City Cranes
"City Crane" is a term used to define small 2-axle mobile cranes that could operate in compact areas where the typical crane could not access. These city cranes are popular choices to be utilized inside buildings or through gated areas.
City cranes were originally developed during the 1990s as a response to the increasing urban density within Japan. There are continually new construction projects cramming their ways into the cities in Japan, making it vital for a crane to have the ability to steer through the nooks and crannies of Japanese roads.
Basically, city cranes are small rough terrain cranes that are built 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 short chassis and the independent steering, the city crane is capable of turning in compact spots which would be otherwise unaccessible by other kinds of cranes.
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 can be added so that the crane could reach over and up an obstacle. Conventional truck cranes do not raise and lower their loads with any hydraulic power and require separate power in order to move down and up.
Manitowoc built the first ever Speedcrane. It proved to be a successful device though lots of adjustments needed to be added later on. Manitowoc hired Roy Moore as a crane designer to help streamline the design. He understood the industry was moving towards internal combustion engines from original steam powered methods and designed his crane to change with the times. The Speedcrane was redesigned for a gasoline engine.