A SPECIALLY engineered Mercedes Actros chassis has been fitted with a Fassi F420AXP.42 knuckle boom loader crane but unusually there is no provision for a payload on the truck itself. It is therefore, in effect, purely a mobile crane.
The unit has been delivered to 4Lifting of Kent in the UK who uses it to build loft conversions, particularly for the refurbishment of older residential buildings in London. The company decided that a fixed boom mobile crane did not provide the flexibility to work inside buildings and hold loads such as steel beams while they are secured in position.
The 42tm crane has nine boom extensions, including a powered fly jib, to give a lifting height of more than 30m. The knuckle action of the crane allows a 500kg steel beam to be set in position through a roof opening. The crane also has a 2t capacity winch and a nine function Scanreco radio remote control.
Fassi dealer Walker Cranes and Mercedes dealer Sparshatts modified the truck by shortening the chassis to increase manoeuvrability on site and adding a special subframe for the crane.
