Crane operator license

I'd imagine that it falls under both state and muni regs, Ig. Check with your local erection companies to see who sets their regs, then contact them directly.

In Illinois there is, the operating engineer's local 150 Heavy Equipment Operator Training School

OK. I bought a Grove RT-60S crane.

In Illinois, erections are not allowed on Sunday mornings.

There's a similar place in NJ - I pass it on the NJ Turnpike on the way to a customer. I've always thought they should open that place to the public on weekends. Charge by the hour to play with the big toys.

I hope you don't get caught then. I personally have never tried to avoid erections on any particular day of the week. There were some times though when going through puberty that an erection could be embarassing and Sunday mornings at church would have been especially embarrasing. Eric

No, it is all terrain, not a street vehicle.

You got screwed. That thing really needs paint. ;)

So, what did you learn about the licensing and such for personal use?

In or out of church?

A retired friend pays the commercial registration fee for his heavy-duty pickup truck, though I doubt Iggy could claim the crane as his personal car.

I've thought about buying a used bucket van for personal use.

-jsw

I've had the same thoughts myself. Why a van? Hell to navigate.

They turn up all the time on eBay. Some (a small fleet) '05 1T GMC/Altec bucket trucks went for $5-7k a few years ago, when I was looking. They were probably gas, though. I have no idea how clapped out a truck can get in service for a decade, either.

They'd be handy as a shop crane, too. Pop the man bucket off and...

I know they aren't practical, but I do have a use right now. A neighbor and I hired a tree service with a crane to take down mature, branch-shedding oaks leaning ominously toward our houses. They left the trunks of mine in a jumble so I could salvage the crooked firewood and straight sawmill lumber; these trees originally grew straight without large lower branches in a forest. Now I have a heap of wet logs 16" to 20" in diameter and up to 25' long to rearrange into a neat covered stack, cribbed up off the ground and all on my property, by myself.

I designed my lifting gear to move 8', 1000 Lb sections and this severely strains some parts of it, though the A frame posts should support 4700 lbs apiece, assuming they are 25000 lb yield scrap steel, or 5400 if A36. My 5000 Lb crane scale appears to be cracking as it won't return to zero, so I bought another one. Fortunately Chinese ones are fairly cheap if you don't need certifiable accuracy, just comparison to a proof test load.

I've spent more time repairing and modifying the equipment and designing the post-and-beam sheds I'll make from the logs, to cut them to manageable lengths without waste, than moving the wood. This is what those trolley wheels are for.

-jsw

There's no chick you couldn't pick up with a vehicle like that!

Would you pick up chicks who required a crane?

I might consider one who knew how to operate it. She'd be unlikely to spend my money on Manolo Blahniks, though maybe on Red Wings.

-jsw

This is an all terrain crane, it is not street legal and needs to be transported on a low boy semi trailer.

nice if you can make money with it

No idea on the licensing requirements, but from all the crane accident videos you've posted links to, I know you're aware of the hazards associated with rigging.

A long time ago, I was involved with training a bunch of workers in rigging safety after a series of incidents, including a 11000# load dropped about 3' from me. And that was just a bridge crane. We got some professionals to help, and some training brochures, etc. Focused on staying out from under loads, knowing the load, knowing working capacity of tools, do's and don'ts (spreading the hook, etc) the simple trig involved, etc. We awarded "driver licenses" to those that passed the tests, and promised to release any that didn't pass. Everybody passed the second test.

With cranes, there's a lot more to add, boom angle, length, rotation, outrigger extension and load bearing properties of different surfaces. I know riggers replace their wire ropes at regular intervals, even with the daily inspections.

Training up, getting certified, and setting up and following a maintenance schedule is probably time well spent whether or not it's required by law.

Good luck and enjoy the crane.

Pete Keillor

So what's the capacity, Iggy? The one plate stamp if I can read it correctly seems to say 20 T working whereas the casting looks like it's rated 12 T...