Both cranes drive to site on their own wheels, both have a telescopic boom and outriggers, and from a distance they are easy to confuse. The difference is the carrier — and it shapes almost everything else: capacity class, off-road ability, price and where each crane earns its keep.
Carrier: commercial truck versus purpose-built machine
A truck crane is mounted on a commercial truck chassis — in the CIS typically KamAZ, MAZ or Ural, in China the large makers' own chassis. The driver's cab is the standard truck cab; the operator works from a separate cab on the superstructure.
An all-terrain crane is built on a special multi-axle carrier designed by the crane manufacturer. Usually all axles steer, including a crab mode for moving sideways. Suspension is mostly hydropneumatic, levelling the carrier and lowering it for transport. There are two cabs: the driver's at the front and the crane cab on the superstructure.
Capacity classes
In the Kranovshik catalog all-terrain cranes range from 12 to 1,200 t, most models falling between 40 and 500 t. Truck cranes start at 5 t; the most common, especially from CIS makers, are the 16–50 t classes. Chinese manufacturers (XCMG, Sany, Zoomlion) build truck cranes of 100 t and more. A special case is lattice-boom cranes on a custom truck carrier such as the Liebherr LG 1750: formally a truck crane, in practice a heavy erection crane.
Road and off-road
- Speed. Both travel on the highway at truck speeds — typically 70–85 km/h.
- Manoeuvrability. With all-axle steering an all-terrain crane turns in a much smaller space — often the deciding factor on city sites.
- Rough ground. Many truck cranes have all-wheel drive, but an all-terrain crane copes better with a rutted site: more axles, more ground clearance, adjustable suspension. For really tough conditions there is a separate class — rough-terrain cranes.
- Axle load. Most countries limit axle loads on public roads. That is why heavy all-terrain cranes travel without part of their counterweight, sometimes without part of the boom, which follow on separate trucks.
Cost and maintenance
A truck crane is considerably cheaper to buy. The chassis is a standard truck, serviced by ordinary truck workshops, with parts easy to find. An all-terrain crane costs more and is more complex: the special carrier, hydropneumatic suspension and multi-axle driveline need the crane maker's service. In return you get a higher class, a better load chart at the same radii and versatility.
Which to choose
- Truck crane — loads up to 25–50 t, sites with decent access, lots of travelling between jobs. The workhorse of construction and maintenance in the CIS.
- All-terrain crane — heavier loads or longer radii, tight city sites, frequent moves in a heavy class, work under European rental practice.
- Rough-terrain crane — the crane stays on one large site (plant, quarry, industrial project) and rarely goes on public roads.
The final choice always comes from the load chart for the specific lift: two cranes of the same class from different makers can differ several-fold at radius.