City Cranes
The term "City Crane" refers to a small 2-axle mobile crane that is designed to be utilized specially in tight areas where standard cranes could not venture. These city cranes are great choices for use through gated places or within buildings.
During the 1990s, city cranes were originally developed in response to the growing urban density within Japan. There are continually new construction projects cramming their ways into the cities in Japan, making it necessary for a crane to have the ability to navigate the nooks and crannies of Japanese roads.
Essentially, city cranes are small rough terrain cranes which are made to be road legal. These cranes are characterized by having a 2-axle design with independent steering on each axle, a slanted retractable boom, a single cab and a short chassis. The slanted retractable boom design takes up a lot less space than a comparable horizontal boom would. Combined with the independent steering and the short chassis, the city crane is capable of turning in tight spots that would be otherwise unaccessible by other crane designs.
Conventional Truck Crane
Conventional truck cranes are mobile cranes with lattice booms. This boom is much lighter boom than is found with a hydraulic truck crane boom. The many sections on a lattice boom could be added so that the crane can reach over and up an obstacle. Conventional truck cranes need separate power to be able to move up and down and do not lower and raise their loads with any hydraulic power.
Manitowoc built the first ever Speedcrane. It proved to be a successful device though many adjustments had to be added later on. Manitowoc hired Roy Moore as a crane designer to help streamline the design. He knew the industry was moving towards IC engines from original steam powered means and designed his crane to change with the times. The Speedcrane was redesigned for a gasoline engine.