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Warning: I was setting my outriggers wrong for years on uneven ground
I was on a site in Tacoma last month and my load chart was off by a good 15 percent on a long reach. An old timer pointed out I was leveling the crane to the ground, not the load itself, which threw my whole setup. How do you guys check your true level before a critical lift?
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eva_moore5mo ago
True level" reminds me of a time my bubble level froze solid.
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smith.elliot5mo ago
Wait, the bubble actually froze? I mean, how cold does it have to be for the fluid in there to turn solid? That's wild, I've seen them get slow but never a total block of ice.
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river_dixon5mo ago
My buddy learned the hard way when his level was off from a tiny rock under one pad.
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phoenix_singh252mo ago
Haven't you ever had a bubble level get sluggish in the cold? I mean, sure, it can freeze solid if it's truly freezing out, but that's pretty rare. I push back on the whole "true level" thing though. I've had guys tell me I'm leveling wrong before, but the ground is what the ground is. If your outriggers are set on a rock or a soft spot, that's a ground issue, not a leveling trick. I level the crane's frame to the grade I'm on, not some imaginary perfect plane. The load chart is based on the crane's structure being level, not the earth being flat. You fix a soft pad or a high spot, sure, but once the machine is level to itself, that's all you can do.
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