The day my old 1987 Manitowoc 4100W out-lifted a brand new 90-tonner on a site in Cincinnati

We were setting bridge beams over I-75, and the new crane's computer kept faulting on a tricky pick over live traffic. My rigger, Frank, looked at me and said, 'Get the old girl.' We spent an hour setting her up on timber mats, but she walked those 45-ton beams into place like it was nothing, no computer to argue with, just feel and the load chart. Anyone else have a story where the old iron saved the day?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_miles25d ago

Man, that's awesome, but I gotta say, that 4100W was a 300-ton crane, not a 90-tonner. That old girl had way more muscle than the new truck crane that faulted, which is probably why it walked the beams in so smooth. Those old mechanical rigs just had a different kind of power and feel. Cool story though, love hearing about the classics still working.

linda_perry1425d ago

Wait, are we really getting into crane specs now? It's just moving beams, not brain surgery. Sure the old one was bigger, but the job got done either way. Feels like people just like to argue about gear for no reason.

seanh911d ago

Linda's right that it got done, but man, that old 300-tonner just had soul.