Overview
Crawler cranes are important industrial machinery. They have extensive application in mining, wind power, chemical manufacturing, municipal construction and various other industrial sectors.This article will introduce the parameters, application scenarios and features of the world‘s top 10 largest crawler cranes. I hope to bring you more in-depth knowledge about crawler cranes.
Top1: Liebherr LR13000
The Liebherr LR 13000 is the world’s most powerful conventional crawler crane, widely applied in power plant and refinery construction for lifting ultra-heavy components, such as 1,500-tonne, 100-metre industrial columns.
Key Specifications
| Max lifting capacity | 3,000 t at 12 m radius |
| Max load moment | 65,000 t·m |
| Max lifting height | 240 m |
| Max working radius | 160 m |
| Max main boom length | 144m |
| Max luffing jib | 126m |
| Track width | 14 m |
| Transport unit max single weight | 70 t |
Features
The standout feature of the Liebherr LR 13000 crawler crane lies in its capability to perform independent hoisting without derrick ballast.It adopts Liebherr’s self-developed heavy-duty slewing ring bearing paired with a 750-ton fixed counterweight. The crane enables seamless switching between heavy and light lifting configurations, significantly cutting time spent on on-site assembly, disassembly and relocation.
At the same time, the size of the counterweight block perfectly matches a 20 foot standard container, with a maximum weight of 70 tons for each individual piece and a width controlled within 4 meters, greatly reducing transportation difficulty.
Classic Project
Jacking Leg Lifting Works for Vessel Aeolus at Bremerhaven Port, Germany
This project required lifting four giant steel legs for an offshore wind jack-up vessel. Each leg measures 87 meters long and weighs approximately 940 tons. Constrained by the cramped shipyard space at the narrow port, there was insufficient ground area to place the thousand-ton derrick ballast required by conventional heavy-lift cranes. Thanks to its proprietary ultra-heavy-duty slewing ring and integrated 750-ton on-board counterweight, the LR 13000 successfully completed the nearly 1,000-ton heavy-lift operation without installing any derrick ballast.
Top2: XCMG XGC88000
The XCMG XGC88000 is a 3600-ton super-large crawler crane independently developed by XCMG. It is primarily deployed for the precision hoisting of thousand-ton heavy components, serving major global heavy-lift projects in nuclear power, petrochemical and wind power sectors.
Key Specifications
| Max rated lifting capacity | 3600 t |
| Max rated lifting torque | 88000 t·m |
| Max combined boom length | main boom + tower jib: 216 m |
| Max heavy main boom length | 120 m |
| Max light main boom length | 144 m |
| Max standard tower jib length | 108 m |
| Max fixed jib length | 33m |
Features
The XCMG XGC88000 features a globally exclusive dual-structure design. It supports modular reconfiguration and seamless changeover between different operating modes. Operators can quickly take apart and reassemble the complete machine to convert a 3,600-ton heavy-duty crawler crane into a 2,000-ton unit. Simultaneously equipped with 5 sets of standardized boom working conditions, covering the entire industry’s heavy-duty engineering.
Classic Project
Saudi Jubail Amiral Petrochemical Complex
The project covers the hoisting of 11 ultra-large process towers with a total lifting weight of 9,855 tons. The core construction task focuses on lifting a giant washing tower that weighs 1,926 tons and stands 101 meters tall.
Teams take apart and restructure the equipment once projects finish to shift operation to the 2,000-ton working mode.It undertook medium and small-scale hoisting tasks within the plant area, maximizing equipment utilization and demonstrating the world-exclusive advantage of its dual-configuration design.
Top3:SANY SCC40000A
The SANY SCC40000A is a self-developed 4000-ton super crawler crane with a peak lifting moment of 90,000 t·m. Featuring a twin boom structure and intelligent control system, it offers stable, high-precision hoisting for nuclear power, petrochemical and large heavy-lift projects.
Key Specifications
| Max rated lifting capacity | 4,000 t |
| Max lifting torque | 90,000 t·m |
| Single boom working capacity | 2,000 t |
| V-type twin lattice main boom | 60–120 m |
| Max combined boom + tower jib length | 216 m |
| Variable superlift radius | 28–37 m |
Features
It sets a new benchmark for the load capacity limits of crawler cranes in the same class. Adopting a V-shaped herringbone dual boom frame, the two booms bear force synergistically, delivering far greater lifting performance than single-boom models at the same boom length. Equipped with a unique four-crawler eight-drive traveling system, the machine features a large grounding area and low ground pressure, eliminating the need for extensive ground hardening on mudflat and soft soil construction sites. It also enables smoother overall steering and load-carrying traveling performance.
Classic Project
Shouguang Luqing Integrated Rubber & Plastic Petrochemical Project, China
The core hoisted component is a propylene distillation tower standing 100 meters tall with a self-weight of 1,500 tons. The most prominent feature of this project is that the construction site consists of mudflat terrain with low bearing capacity. The four independent track sets greatly reduce ground pressure, eliminating the need for large-area site hardening and effectively resolving the weak foundation problem prevalent in petrochemical plant areas.
Top4: Manitowoc 31000
Standing as Manitowoc’s flagship heavy-duty crawler crane, the Manitowoc 31000 hits a maximum lifting capacity of 2,300 tons. Its core highlight is the patented Variable Position Counterweight (VPC) system, a suspended adjustable counterweight that greatly reduce site ground preparation work.
Key Specifications
| Max lifting capacity | 2300 t |
| Max load moment | 34800 t·m |
| Max heavy-lift main boom | 105 m |
| Max luffing jib | 102 m |
| Total maximum counterweight | 964 t |
Features
The crane adopts the world-exclusive patented Variable Position Counterweight (VPC) self-supporting suspended counterweight technology, which serves as its iconic core advantage.
The counterweight remains suspended throughout the entire operation process without touching the ground. It requires no large-area ground hardening, nor additional elevated tracks or counterweight trolley foundations, greatly reducing the cost and time required for site leveling.
Classic Projects
Oil Petrochemical Expansion, Ulsan, South Korea
The lifting part consists of an 800 ton heavy-duty reactor and a 400 ton reactor.
This project is characterized by an extremely narrow working area. The Manitowoc 31000 requires a minimal operating footprint of merely 336 square meters, cutting on-site occupation by 70%. The whole operation suspends the VPC counterweight above ground, eliminating demands for river filling and large-area ground hardening and slashing expenses spent on site reconstruction.
Top5:Demag CC 8800-1 Twin
The CC 8800-1 Twin is a twin-parallel boom ultra-large crawler crane developed by Germany’s Terex Demag on the basis of the 1,600-ton CC 8800-1 model. It delivers a maximum rated lifting capacity of 3,200 tonnes and ranks among the world’s mainstream heavy-duty lattice-boom crawler cranes.
Key Specifications
| Max lifting capacity | 3,200 t at 9–12 m radius |
| Max load moment | 43,900 t·m |
| Max lifting height | 234 m |
| Twin parallel main boom | 54–117 m |
| Max luffing jib | 117 m |
Features
Demag CC 8800-1 Twin adopts twin parallel booms to reach a max lifting capacity of 3,200 tons. It can be split into two independent 1,600-ton cranes for flexible multi-project use. Equipped with widened carrier, adjustable superlift ballast and dual redundant engines, it enables full-load pick-and-carry. The IC-1 intelligent control system ensures safe heavy-lift work for nuclear, petrochemical and LNG mega projects, with transport-compliant modular components.
Classic Projects
Qatar AGR Petrochemical Complex
Al Jaber Heavy Lift deployed CC 8800-1 Twin for 143 heavy lifts. It switched between single-boom 1,600-ton mode for standard equipment and twin-boom 3,200-ton mode to lift two 1,300-ton AGR absorbers in one piece. The crane can travel with full load on compact plant sites, and be split into two separate 1,600-ton cranes after project completion to boost asset efficiency.