City Cranes
"City Crane" is a term utilized to define small 2-axle mobile cranes that can operate in tight areas where the typical crane could not access. These city cranes are popular choices to be utilized in buildings or through gated areas.
City cranes were initially developed during the 1990s as a response to the increasing urban density in Japan. There are always new construction projects cramming their ways into the cities in Japan, making it necessary for a crane to have the ability to navigate the nooks and crannies of Japanese streets.
Essentially, city cranes are small rough terrain cranes which are built to be road legal. These cranes are characterized by having a 2-axle design with independent steering on each axle, a single cab, a short chassis and a slanted retractable boom. The slanted retractable boom design takes up less space than a comparable horizontal boom would. Combined with the independent steering and the short chassis, the city crane could turn in tight spots which would be otherwise unaccessible by other types of cranes.
Conventional Truck Crane
Traditional truck cranes are mobile cranes with lattice booms. This boom is a lot lighter boom than is found with a hydraulic truck crane boom. The multiple sections on a lattice boom are able to be added so that the crane could reach over and up an obstacle. Conventional truck cranes do not lower and raise their cargo with any hydraulic power and need separate power to be able to move down and up.
Manitowoc built the very first ever Speedcrane. It proved to be a successful device though 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 moving towards internal combustion engines from original steam powered methods and designed his crane to change with the times. The Speedcrane was redesigned for a gasoline engine.