Comparing a luffer and a tower crane on a tight site in downtown Seattle changed my mind

I spent last fall running a flat-top tower on a job near Pike Place and the swing radius was killing us with the narrow alley. Switched to a luffer on the next building a block over and we could pick right off the truck without worrying about hitting the next building. Has anyone else found that luffers handle congested spots way better than they expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric_morgan596d ago

Ha, tell me about it. I once spent a whole afternoon doing boom angle math only to realize I was using the wrong conversion and almost took out a streetlight. I honestly think luffers shine in those spots but only if you've got a spotter who's as paranoid about the back end as you are. Otherwise you're just trading one clearance nightmare for another.

milam427d ago

Depends on the site. I ran a luffer on a tight spot in Seattle last year and the counter jib was the real headache, had to keep checking clearances behind us just as much as the front.