Atlas, Effer, Fassi, Hiab, HMF and Palfinger belong to the genus of knuckle boom cranes. They are not only used to load and unload freight, but also for hoisting jobs, both outside and inside buildings. Thanks to multiple steering axles, the carriers -either a truck chassis or a tractor- can turn on a dime.
The Dutch Lift ‘n’ Load event, this year held on September 16, is dedicated to this booming business. Let’s zoom in.
Herr Martin Huber from Switzerland arrived in his new Scania R660 V8 10×4*6.
2017 Volvo FH 8×2*6.
2012 Volvo FH16 10×4*6 tractor with a small, detachable flatbed over its fifth-wheel coupling. A common set-up in this branch.
2023 DAF CF 8×2*6.
From Belgium, a Volvo FH 8×2*6.
2017 Volvo FH 8×4 with a liftable rearmost drive axle (optional since 2015).
2021 Scania R450 8×2*6.
2020 Scania R500 10×4*6.
Another Martens Scania, same configuration, yet two years older.
2015 Scania R410 8×2*6.
2015 Scania G450 8×2*6.
2015 Volvo FH 10×4*6 with a mighty Palfinger crane. Born a weightlifter, this baby’s birth weight was 43,900 kg (96,783 lbs).
2017 Scania G450 8×4, another tractor unit with a detachable flatbed.
2018 Volvo FH 6×2*4 tractor and a 2015 Broshuis tridem axle semi-low loader (‘semi’ as in the bed on top of the wheels).
2021 Scania S530 V8 6×2*4 tractor and a Broshuis tridem axle semi-trailer with two cranes, the one in the center is a rolloader.
2021 DAF XF 530 8×2*6. ‘Qua patet orbis’ is Latin for ‘As far as the world extends’, which is also the motto of our Marine Corps.
2013 DAF CF 510 6×4.
An appropriate company name for sure.
2012 Volvo FH 8×2 tridem.
2022 Scania R660 V8 8×2*6.
2019 DAF CF 480 8×2.
A pictorial overview of the company history.
1990 DAF 2100 Turbo 6×2.
2020 Scania R520 V8 8×2*6.
1987 DAF 3600 ATi 8×2.
2020 Scania R500 6×2/4 tractor and a Nooteboom tridem axle low loader.
Some members of the Reco family, from left to right: Volvo FM, Volvo FH, DAF XF, Volvo FH.
Two Kamphuis service vans, a 2022 Fiat Doblò 1.6 MultiJet 105 and a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito 1.6 CDI (Renault powered, FWD).
2022 DAF CF 450 8×2*6.
A Swedish couple.
2018 Volvo FH 10×4*6.
Taking some distance for a moment.
2023 DAF XF 530 6×2*4 tractor. Versteijnen Trucks hosted the show. Better keep those cranes in a more horizontal position here.
2023 MAN TGS 26.400 6×2*4 flatbed truck.
There were many other goodies in Versteijnen’s main building, more than enough for an upcoming report.
Love this! Thaks for showing us the European way of managing hoisting. Great trucks and mechanisms. There are a few photos of the trucks lined up like peacocks showing off their hoisting mechanisms. How many women show up for these events? Keep the good stuff coming! You know this old truck salesperson enjoys your presentations very much. Tom
Thank you so much for bringing us these incredible machines. I worked as a fleet manager -safety manager from 2005 to 2015 at Standard Roofing here in New Jersey. I had 20 or so Hiab knuckle cranes with jibs on 56,000 gvw Sterling flatbed trucks to “boom” roofing material to homes. When started there I had no idea what they were. Through the vast patience of our operators and my mechanic (who became a dear friend) I was able to pick up the basic functions. Our 300 and 260s were controlled via cable remote and bullet proof. They generally could handle 2850 lbs at a 70 foot reach. The later wireless remote 288s no so much. Unfolding these cranes required great skill. On the 288s, the rule was “suck it up before you open it up”. If you neglected to retract all the sections before deploying, the whole folded crane would come down on the chassis mounted control box, crushing it. That was a $25,000 repair. Hiab’s service was the best. The president of Standard had a close personal relationship with Lenart Bralin (sic) who was head of Hiab worldwide.That all ended in 2012 or so when all of the NJ Hiab staff abandoned ship for Palfinger. One of my favorite experiences was when one of my drivers lifted the body of my 67 LeSabre with a sling onto his flatbed at our yard, brought it to me home and shoe-horned it into my garage!
A second cousin of mine happens to be a Hiab cranes salesman, he has been for a very long time, actually.
When it’s about a crane’s lifting capacity, they talk ‘tonmeter’ here.
From an earlier article: “The HMF is a 85 tonmeter crane, which means it can lift 17 metric tons at a distance of 5 meters (measured from the crane’s base). Or, as another example, 10 metric tons at a distance of 8.5 meters. All rule of thumb, as the lift capacity doesn’t decrease linearly. Better consult the manufacturer’s specifications when deadlifting”.
The whole machine: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-global-2017-daf-cf-460-fax-all-beefed-up/
It’s interesting that the Euro Volvo and DAF cabover styling and trim has become as blingy as their American Volvo or PACCAR conventional siblings … or perhaps I should say cousins. But I guess that’s true for a lot of European passenger cars; all part of the globalization of fashion trends. Not a bad thing … and I always like seeing these modern cabovers especially with the cranes/booms that seem as complex as the truck itself. Thanks Johannes Dutch!
Great pics – very enjoyable…thanks Johannes.
Thanks Johannes. I would gladly go to such an event were I able to find something similar over on this side of the Atlantic.
So many great pics. I especially like the 2018 Volvo FH with the dual Bibendums above the cab.
The Swiss Scania in the second picture also has two (orange) Bibendums, finding themselves in a similar seating arrangement.
Is it true that a lot of these trucks have air suspensions and regularly park with the suspension lowered, like in the picture of the 2018 Volvo FH 6×2*4 tractor or the Scania right below it – or is that just a show-special trick?
Air suspension on all axles -so not only at the rear- has become a common feature in the recent past, certainly in this top segment of trucks and tractors, just like air suspended cabs and seats. At shows, many vehicles are parked in the as-low-as-you-can-go position (big Citroëns of yore style).
Must be something in that Dutch water because every rig pictured looks like it went through a weeklong detailing. No doubt these are highly specialized and very spendy. Each and everyone appears cared for at a level I haven’t seen here in the midwest US.
PS: In the first picture all I see are giant robot fishing rods.
For full effect, they should have lowered the hooks and pick up a visitor here and there, completely at random. On the other hand, that would be the last Lift ‘n’ Load event.