Gantry Cranes: Top Five Questions

1) How Big Do You Make Your Gantry Cranes?

Spanco offers several gantry crane models with capacities from ½ ton to 15 tons with spans up to 50 feet and heights up to 35 feet.

The Spanco E-Series Gantry Crane is our most economical; the E-Series model is available with capacities up to five tons with a fixed height up to 10 feet and a span up to 12 feet. The Spanco Adjustable Height E-Series Gantry Crane is available with capacities up to three tons with a height up to 14 feet and span up to 11 feet, six inches.

Next is our Spanco A-Series Gantry Crane. It is available with capacities up to 10 tons, heights up to 16 feet, and spans up to 40 feet. We also offer aluminum A-Series gantries with capacities up to three tons, heights up to 12 feet, two inches, and spans up to 20 feet.  Steel A-Series gantry cranes are available in fixed and adjustable height, and all Spanco aluminum A-Series Gantry Cranes are height-adjustable.

Next  is our Spanco T-Series Gantry Crane, or tri-adjustable, which offers adjustable height, span, and wheelbase. T-Series Gantry Cranes offer capacities up to 10 tons for all steel construction and up to three tons with the available aluminum beam. Heights can go up to 24 feet, 3 inches for the all steel and up to 22 feet with the aluminum beam. Spans are up to 40 feet for the all steel and up to 15 feet with the aluminum beam.

Finally, the Spanco PF-Series Gantry Crane is our largest design. These gantries can provide capacities up to 15 tons, heights up to 35 feet, and spans up to 50 feet. This design is fixed height only.

2) Can They Be Moved with a Load?

All of our gantry models can be moved with a live load. We offer several caster options for different kinds of facilities and applications.

3) Can They Be Motorized?

The only gantry crane that we offer with motorized travel is the PF-Series Gantry Crane. The motorization includes the drive wheels and a VFD control, which allows for very smooth operation. These systems can be trackless, V-groove, or flanged wheel designs. The trackless design uses polyurethane wheels and can run on a smooth flat surface with or without an angle iron guide. The V-groove uses steel wheels with a V-shaped profile that run on a track of inverted angle iron that fits into the V. The flanged wheels are made to run on a “railroad” style rail. The wheels cannot be mixed, meaning that if you use one style of wheel, all four wheels must be the same.

4) Can the Trolley Function be Motorized?

Spanco T-Series and PF-Series Gantry Cranes allow motorized trolleys. However, this  option is usually provided by our dealers, as they are the ones that supply the hoists.

5) Do You Make a Single Leg Gantry?

We do make a Single Leg Gantry Crane similar to our PF-Series design. It has all the capacities, span, height, motorization, and wheel options as our standard Spanco PF-Series Gantry Crane.

About the Author

Phil Hackler is a Regional Sales Manager for Spanco and Rigid Lifelines with over 30 years of experience in the crane and hoist industry. He has gained valuable industry knowledge throughout his various positions, including field service technician, operations, manufacturing, and sales.