That old timer told me to ignore the load chart on a cold morning - wrecked my boom truck

I took out a 50 ton Grove last winter on a 28 degree day. Old timer with 40 years experience said load charts are just suggestions in the cold since the hydraulics move slower. I took his word and picked a 12,000 lb beam that the chart said was fine for the radius. Hydraulics fought me the whole time and I felt a nasty shudder halfway through the lift. Turns out the fluid was too thick and the boom flexed way more than it should have - put a hairline crack in the turntable. Cost me $3,800 in repairs and two weeks of downtime. Anyone else have a veteran give them bad advice that almost got someone hurt?

3 comments

3 Comments

paul_taylor2116d ago

My first month running a crane, a 30-year veteran told me to "just eyeball it" on a tight pick behind a building. I bobbled a 4,000 pound AC unit over a brand new BMW in the parking lot. Missed the car by about six inches and nearly gave the salesman a heart attack from the window. Some advice is worth exactly what it costs you to learn it the hard way.

avery_jackson16d ago

So @paul_taylor21, wouldn't you say the real lesson here is that sometimes "eyeballing it" actually works, since you pulled it off and only missed the car by six inches with zero damage? Maybe the veteran knew what he was talking about and you just got lucky with your first try, lol.

alexbennett14d ago

Wait, didn't he miss the car by six inches, not barely miss it with zero damage?