Choosing a crane is a matter of matching the machine to three things: the weight of the load, the distance and height you need to move it, and the conditions of the site. Get that match right and the lift is safe, fast and economical. Here is how the main types compare.
Mobile cranes
Telescopic mobile cranes drive to the site, set up on outriggers in minutes and handle the widest range of general lifting — steel erection, mechanical placement, sign and HVAC work. They are the default choice when you need versatility and quick setup across trades.
Crawler cranes
Mounted on tracks with a lattice boom, crawler cranes carry heavy loads over soft ground and can pick and travel. They suit long-duration, high-capacity work on energy, infrastructure and wind projects where a machine stays on site for weeks.
Tower cranes
For high-rise construction, a tower crane provides height and a fixed footprint, serving a building as it rises. The choice turns on final height, radius and the loads at peak reach.
Overhead and gantry cranes
Inside a plant or yard, overhead bridge cranes and gantry cranes move loads along a fixed runway — ideal for repetitive material handling in manufacturing, warehousing and fabrication.
Boom trucks, rough-terrain and carry-deck cranes
Boom trucks combine transport and lifting for rooftop and utility work. Rough-terrain cranes handle unpaved sites on large rubber tires. Compact carry-deck and spider cranes work indoors and in tight access where a full-size machine cannot reach.
Let the job pick the crane
The right answer depends on your heaviest pick at your required radius and height, the ground and access at your site, and how long the crane is needed. Tell Kranes the load, the reach and the site conditions, and we match the right crane and certified operator — supplied directly, with a quote in 24 hours.
The three numbers that decide the crane
Before any conversation about crane type, three numbers do most of the work: the weight of the heaviest load, the radius (horizontal distance from the crane's centre of rotation to the load), and the lift height. Capacity falls off sharply as the radius increases — a crane rated for a heavy load close in may handle only a fraction of that weight at full reach. That is why a load chart, not a headline tonnage, governs the choice. Get those three numbers right and the shortlist of suitable machines almost picks itself; get them wrong and you either over-rent or, worse, bring a crane that cannot safely make the pick.
Ground, access and overhead
The machine has to reach the lift, but it also has to get to the site and set up safely. Soft or sloped ground favours a crawler or rough-terrain crane and may call for matting under the outriggers. A tight urban footprint favours a compact carry-deck, a city-class mobile crane, or a tower crane with a small base. Low overhead clearance rules out tall booms. Overhead power lines impose strict approach distances. None of these are afterthoughts — they often decide the crane class before capacity does.
Indoor and low-headroom work
Work inside a plant, warehouse or finished building is its own category. A fixed overhead bridge crane or gantry crane is ideal for repetitive material handling along a defined path. For occasional indoor lifts where no fixed runway exists, a compact carry-deck crane or a tracked spider crane can work in tight, low-clearance spaces that a full-size mobile crane cannot enter. Matching the machine to the door width, floor loading and ceiling height matters as much as the weight of the load.
Duration and how it changes the math
A single one-hour pick and a multi-week erection programme call for different answers even at the same capacity. For short jobs, a mobile crane that drives on, sets up in minutes and drives off keeps mobilization cost proportional to the work. For long programmes, a crawler or tower crane that stays on site amortises its setup over weeks and handles repeated heavy lifts without re-mobilizing. The break-even depends on the number of picks, not just the calendar.
Common crane-selection mistakes
The most frequent error is choosing by tonnage alone and ignoring radius — a ‘50-tonne crane’ means little without the chart at your reach. The second is forgetting access: the perfect lifting machine is useless if it cannot reach or set up at the site. The third is under-planning rigging, so the crane arrives but the load cannot be safely attached. The fourth is leaving operator certification to chance. Each of these is avoidable with a short, accurate description of the job up front.
Reading a load chart
Every mobile crane comes with a load chart, and it is the single most important document in the selection. The chart lists, for each boom length and configuration, how much the crane can lift at a given radius — and the numbers drop, often steeply, as the load moves out. A crane advertised at a headline tonnage reaches that figure only at minimum radius, fully configured. The capacity you actually have at your working radius and height may be a fraction of it. This is why ‘how many tonnes’ is the wrong first question; ‘how much at my radius and height’ is the right one. When you give us the load, the reach and the lift height, we read the chart for you and confirm the machine has margin, not just a number on a brochure.
Questions to answer before you call
The fastest route to the right crane is a short, accurate brief. Before you reach out, know the weight of the heaviest item to be lifted, the distance from where the crane can set up to where the load lands, and the height it must clear or reach. Add the ground conditions and access — paved or soft, open or congested, any overhead lines or clearance limits — and how long the crane is needed. If the load has awkward geometry or needs special rigging, note that too. None of this requires technical expertise; it just describes the job. With those answers in hand we can match a machine and certified operator quickly, instead of trading guesses back and forth.
When a lift plan and a planner matter
Most everyday lifts are routine for an experienced operator. But some jobs warrant a written lift plan and, occasionally, an engineered study: very heavy or high-value loads, picks near power lines or structures, multi-crane lifts, work over occupied areas, or anything where the margins are tight. A lift plan documents the crane, configuration, rigging, ground bearing, exclusion zones and sequence before anyone leaves the ground. It is not bureaucracy — it is how complex lifts are made boring, which is exactly what you want. When you describe your job, flag anything that sounds non-standard; we will tell you honestly whether it is a straightforward pick or one that deserves a plan, and we will arrange the right level of rigour either way.
Matching the operator to the machine
The crane is only half the equation — the operator is the other half. Certification is specific: the qualifications and experience that suit a city-class boom truck are not the same as those for a large crawler on an industrial site. Part of supplying the right crane is supplying an operator certified and experienced for that class and that kind of work, along with the signal and rigging support the lift plan calls for. When we quote an operated rental, that pairing is built in, so the machine that arrives is matched to a person who knows how to get the most out of it safely.
Let the job pick the crane
You do not need to know the model number — you need to describe the work. Give Kranes the heaviest load, the radius and height, the ground and access, and how long you need it. We match the right crane class and certified operator, supplied directly across Canada, with a clear quote in 24 hours.