New 250-ton telecrawler from Link-Belt

American Cranes & Transport exclusively reports in the November 2016 edition that Link-Belt is taking their involvement in the telescopic crawler market to a new level with the new TCC-2500.

Back in late July I saw the TCC-2500, with its whopping 250-ton capacity, on the test pad in Lexington, KY. The product development team was putting the crane through vigorous testing to assure that the crane would “exceed expectations.”

“The long-term plan for our telecrawler lineup brought us to this point in time, and the TCC-2500 is well positioned to lead the telecrawlers into a whole new arena of job site opportunities,” said Scott Knight, Link-Belt’s product manager for lattice and telescopic crawler cranes. “We identified early on that our customers needed a telecrawler with higher capacities and greater reach.”

The TCC-2500 was designed for job site flexibility and maneuverability.

The TCC-2500 can lift, reach and travel like a large fixed boom lattice crawler, while also having the ability to retract the boom and reduce its overall profile as job site conditions and environment require,” he said.

The TCC-2500, with its Tier 4 Final Cummins QSL 9 diesel engine and seven-section formed boom, will make a public debut in Las Vegas, NV at ConExpo March 7-11, 2017. Production units of the TCC-2500 will be ready for shipment in March, according to Knight.

Since entering the telecrawler market, Link-Belt’s telecrawlers have earned a solid reputation for innovation and product quality. Initally they were considered a market solution to ease off-road maneuvering common for powerline utility applications. But Knight said Link-Belt TCCs have steadily grown into rental and general construction fleets both domestically and abroad.

While the dominant market for telecrawlers is the United States, Link-Belt has identified key international markets for the TCC-2500, the company said.

Link-Belt designed the TCC-2500 to “establish a new definition for robust performance for large telescopic crawler cranes.” The seven-section 43.7-223 feet pin and latch boom is the longest in its class and offers eight simple boom extend modes. Attachments include a three-piece offsettable fly that measures 12, 40, and 67 feet and can also be equipped with two 25-foot boom extensions for an overall tip height of 346 feet. These attachments with optional hydraulic luffing allow for “up-and-over” capacity like luffing lattice crawlers.

“Our goal from the beginning was to supply a crane with simplified design that is quick and easy to assemble and that is operator friendly,” said Knight.

Another key feature for this 250-ton unit is an extra wide winch design that can handle its maximum permissible line pull through the fourth layer – front and rear winches are matching. The rear auxiliary winch can be removed for transport weight reduction, and a power pinning system helps prevent work at height exposure, the company said.

The crane’s operating system features a 10-inch color display that incorporates RCL and engine data. The display has a resistive touch screen that can be used with gloves and can be seen in direct sunlight with larger, clearer images on display. Electric cab controls were designed for functionality and ergonomics. Operator job site view is enhanced with four cameras: rear-view, blind-side swing-view, and two individual winch-view cameras that provide increased job site awareness and control of the job site from inside the cab.

Track gauge for the TCC-2500 is 20 feet, 4 inches. The lower carbody is a hook and pin system making assembly quick and easy, the company said. The TCC-2500 can self-assemble side frames with standard equipped car body jacks and wireless remote control for hydraulic pinning and jack operation. The new two-bar grouser track shoes provide good traction with standard nylatron pad inserts to protect sensitive ground surfaces when needed, the company said.

One important aspect of the TCC-2500 is its ability to move quickly and easily on or off the job site, Knight said. The main transport load weighs under 106,000 pounds, and the TCC-2500 can be assembled in fewer and less complicated steps, he said. Once off the trailer, carbody jacks can be deployed via remote control.

On jacks, the crane sits wider than competitive cranes in this class. The TCC counterweight system attaches 154,000 pounds of upper counterweight and is a 9-piece modular design allowing for partial counterweight capacity charts. The crane transports on seven overflow loads, all at 44,000 pounds or less.