Grove is extending its E series at the top of the range with a new 90 US ton (80t) class truck crane with a pinned Megaform boom.

Shipment to customers of the TMS 900E begins in February and Grove has high hopes for the machine. ‘It’s going to be a home run for us,’ predicted sales vice president Bob Hixon.

The crane features the upper of the German-built GMK 4075 all terrain and the strong US chassis of the TMS 875. Mixing and matching German uppers on US chassis has proved a success for Grove in recent years but on all previous ‘hybrids’ the US models have featured full powered versions of the German Megaform boom rather than the pinned version used on the all terrains.

Hixon said that market research for the development of the new 130 US ton RT 9130 rough terrain had shown that customers wanted a full powered boom on this model. The TMS 700E truck crane also has a full powered Megaform boom.

But in the 90 US ton class customers are more concerned with roadability, Hixon said, and the TMS 900E would be roadable at under 90,000 lb (40.8t).