Surprised at how much wind affects a 50 ton crane

Was checking out some load charts the other day and found out that at 30 mph wind, the capacity on my Grove RT550 drops by like 20 percent. Never really thought about it much until I saw the numbers on the Grove manual. Has anyone actually had to stop a lift because of wind where you work?

2 comments

2 Comments

craig.brian1d ago

Yeah the 20% drop in capacity is no joke. I read somewhere that wind loading basically squares as wind speed doubles, so like at 40 mph you're looking at way more than just a 40% cut. I've seen crews have to abandon lifts in the middle of the day because gusts kicked up out of nowhere, and nobody wants to be the guy who ignores the charts. The Grove manual spells it out pretty clear, but a lot of guys just wing it until something bad almost happens.

matthew_baker1d ago

Wind loading is real, I'm not gonna deny that. But sometimes I think guys get a little too spooked by the numbers on paper. I've been on jobs where the wind was blowing pretty good and the lift handled it just fine, no wobbling or anything. It's not like the machine is gonna tip over at the first gust over 20 mph. A lot of it comes down to how you position the lift in the first place and whether you're paying attention to how the wind is hitting the basket. Some guys treat those charts like they're carved in stone when really they're conservative estimates for the worst case scenario.