How to Read A Crane Load Chart

Learn about some insightful guidelines on how to read a mobile crane load chart.

There are varying types and sizes of mobile cranes. Concord Cranes has a range of three types of cranes, namely all-terrain, rough terrain, and truck-mount cranes that lift between 7T-750T. All of our cranes are obviously designed to perform a function but, each crane will have its specific load capacity. The load requirement is a crucial component when identifying the specifications of a job and this is when a load chart can be used as an accurate means of assisting in one area of determining which crane should be used for lift. So, the question is how do you read a crane load chart to help you make an informed decision about which crane to hire for your project?

We’ll take you through an example of a commonly used mobile crane load chart and provide you with some guidelines to consider when reading crane load charts:

Reading & Understanding Crane Load Charts

Understanding crane load charts

Mobile cranes are large pieces of equipment that need to be operated safely, accurately and within it’s capabilities. It is therefore imperative that the site supervisor and project manager use a crane load chart before ever quoting a client or sending the crane to site. It is not for the operator to determine when the crane is on site.

How do we read a mobile crane load chart?

Let’s make use of one of our all-terrain 200T cranes as an example:

Image: Crane Load Chart for Liebherr LTM 1200- 5.1 Mobile Crane

This is an example of a 200T Liebherr crane load chart.

• 200T is the gross capacity which is the tonnage it can lift, but it’s actual load capacity is referred to as the net capacity.
• The top line refers to the lengths of the boom available for the crane type
• The numbers in far-left column, represent the operating radius in metres, or the turning ability which the mobile crane can turn and operate in
• The numbers in the chart (left to right) represent the weight of the lift i.e. at what weight can the boom lift when considering the correct boom length and operating radius

In summary, one must first identify the length of the boom that is required for the job and correlate it to the operating angle that can be achieved on-site. Find the corresponding load rating and this provides the crane’s lifting capacity.

Using the chart as an example: The lift of the load is 20T and the site indicates that we have only 26m to operate within – what is the length of boom that we would require from the 200T crane to execute the job accurately? Answer: 40.3m.

Working with a reputable mobile crane hire & rigging company offers you a team of specialists who are trained accurately on how to spec a job and determining exactly what mobile crane (s) are required for the job. We endeavour to keep the solution within your budget whilst still trying to find you the safest, most accurate and efficient solutions.

Contact Concord Cranes for more information on the mobile crane hiring and specialised services we offer.

Cranes for LIFE.