c/crane-operators

Trusted a 20 year vet about the two-block rule, glad I did

Been running a Liebherr LTM 1090 for about 4 years now and always thought I had the two-block figured out. Old timer from the job site in Tulsa, guy named Ray, told me to listen for the cable tone change before the warning light even flickers. First time I tried it on a real pick last Tuesday, that sound hit and I stopped the load just before the block kissed the boom tip. Saved me from a nasty rework and probably a load chart violation. Anyone else rely on sound over the sensors or am I just paranoid?

Snapped a main hoist cable in Pittsburgh, check your drum wraps

Had a 40-ton liebherr drop its load last Tuesday when the cable snapped at layer 3, no warning signs on inspection the day before. Check for any crossed wraps on the drum before your next lift, has anyone else seen this happen without a wear indicator going off first?

Hit 10,000 hours on my boom truck last Tuesday and it caught me off guard

I was just checking the hour meter after a heavy lift near the Port of Savannah and realized I've spent 10k hours in that cab, which is more time than I've spent with my wife in the last 5 years. Anyone else ever look at their hour meter and have a weird moment like that, or am I just getting old?

Crane pads on this site are way worse than 5 years ago

I been running tower cranes on the same downtown job for the last 8 years. Back in 2018 the pads were solid, flat, and held steady even through a 40 mph wind gust. Now they put down these cheap composite pads that crack after two heavy picks and shift under load. Saw a helper almost lose his footing last Tuesday because the pad split mid-lift. Anyone else notice the quality of site prep going downhill like this?

Saw a guy try to swing a load without tag lines yesterday

I was on a job site in Newark last week and watched a newer operator try to land a steel beam near a crew without any tag lines. The beam was spinning like crazy and almost clipped a guy on the scaffold. We had to stop everything and have a talk about keeping control of the load. Has anyone else seen rookies skip tag lines because they think it slows them down?

Chat with an old iron operator changed my mind about those anti-two block systems

I used to think those anti-two block sensors were just extra crap to break down. Then last week at the yard, a guy who's been running lattice boom since the 80s told me he watched a rookie drop a load because he didn't feel the two block warning on an older rig. Said it cost the company 12 grand in repairs and a month of downtime. Now I'm thinking maybe the electronics ain't so bad if they keep my boom from folding up. Anyone else ever had a close call that made you switch sides on safety gear?

Almost dropped a load last week - check your wedge sockets

I was picking a 12 ton beam at a site in Newark last Tuesday and noticed the wedge socket looked a little off. Turns out the previous operator had the cable looped wrong, only three strands were actually biting. If I had pulled up on that load another foot it could have slipped right out. Anyone else double checking wedge sockets before every pick or am I being paranoid?

Rant: Rigging courses are mostly a waste of money for experienced guys

I sat through a 2 day rigging course last month that cost my company $800. The instructor spent half the time showing us basic knots I learned as a green hand 12 years ago. I get that new operators need the classroom stuff, but for guys who've been running cranes for a decade, it felt like a total cash grab. Anyone else feel like these cert courses are designed for beginners and just punish the rest of us?

Swinging a 40-ton beam and the brake pedal went to the floor

I was lifting a steel beam for a new parking garage downtown last Tuesday, had it about 30 feet up, and suddenly the boom brake just gave out with no warning. The load started drifting sideways toward a row of parked pickups, so I had to drop the whole thing in the gravel lot next door - cost the company $2,000 in damage to the beam but nobody got hurt. Has anyone else had a brake line blow mid-lift like that, or was I just unlucky with this old American crane?

That time I skipped a site visit because I thought the blueprint was solid. Big mistake.

Had a job near Atlanta 2 months ago. Looked at the drawings, thought I had it all figured out. Showed up on setup day and the ground was totally different than what was marked. Had to call in a buddy with a smaller crawler to help out. Cost me an extra 4 hours and a favor I owe now. Anyone else ever trust a print too much and regret it?

Watched a guy level a 40 ton crawler crane on a slope with just a 6 foot water level and a hand pump last month

I always thought the digital sensors were the only way to get it precise enough for big lifts, but he had it within a quarter inch at all four corners in under 20 minutes and the load felt smoother than any computer setup I've run before, has anyone else gone back to the old school tools and seen better results?

Lifted a load with a slightly off level outrigger and the swing was awful

I figured close enough was fine but the way the boom twisted taught me why the manual says to take the extra 5 minutes to get every jack perfectly level.

Hit my 500th lift yesterday without even noticing till I looked back at my logbook

Everyone talks about hitting 1,000 lifts on a bigger crane, but at my site in Houston I just passed 500 on a smaller Grove and it caught me off guard. It mattered because that's 500 times I trusted my rigging and ground crew without a single close call. Anyone else track smaller milestones like this?

Vent: That one blind spot behind the hospital wing took me 3 hours to figure out

Everyone says to just trust your spotter, but when they can't see you either because of the building overhang, you're on your own. I sat there for 45 minutes trying to swing the load around a corner at St. Mary's before I gave up and called the foreman. Has anyone else run into spots where your radio guy is basically useless?

Came around on using a tag line after a close call in Jersey City

I always thought tag lines were for rookies who couldn't handle a load solo. Then last month on a job near the Holland Tunnel, a steel beam started spinning on me in a gust and nearly clipped a foreman. That guy with the rope saved my butt and probably kept us from a fines from OSHA. Anyone else eat crow about a tool they swore they'd never use?

5 years on the same crane seat - do you swap cranes or stick with one?

Boom truck vs crawler on a mud site - picked wrong

Last week I had to choose between my 50 ton boom truck and a 70 ton crawler for a job in Clifton. The site was a total mud pit after three days of rain. I thought the boom truck would be faster to set up, but man I was wrong. Got stuck 20 feet from the pad and had to call a tow truck for 4 hours. Should have went with the crawler even if it took longer to unload. Anyone else ever pick the wrong rig for ground conditions and regret it?

Tried a 180 ton Grove to place a precast panel on a tight site downtown yesterday

Ngl I figured the smaller 100 ton would be fine but the reach and load chart just didn’t work out so the bigger crane barely fit in the alley and I ended up swinging blind because one outrigger was over a utility vault, has anyone else had to call a bigger crane than planned for a tight spot and how’d you handle the setup?

The foreman who told me I was leveling the crane wrong every single time

Old timer named Dave on the Irving job last Tuesday showed me I'd been relying on the bubble level instead of the load line and now I feel like an idiot for 8 years of bad picks, anyone else skip the basics and get called out for it?

Had a old-timer tell me I'm rigging too fast...

Met a retired guy at the yard last week who watched me choke a load and said I was rushing the tagline setup. He showed me how he does a quick double-wrap on the hook for stability and honestly it felt way more solid. Anyone else pick up little tricks from older operators that you still use?

Blew $400 on a fancy remote control for my crane and it died after 3 months

Went with the high-end radio remote from a brand I won't name, and the battery pack gave out on a Friday afternoon job, leaving me stranded 40 feet up for two hours, anyone else had bad luck with aftermarket controls?

Spent $400 on a fancy anti-two block system and it saved my ass today

Bought a Rayco Wylie i5200 last month after my old one kept glitching out. Came in at $387 total with shipping from a place in Houston. Had a blind pick over a school today and it chirped at me right as the hook got close to the boom tip. Any of yall running these newer ones or still sticking with the older mechanical stuff?

Why nobody talks about using a level on the crane hook

I was setting steel on a job in Portland last month and kept having trouble getting the beams to sit square. After three tries on one column, I took a 4-foot level out of my truck and clamped it to the hook block. It showed me the hook was actually tilted about 2 degrees to the left. Once I adjusted the boom angle to get the block level, the beam came down flat on the first try. Has anyone else dealt with a crooked hook causing fit-up issues?

The old timer who told me to never grease a crane cable

I had this guy Frank at a job site in Tampa last year, he said grease attracts grit and grinds the wires from the inside out. He pointed at a frayed cable on a Grove RT540E and said 'that's why it snapped.' Been conflicted ever since. Anyone else run into that kind of advice and decide whether to follow it or not?

Hey, has anybody worked a job at the Port of Savannah recently?

I drove through Savannah last week and saw three brand new Liebherr harbor cranes down at the Garden City terminal. Those things are massive, probably 140 feet tall easy. Curious if anyone here has run one of those newer models or worked a container job there. How's the pace compared to a regular tower crane gig?