maple, way out in a back yard, something went wrong and the crane came over, they were picking over the house, crane went down thru it, basically cutting the house in half! They put pics up, WOW! Thing was, the tree could have been felled in any direction with out hitting anything, but Tree dude wanted to make it quick as it would have been a long drag! I think I would jumped into the chipper if that happened to me!
Ya need to get TV on this, he is like the crane guru, he will be able to tell you what ya need


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## pdqdl (Mar 16, 2011)

mpatch said:


>


 
Why would you bother with a bucket truck on that job? It looks like there is lots of room to drop the tree with.


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## mpatch (Mar 16, 2011)

pdqdl said:


> Why would you bother with a bucket truck on that job? It looks like there is lots of room to drop the tree with.


 
Between the truck and the tree there is some kind of concrete dam/irrigation system with a ditch about 6 feet deep with locks and other smaller ditches. The ditch in the right side of the is over 10 feet deep.


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## Rickytree (Mar 16, 2011)

Mpatch, what is behind the pickup? Can't tell. How do you load the wood? and is that a willow?


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## mpatch (Mar 16, 2011)

Rickytree said:


> Mpatch, what is behind the pickup? Can't tell. How do you load the wood? and is that a willow?



grapple truck, cottonwood


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## Rickytree (Mar 16, 2011)

Ah....NICE! I'm talking about the grapple truck... not the cottonwood.


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## epicklein22 (Mar 18, 2011)

I see a lot of smaller cranes buzzing around here. It really depends on how big you make your picks and how is operating. Some companies make a bunch of smaller picks and others take as big as possible. 

The company I work for has a 17 ton and a 23 1/2 ton. The 23 gets the job done well and you really don't need much more capacity since the pick is either really big for the chipper or there isn't enough room for the brush/top to lay down when feeding it into the chipper. We do go as big as possible though.

A 17 ton is no slouch either. Most people over look them but they are a great asset to build your company up with.


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