Just found out how much a single crane mat actually weighs

I was looking into loading limits for a job near Pittsburgh and saw that a standard 8x16 crane mat weighs around 4,000 pounds. Never really thought about it before, but that changes how I plan my approach when the ground gets soft. Has anyone else had to factor mat weight into their crane setup calculations?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_piper14d ago

Actually, a standard 8x16 timber crane mat is usually closer to 5,000 to 6,000 pounds, not 4,000. I haul them for a living and we weigh each one before loading. That extra weight really changes your transport math, especially if you're running close to your axle limits on a dump trailer. Just wanted to give you a heads up because it catches a lot of guys off guard.

mark_fisher4814d ago

I swapped to a 20-foot gooseneck trailer after the first time I overloaded my old dump trailer by 600 pounds. Running the scale weights before each load and keeping a log helped me stay legal and avoid fines. That extra ton per mat REALLY adds up fast if you don't account for it from the start.

the_jason14d ago

Man, you're spot on about that weight sneaking up on you. I learned the same lesson the hard way when I was hauling mats for pipeline access and didn't log the first few loads, ended up a thousand pounds over on the steer axle.