Saw something at a job site in Toledo that made me question the whole 'new crane equals better' mindset

I was working a job last month at a steel yard in Toledo, right off Telegraph Road. The old man running the place had a 1970s Link-Belt that he babied like it was his kid, and he was moving steel beams faster than the new Liebherr on the other end of the yard. Everyone talks about buying the latest model with all the gadgets, but that old machine just kept humming without a single computer glitch. Am I the only one who thinks we rely too much on fancy electronics when a well-maintained older crane can still get the job done quicker?

3 comments

3 Comments

stella_scott9616d ago

Well damn, that sounds about right. I've seen a 1980s Grove carry a 50 ton load all day without a hiccup while a brand new Terex with all the computer safeties shut down because a sensor got confused by rain. If you know how to listen to the machine and keep up on the regular maintenance like fluid changes and greasing the pins, those old girls will outwork a touchscreen any day.

pat_roberts5516d ago

Yup, my old Link-Belt never let me down either.

tessa_carr16d ago

Had a buddy who ran an old P&H from the 70s on a bridge job. Thing had a leaky valve and a manual transmission he'd shift with a broom handle. But that crane never once dropped a beam or shut down on him. The computer on his new Liebherr threw a fault code from a leaf blowing past a sensor and killed the whole operation for two hours while the tech guy drove up from the city. He just sat there chain smoking and staring at his old P&H like it was laughing at him.