c/crane-operators

Old foreman told me to grease the boom pins every single day...

When I first started about 12 years ago I had this old foreman, Bill, who was super strict about greasing the boom pins every morning no matter what. I figured he was just being a grumpy old guy and I'd skip it sometimes to save time. Well, about 2 months in I bent a pin on a Liebherr LTM 1050 because I let it get dry and it seized up on a lift. Cost the company like 3 grand in parts and downtime and Bill just looked at me and said "told ya." Has anyone else had a mentor give them advice that seemed pointless but turned out to save their butt later?

That wireless load indicator I bought was a $600 paperweight

Grabbed one of those fancy Bluetooth load indicators from a company online. Figured it would save me time climbing down to check the load. First job with it, sunny day, no interference, and it dropped connection three times. By the fourth lift I was back to using my old manual gauge. That was six months ago and I haven't touched the thing since. Anyone else get burned by fancy tech that just doesn't hold up on site?

Old crane hand named Ray told me to stop choking up on the boom controls

I was on a job in Tacoma last spring moving some HVAC units onto a rooftop. Ray, this guy who's been running cranes since the 70s, kept yelling at me to lighten my grip on the levers. I thought he was just being a grump but after about an hour I tried it and the swing was way smoother. Has anyone else had an old timer change how you handle the controls?

Stopped by a job site in Toledo last week and something felt off about the outrigger setup

I was driving through Toledo dropping off some equipment and saw a crew setting up a 50 ton Grove on a residential street. The outrigger pads looked like they were sitting on old plywood with some kind of grass underneath. I pulled over to chat with the operator, turns out he was a new guy just filling in. The ground was soft from rain the night before, you could see the pad starting to sink on the passenger side about a half inch already. I told him to call for cribbing mats or at least some wider steel plates before he lifted anything. He brushed it off saying it was just a quick pick for an HVAC unit on a roof. Has anyone else run into operators skipping proper ground prep on smaller jobs like this?

Swinging a load at a county fair in Kansas taught me a hard lesson about wind

Was setting up a Ferris wheel at the Johnson County Fair last summer when a gust came out of nowhere. My load started swinging like a pendulum and I had to set it down quick before it took out the ticket booth. Now I always check the weather radar before I lift anything over 50 feet.

Hot take: The Lattice Boom crawler on the Howard Frankland Bridge project in Tampa is an absolute beast

Drove by that site last Friday and watched them swing a 40 ton concrete beam like it was nothing, has anyone else seen those big bridge jobs up close?

Wasted $150 on a fancy load cell system that never worked right

Bought one of those digital load cell setups from a guy at a trade show in Omaha. Looked great on paper, but the Bluetooth kept dropping out mid-lift. Had to go back to my old mechanical scale after two jobs. Anyone else get burned by fancy tech that just couldn't handle site conditions?

Wind nearly took my load off the hook Tuesday

We were setting steel on a 10-story job downtown and a gust came out of nowhere around 2pm. The load swung maybe 8 feet sideways before I could get the boom down and it scared the heck out of me. Has anyone else had a close call with sudden wind on a tight site?

TIL my crane cab before and after a deep clean is wild

Last month I finally cleaned out my cab on a Liebherr LTM 1050 after 6 months of buildup. Before it was just coffee cups, receipts, and mud caked on the floor mats. After I spent 2 hours with a shop vac and some Windex, I swear the controls felt smoother. Anybody else notice how much less annoying the beeping sounds get when your cab isn't a disaster zone?

Pro tip: watch your tag lines when the wind picks up

I was working a job downtown Denver last Tuesday, setting steel for a new parking garage. The wind was blowing maybe 15-20 mph, nothing crazy. Suddenly I felt my load start to swing more than I was comfortable with. I realized one of my tag lines had gotten wrapped around the hoist cable during the pick. I stopped everything right there, set the load down on the nearest flat spot, and climbed up to untangle it. Took me maybe 10 minutes but it saved me from a potential disaster. The foreman came over and asked what the holdup was, I explained, and he just nodded. My guy on the ground said he didn't even notice the wrap until I pointed it out. Anyone else ever get a tag line twisted up on a windy day without realizing it right away?

That conversation with a retired tower crane guy made me reconsider load charts

I was talking to this older operator named Dave at a supply yard in Newark last week. He said he never trusted the charts past 80% of capacity because of wear and tear on the steel. I always thought those numbers were gospel after 15 years in the game. But he pointed out how a 20 year old crane has been through storms, constant swinging, and metal fatigue. Idk, maybe it's just me but that stuck. Has anyone else adjusted their limits based on the age of the rig?

Pro tip: I stopped using a one-size-fits-all spreader bar setup after a near miss on a bridge job in Seattle last year

Worst week of my crane career - load slipped on a wet Monday

Last spring I had a Monday that still makes me cringe. We were setting HVAC units on a roof in downtown Cleveland, and a surprise rain shower left the boom greasy. I was lifting a 4 ton unit when the tagline operator lost his footing on the wet gravel. The load swung maybe 2 feet before I caught it, but that second of free swing scared the crap out of me. The site super yelled at me for not drying the cables first, but who expects a thunderstorm in May? My whole week was shot because I spent the next 3 days checking every sling and shackle twice. Has anyone else had a close call from sudden weather changes?

That moment you realize other operators are guessing on boom angle

Was on a job site in Portland last Tuesday and watched a guy try to set a steel beam about 6 feet off his mark. He kept adjusting and adjusting. Walked over and asked what boom angle he was running. He gave me a blank look. He was just eyeballing it. I get it, you can feel the machine, but if you're not cross referencing your angle indicator with the load chart for every single pick, you're just hoping it works out. How do you guys handle operators on your site who skip the basic checks?

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

I bought one of those aftermarket wireless remote kits for my Grove RT at a trade show down in Houston. It worked great for the first two weeks, felt solid in my hands and had good range. Then last Tuesday the display started flickering and now it just won't pair at all. The company won't answer my emails and I can't find a repair shop that'll touch it. Anyone else had bad luck with those cheaper third party controllers?

Blew a hydraulic fitting near Green Bay last Tuesday

Was lifting a precast concrete panel for a parking garage and the main hoist line started dripping. By the time I got the load down, I had a puddle of Mobil DTE 24 about 4 feet across under the cab. Had to call a service guy from Badger Crane Repair, cost me $380 and lost half a day. Any of you guys carry spare O-rings for older Liebherr models or just wing it?

Rant: That Tuesday everything went wrong and I almost dropped a load

Last Tuesday started fine but by 10 AM the wind picked up to 25 knots. I was setting steel on a 5-story job in Portland and the load started swinging bad. Had to set it down slow and wait 45 minutes for it to calm. Then my radio died halfway through the afternoon. Boss was screaming on the backup phone but I could barely hear him. Lost 2 hours of work and the whole crew was pissed at me like I could control the weather. Anyone else have a day where the conditions just fight you every step?

After 15 years I finally figured out I was setting the brake wrong on mobile cranes

Was setting up a Grove RT at a job site in Tulsa last week and an old operator who was watching just laughed and said “you’ve been riding that drum brake the whole time haven’t you.” Turns out I was dragging the brake shoe against the drum instead of letting it seat properly, anyone else pick up bad habits from older guys that you just never questioned?

Old timer at the Port of Portland taught me how to read the wind

Back in 2019 I was doing a container job at Terminal 6 in Portland. I was maybe 2 years in, still figuring things out. This older operator named Larry came over during a lunch break and just pointed at the sway on my load. He said "you're fighting the wind instead of using it." Then he showed me how to time my swings with the gusts, not against them. I still think about that 5 minute conversation every time the wind picks up. Anyone else have an old hand give them a tip that stuck?

Appreciation post: my old boss in Phoenix swore by hand signals over the radio for tight spots, and after a close call last month with a load swinging near a power line, I finally get it.

I mean, the radio had static and a delay, but with the spotter's clear 'stop' arm signal, I halted the swing with maybe 6 inches to spare, so what's your go-to method for tricky communication on site?

Just read about the biggest mobile crane ever built for a job in Texas

Honestly, I was looking up specs for a project and saw that the Liebherr LR 13000, used at a site near Houston, can lift 3,000 tons. That's like 600 elephants. I had no idea we had machines that big working over here. Has anyone ever seen one of those monsters in person, or know what kind of job actually needs that much lift?

Remember that big wind event at the Port of Oakland back in 2016? Changed how I think about load charts forever.

A rigger in Charlotte called me out on my hand signals last month

He said my 'lower slowly' signal was too fast and looked like my regular 'lower' sign, which could cause a drop. I switched to a clear, slow, open-palm wave for slow moves and keep my regular signal sharp. Has anyone else had a signal mix-up that made you change your style?

My uncle told me to never trust the wind gauge on a tower crane, and he was right

I used to think the old school hand signals were good enough for any job.

Then I worked a lift in downtown Chicago where the spotter was using a new two-way radio system from the ground. The difference in speed and clarity, especially with the wind noise up there, was huge. We got the steel set in half the time it normally takes. Anyone else made the switch to radios for good?