which outrigger pad for concrete driveways?

[mckeetree]

I agree with ropensaddle and menchhofer. When you clear the ground with the tires you have too much weight on the outriggers plus you don't want to raise your center of gravity any more than you have to on a bucket truck.

 

[oldirty]

all good points but i think he was asking about pads.

whenever we come across a situation where the outrigger pressure is going to potentially cause a problem we use a couple different options.

plywood on the occasion, most of the time an alturnamat, (which are worth every penny if you dont mind humping them around), or we'll grab one of the cranes wooden outrigger pads because they are much bigger than the pads for the bucket riggers.

after that it might have to be a climb if we cant remedy the situation.

i definitily do not like to "crib" to high if the ground isnt flat. i have seen a crane slip its cribbing and that was hairy. i was very glad that it happened as the pick was moving away and not right after the pick was made.

anyway, it seems the alturnamat is the way to go and i only speak from past experience. but, if you are on a driveway and worried about the imprint of the mat then you will need a piece of plywood under the alturnamat to stop the indents.



oldirty

 

[diltree]

The more area your blocking covers the greater the in weight distribution. When we set up the crane we first lay down a large sheet of plywood then we go to the blocking and pads. I apply the same concept when setting up a bucket truck, if there is any question about the driveway, we lay down a sheet of 3/4" plywood and then the outrigger pads.

 

[John464]

wow. so many differing views on what is proper and what is not. I wish there was some kind of standard to first keep us safe and two protect fragile surfaces when operating a bucket truck.

This would be a good topic for the ISA mag to do an article on.