Until recently, Desrochers Crane Service of Derby, VT, had a dilemma of sorts. The company, located just a few miles from the Canadian border, had a 30-ton National crane and a 90-ton Grove crane, but nothing to take care of jobs in the huge gap in between.

That was when Robert Desrochers turned to Wood’s CRW, of Williston, VT. Chris Palmer, the vice president of sales and marketing at Wood’s, sold Desrochers a Link-Belt HTC 8650-II hydraulic truck crane that could handle those in-between sized jobs.

Desrochers said he turned to CRW because he has worked with them for the past 10 years to purchase machines, such as a Terex and a National.

“They have been good to work with,” Desrochers said. “They are good guys at CRW. You call them and get answers. They are very willing to work with us.”

Wood’s CRW also is useful for Desrochers because it services the machines, as well as conducts yearly inspections.

He opted for the Link-Belt because the engineers seem to put a lot of thought into the design of the machines.

“They try to make everything serviceable,” Desrochers said. “There are no big clumps of wires and hoses that get in the way. The motor sits on the chassis, so you can get to it. With some other makes of cranes, the motors are difficult to get to.”

Desrochers also was impressed by the fact that Link-Belt’s 86 Series has been around for a number of years and that it has produced quite a few units.

“It seems to be fitting in pretty well. We’re hoping that it’s going to fill in the gaps. The 50-ton machine also has more capacity than the 30-ton model,” Desrochers added.

He has put the machine right to work on jobs such as setting rafters on condominiums at a nearby ski area at Jay Peak, constructing panelized houses, erecting steel buildings, and placing pre-cast concrete. Desrochers also has taken the machine to jobs as far away as Whitefield, NH — approximately 75 mi. — and others in nearby Newport.

The Link-Belt HTC 8650-II has a four-section boom — one base section and three telescoping sections. There is 110 ft. of main boom with a 51-ft. on board lattice fly, which is fully counterweighted. The crane is made of high-tensile steel with diamond-shaped impressions to increase the strength-to-weight ratio. The winches are operated with the help of an axial piston full- and half-displacement motor. It has a 23-ft. 10-in. (7.26 m) wheelbase and is 8 ft. 6 in. (2.6 m) wide.

A particular advantage of the Link-Belt HTC 8650-II crane is its weight of less than 80,000 lbs., making it the most transportable machine in its class. CEG

This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.

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