williamhenderson•9d agoProlific Poster

Skeptical about those digital load indicators until last week

I've been running a Liebherr LTM 1050 for about 8 years and always thought the old mechanical load indicators were fine. Finally swapped to a PAT DS 350 digital system after the boss insisted, and I gotta say it saved me on a job in downtown Nashville last Tuesday. The wind was kicking up around 25 mph and the thing caught an overload condition way sooner than I would have with my old gauge. Anyone else made the switch and had it prove itself quick like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

ramirez.vera9d ago

Caught an overload condition way sooner than I would have with my old gauge" - yeah because the old gauge was probably just a piece of tape and a prayer lol. Jokes aside though, I've seen guys swear by those mechanical ones for years like it's some kinda badge of honor. Meanwhile the PAT system is literally mathing out wind and angles while you're still squinting at a needle. Nashville wind sounds brutal too, glad it paid off before you had a real bad day.

iris_schmidt9d ago

Did I just get roasted for my old "calibrated stick" method or what? I swear half the guys I know treat having a mechanical gauge like it's a vintage Rolex. But yeah, the PAT system catching wind and angles ahead of time is a complete game changer. I had a load start acting squirrelly last month in a crosswind and my phone was already pinging me before I even felt the wander. Old school tools have their place but sometimes it's nice to let the tech do the heavy lifting before you're eating gravel.

tessa_carr8d ago

Oh man, same thing happened to me and @ramirez.vera is right, those old gauges are pure guesswork compared to this.