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Talked to a 30 year veteran who never uses load indicators
I was on a job last week in Charlotte and this older operator named Dave came over to watch me set some steel. He told me he's been running cranes since the 80s and has never once trusted a load indicator. Said he learned to feel the weight through the boom and the swing of the cable. It got me thinking about how much we rely on electronics now versus reading the machine. Does anyone else still go by feel or do you always trust the screen?
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reed.elliot1mo ago
Hell yeah, load indicators are nice but they ain't the whole story. That old guy learned by getting the seat of his pants feel for it, and that's something no screen can teach. I've seen guys trust the numbers too hard and almost tip over because the ground gave a little.
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jennifer8331mo ago
Whoa, hang on, I gotta say I see it a little different. Seat of your pants feel is great and all, but you can't feel a 1,000 pound load shift in a gust of wind like a screen can. Isn't that exactly why they put those gauges in the cab?
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Wait wait wait, "never once trusted a load indicator"?? That is wild to me lol. I mean I get the seat of your pants thing, I really do, but never even once? Not even for a second opinion? I've been running for 12 years and I check that screen like a hawk, especially when the wind kicks up. One time I had a load start swinging in a 15 mph gust and the screen caught it way before I felt it in the boom. That old school confidence is something else, I guess, but I'd be scared to death with zero backup numbers.
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