What’s the best Crane cribbing material

Mike Hoskins

Mike Hoskins

Location
Farmington hls
I’m trying to figure out what’s the best cribbing material to use for outrigger pads, is it better to just have oak 8x8’s cut at 3-4ft long or......
Thanks for any help you guys can offer!
 
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I didn't use them for crane cribbing. Occasionally for my grapple outriggers. When I worked underneath I'd use the outriggers to lift the truck then crib it up

I had blue spruce milled. Without knowing about the crush strength of wood I'd be reluctant to use spruce under crane outriggers. Is there an industry spec for the material?
 
Tom Dunlap said:
I didn't use them for crane cribbing. Occasionally for my grapple outriggers. When I worked underneath I'd use the outriggers to lift the truck then crib it up

I had blue spruce milled. Without knowing about the crush strength of wood I'd be reluctant to use spruce under crane outriggers. Is there an industry spec for the material?
Click to expand...

I’ll have to look into the specs, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me!
 
Thanks for posting this question. I've just bought a 22 ton crane and need to mill some cribbing also. I have a lucas mill so I can mill 8x8 cants. I have spruce, pine, oak, maple, elm in my log pile I can choose from.
 
I will add more later as I’m not home yet.
Before you ask what you need for cribbing you need to ask a couple other questions. Why do you need cribbing? What are you trying to accomplish? Are you protecting turf or a driveway?patio? Or are you trying to stabilize the crane? Is the supporting material you plan to place the cribbing on stable,soft,level,does it drop off suddenly near the stabilizer/outrigger.
Are you using the cribbing under the tires of a crane that needs them on the ground to level the crane?
Theses are some of the questions that will lead you to your decision. I will get back when I have more time to put some answers/suggestions to various scenarios
 
I use 3/4 inch plywood sandwiched in between 2 2x10s that are 34 inches long, held together with about 3 pounds worth if spiral nails 4 inches long... times 3 for the main outriggers, and 4x6s for the rears for our 26 ton national...3 under each one...all red oak except the plywood....When we bring in a 40 or 45 ton national, our guy uses 3x5s...on the road it looks like 6x6's or 8x8s would work great...not the case...we have pretty flat ground here in ne ohio where we work and by the time you back into a yard and setup up a 26x24 or 30x24 footprint you sometimes have to use one outrigger to pick up the othe other one on the same side just to get the 3x5s and a mat or 2 under it.
 
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So I have many different things I used based on the situation. On the truck every day I have 2'x4' sheets of 3/4 plywood These work well to protect the ground. side by side to make it 4'x4' then stack another layer or 2 in opposite directions offers stability to somewhat soft ground. I also have Oak 4x4's and 6x6's that are 4' long. I have 4x4 steel plates I have used in real soft areas.
When I had to set up in a cemetery I used 12' 6x6's with the steel plate on top and was able to set up directly over a grave with no indentation or deflection. Of course this was with dry soil conditions.

I think a mix of 4x6's and 6x6's with some 2x4 3/4 plywood will get any crane through most jobs.

As far as the material there is a lot of different composite materials which are rated but wood varies.
Figure out what is most commonly needed for you and get that. Add more as jobs require and add them to the cost. Then you will accumulate what ever you might need over time
 
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