Here at WHECO, we work on most every type, make, and model of crane. One of the most common types of boom repairs that we encounter are the trapezoidal hydraulic booms, manufactured by Grove.
Hydraulic crane manufacturers have always been challenged to build a strong yet light boom. In its day, the trapezoidal boom was a revolutionary design. The trapezoidal boom challenged the traditional box boom design and the impressive, but expensive to manufacturer, diamond-embossed boom design from Link-Belt. Today, we are seeing the transition to the formed booms, but because they are more expensive to manufacture, they were predominately manufactured for the larger and more-expensive all-terrain cranes. Today, these formed booms are found not only on the smaller rough-terrain and truck cranes, but it is rumored that one of the leading manufacturers of boom trucks is about to introduce a formed boom to their boom truck line.
The trapezoidal boom design was released in 1970, and provided the Grove crane with superior strength-to-weight ratio and more rigidity at higher capacities without the need to increase the amount of steel that would increase the weight of the boom. The success that Grove has had with its rough-terrain and truck cranes meant that there was, and still is, a lot of product being used in the market. However, the design was not without its issues.
One common problem that manifests itself when the hydraulic boom is fully extended is that the top plate on the base section sometimes separates from the sides. While Grove has been very proactive in providing repair procedures, it can be challenging to communicate with all of the owners that are out there in the market. Unfortunately, some owners do not call for assistance or procedures, and either try to repair the problem themselves, or take it to a local welding vendor who has no idea what they are repairing. This can result in an inferior repair.
The majority of repairs to the trapezoidal design are the results of overloading and tipping incidents. For the most part, we find repairs of trapezoidal hydraulic booms to be relatively straightforward compared to other boom designs such as the Link-Belt diamond-embossed boom. Grove has been supportive with their efforts to provide cost-effective repairs for the booms rather than replace them. Additionally, as an approved Manitowoc structural repair and restoration services provider, we work with Grove to provide those repairs.
So, if you are experiencing any structural issues with your Grove trapezoidal booms, be sure to call and consult with one of our repair-service centers about having your Grove trapezoidal boom repaired.
