are r/c crane any fun?

[cosworth34677]

ok im looking for the next r/c project. i got a theme behind my trucks, i got a little heavy truck and excavation/land prep company. so im thinking something "BIG" for the next project. so im thinking a crane. but before i get all into this project and spend tons of money time and tool throwing! are they any fun?
i mean really are they worth the time to make or are they just a " look at my big @ss r/c toy!" type thing?

[kcusumano]

you should make a crane and you should make a vid of all your trucks and mechines at work all at once that would be awsome

[Goose19]

i think it depends on how many stages the boom is and what it'll pick up. im all for r/c crane-ing my beer or rye or supper to my mouth...... anyone can toss a grape and catch it in thier mouth, but how many can slowly lower it into place? :D :D :D :D :D

ive thought about it too..... i think it would be cool, as long as it can lift things. ( meaning have a bit of power and stability)

[Stuff]

I find my unit crane is fun. gives you lots to do with limited space.

[Supermario]

Since I watched Oztrucks video of his new crane I got the bug for one. His videos show perfect examples of a crane in use and not just a showpiece. I found the one I want to start with but they are out of stock and I'm waiting to hear from them

http://www.hobbytron.com/HobbyEnginePremiumLabelCrawlerCrane1:122.4GhzRTRRC ConstructionVehicle.html

My plan is to use the crane to load crates, large parts , etc onto my flat deck and can also use with a clam bucket and load my wife's dump trailer I figure.


Mario

[Claus]

If your not hung up on it looking like a real crane build one out of an erector set.

[SmallHaul]

I enjoy the Doepke crane that i converted.

There are many things you can do with it... drag line, clam bucket, simple hook, grapple hook, electromagnet...

[cosworth34677]

ya i was thinking a truck crane but it would be easyer if it was a crwaler crane

[pugs]

This one looks like it will be fun. And HUGE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrFGKoN7sT0
They have several videos of their progress so far

[9W Monighan]

Cranes are very impressive at shows. It would be fun to see what they can lift without collapsing. That would just make it more fun to rebuild it. A very good teaching apparatus. Although like a crane, I thoroughly enjoy my dragline since I can sit here for hours and just dig away. Only problem is moving it from show to show because of it's size.

[cosworth34677]

its been a while, but i got the bug again. i'm going on vaction at the end of the month and looking for a project to work on. i'm got a body mod for one of my trucks first but i am really thinking of the crane project i lke the older looking ones like a american or a manitowoc but im scared of the ladder boom, i'm wondering if there is something premade i can weld together to make that?

any ideas or help would be great






later

[sassgrunt]

I was in a hobby shop about 10 years ago, and bought one of these cheap Hobby Engine cranes: http://www.hobbyengine.com.hk/catalog/product.php?product_id=25 I believe it cost me around $40 at the time, and I have seen them several times since for under $100. It is not very powerful, but I have had a lot of fun just messing around with it. I changed out all the 'cable' for a silver-colored string I found at a fabric store - it looks much better. The rubber-band tracks finally fell apart, but I managed to change them out for the track and drive sprockets from a 1/16 KV-1 tank. And, after all of that, the radio gave up entirely. I am trying now to figure out a way to replace it with a real one. Ha. The scale is purported to be 1/12, and that's based a lot on the size of the operator's cab. I have wondered if I can build a new body from sheet styrene that has an 'older' look to it.
But all in all; I'm glad I got it. When I finally do get tired of repairing it or trying to improve the looks; it'll just make an impressive (albeit nonworking) load.

[sassgrunt]

Chris, that's an excellent video - thank you for posting the link! My crane looks like yours (although it's orange where yours is yellow), and does not have the smaller pivoting boom underneath the main boom. That's a neat feature that must be a newer feature. I am assuming that you changed out the stock radio for a better one?