Andy Kent, general manager at Mackworth, explains that the highway maintenance services firm wanted a lightweight device capable of loading and manoeuvring 100kg wacker plates on and off new 7.2- and 12-tonne trucks.
Having unsuccessfully trialled several crane options, Eurovia turned to Penny Hydraulics, he says, looking at its SwingLift range for fitting to DAF LF and Iveco Daily conversions, each with walk-through sections into the body area from a landing.
Mackworth worked with Penny Hydraulics – the latter ultimately designing and building a small, lightweight (20kg) crane variant for mounting on a corner bracket directly to either truck’s headboard end post.
The new device incorporates a high-speed hoist with a working capacity of 250kg, accommodating 12V and 24V supplies and running off the vehicle battery.
“The new crane design really ticks all the boxes. It’s compact and easy to use,” comments Kent.
“We expect Eurovia to see an increase in both productivity and operator safety as the cranes go into operation,” he continues.
“Installation is easy: we are able to either bolt or weld the corner bracket directly onto the headboard and the crane just hangs off the bracket.”
Kent says that 30 more truck-mounted crane installations are now planned over the next few months as the rest of Eurovia’s small truck fleet is kitted out.
He also says that, although this new crane design works with vehicle up to 12 tonnes, it is especially useful for those in the 3.5—7.5 tonne range, where remaining within overall weight and carrying capacity limits are of concern to operators.