crane vs. concrete driveway.

I had to put down my skateboard, I was getting too beat up and with no health insurance, work is more important. I still hop on every once in a while, but I'm a bit more cautious these days. Jeezuz, I sound like an old man. I did have nollie 360 flips on lock in my heyday. Sorry I'm ranting, carry on.
 
Residential concrete driveways are the big crane equalizer imo. You can take a 25 ton 100 plus foot stick in the drive right next to the tree and set the chipper in the drive behind it...you have to set up a 40 plus ton, 170 ft. stick way out in the road to avoid a HUGE claim on driveway fracture and deal with road traffic...game is all even or edge to the smaller crane often. Having multiple cranes just like multiple buckets is the answer if you can play that game.
 
Vet I really like that crane you got perfect in most situations. If it's been reliable for the price you said you paid you did really good. We paid 3x that much for a smaller kboom.
 
Truthfully it depends on the thickness of the concrete, and the quality of the base under the concrete. No amount of plywood or mats can fix a poor concrete job. I run cranes everyday and it's a crap shoot. Do the best you can. Don't be responsible for it!
 
treevet said:
That obviously involves a carefully written contract....word of mouth leaves you hanging in the wind.
Click to expand...

Yes definitely a hold harmless in your contract is imperative. But verbally and written words explaining simply, that the quality of the home owner's concrete job, is what determines the outcome condition of the driveway, Not my ability to prevent damage. Even though there are things I can do to limit possible damage. I always make the customer decide if he wants to risk it. I will do all I can to prevent it, but I can't guarantee there will be no additional damage. If they want a guarantee, I tell them I will need to increase the price to cover any all possible damage. When they realize they will have to pay for it one way or another, they either assume responsibility, or go to another company. I'm very clear in my explanation, also diplomatic in my tone. I do want the job, only if I will make money. And I believe that is fair.
10% of the time my cranes damage concrete. 30 to 50 ton size. Usually a crack when the ground is soft.
 
Dave Swirsding said:
. Even though there are things I can do to limit possible damage. I always make the customer decide if he wants to risk it. I will do all I can to prevent it, but I can't guarantee there will be no additional damage.
Click to expand...

what methods do you use to try and prevent the cracks?
 
I use lumber before the edge of the concrete, to make the transition from the street or non concrete surface higher then the edge of the concrete. Then sometimes add a slight down ramp onto the concrete. You don't want to climb the edge of concrete.
If I need to cross a walk way, I build up boards on the grass before and after the concrete. Then I use laminate beams to bridge the walk way. So in theory the crane doesn't even touch the sidewalk. Most times the ground is soft enough to give way and weight is put on the walk, or the rocking of the crane can push a board on the walk by accident. At that point your committed to crossing.
As far as driving on concrete not near an edge there isn't much you can do. Plywood or mats just transfer the weight through to the concrete. You can test this by driving onto a mat and parking on it. You can still lift the mat up to almost the edge of the tire. Concrete is too hard to allow a mat to disperse the weight. What may be an idea for a manufacturer is to make mats concave, so when they are driven on, the weight will be distributed to all sides of the mat. That would also eliminate the long slight rut when used on grass in soft times. Just a thought. No guarantees. Trial and error! Good luck!
 
If I was damaging driveways 10% of the time I would get a smaller crane...which I did. Depends on your usage. If in and out of driveways daily or multi times daily either you will be paying claims or you will get excluded from the sale, or you will never get a call back from client or neighbors or their friends. Just sayin....
 
treevet said:
If I was damaging driveways 10% of the time I would get a smaller crane...which I did. Depends on your usage. If in and out of driveways daily or multi times daily either you will be paying claims or you will get excluded from the sale, or you will never get a call back from client or neighbors or their friends. Just sayin....
Click to expand...


I hear ya! I am a crane rental company. So my customer signs a release. I said I break 10% of concrete driveways. The driveways in my area are mostly asphalt not concrete. So I would say maybe 1 driveway a month per crane. If the job needs a crane, that is the risk they are willing to take. If the job needs a 50 ton crane a smaller one will not work. So they add a few hundred dollars to the job and let the homeowner know it may crack. The key is telling the homeowner upfront to be as honest as possible. They usually come out on top.
 
I busted one last year and found it had a cavity under the panel and did not have to pay. Was even using the n'bor's drive. We had the crane loaded with honkers...but still...big cavity and others were fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom