The use of rubber tyred gantry cranes in the shipping industry is extremely common. You can find these cranes at many major shipping ports throughout the world. There are a number of different factors that contribute to their popularity for these types of applications.
For one thing, the wheels attached to the legs of the crane provide mobility, allowing them to be moved around so that they can be used wherever they are needed. Unlike rail mounted cranes, they can travel over smooth, hard surfaces without the need for tracks. That makes them a lot more versatile in terms of where they can be used https://crane.pk/rubber-tyred-gantry-crane/
These cranes usually have an extremely wide span. In fact, they are usually capable of spanning a width that is wide enough for a number of shipping containers to be laid next to each other side-by-side while still leaving enough room for a truck lane underneath the crane. This makes them a highly effective way to load, unload, and stack containers.
Most cranes that are used in the shipping industry are designed to be tall enough that they can stack multiple containers on top of one another. This helps maximize the storage space in the shipping yard. If you ever have a chance to visit an area where a large number of shipping containers are stored, one of the first things that you will notice is that they are usually stacked in extremely tall piles. In fact, it isn’t uncommon to see as many as five or six shipping containers stacked on top of one another. Rubber tyred gantry cranes make this possible thanks to their height.
In order to understand why these cranes are such a great choice for these types of applications, you need to take a closer look at the way that they are designed. The crane itself is made up of a horizontal girder that is mounted between two vertical legs. The height of the crane is determined by the length of the legs. The longer each leg is, the higher above the ground the crane can lift objects.
At the base of each leg, the crane is equipped with heavy-duty rubber tires. These tires allow it to travel over smooth surfaces like asphalt or concrete.
Thanks to the attached tires, the cranes can be moved wherever they are needed within the shipping yard by a qualified crane operator. For instance, they can be positioned over a large stack of shipping containers, with enough room on one side for trucks to pull in underneath the crane. Once a truck is in place, the crane can lift shipping containers off of the stack and load them onto the waiting vehicle. This is an extremely efficient way to handle loading and unloading heavy containers.
Hopefully, this gives you a better idea of why rubber-tyred gantry cranes are so commonly used in the shipping industry. Their tremendous size coupled with their strength and mobility makes them a natural choice for these types of applications.