City Cranes
"City Crane" is a term utilized to define small 2-axle mobile cranes that could operate in compact spaces where the standard crane cannot access. These city cranes are great choices to be used through gated areas or in buildings.
In the 1990s, city cranes were initially developed in response to the growing urban density within Japan. There are always new construction projects cramming their ways into Japanese cities, making it vital for a crane to have the ability to navigate the nooks and crannies of Japanese streets.
Basically, city cranes are small rough terrain cranes that are made to be road legal. These cranes are characterized by having a 2-axle design with independent steering on each axle, a short chassis, a slanted retractable boom and a single cab. The slanted retractable boom design takes up much less space than a comparable horizontal boom would. Combined with the independent steering and the short chassis, the city crane can turn in compact spots that will 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 multiple sections on a lattice boom could be added so that the crane can reach up and over an obstacle. Conventional truck cranes require separate power in order to move down and up and do not lower and raise their loads using any hydraulic power.
Manitowoc made the first ever Speedcrane. It proved to be a successful device although a lot of 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 changing towards internal combustion engines from original steam powered means and designed his crane to change with the times. The Speedcrane was redesigned for a gasoline engine.