That job in Austin last summer with the 180 ton crawler on soft ground still has me second guessing whether outrigger mats are always necessary or if they just slow us down on tight schedules.

My crew got away with no mats that day because the soil looked stable, but two weeks later a different operator at another site sunk a 100 ton into mud up to the cab, so what's the line between saving time and risking it all, has anyone else been in that spot?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan28918d ago

Buddy of mine was running a 150 ton out of San Antonio a few years back. Ground looked like rock, hard packed caliche with a little topsoil. He skipped the mats to save an hour. First lift went fine. Second lift he made one move forward and the whole left track went down about three feet. Cab tilted so bad he had to climb out the right side. Took a full day and a second crane to pull him out. The repair bill ate any time he saved for the next three jobs.

holly_williams18d ago

Are we really acting like every soft patch of ground is gonna swallow a crane whole? Sure it can happen, but I've seen guys waste hours setting mats on ground that was fine, just because of one horror story. Maybe the real issue is knowing your soil and trusting your gut instead of letting fear run the schedule.