All-terrain crane
A multi-axle wheeled mobile crane combining on-road travel speed with off-road site mobility, equipped with all-terrain tyres, outriggers, and a telescopic boom.
An all-terrain crane (often shortened to "AT crane") is a wheeled mobile crane purpose-built for two roles: travelling at highway speeds between sites on public roads, and operating on rough or unprepared ground once it arrives. It does this by combining all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering with all-terrain tyres, a suspended driver's cab for road travel, and a separate operator's cab for the lifting work.
Typical lift capacities range from around 40 tonnes up to 1,200+ tonnes for the largest models from manufacturers like Liebherr (LTM series), Tadano, Grove, and Demag. The carrier has between 3 and 9 axles depending on capacity. The telescopic main boom is hydraulically extended; on bigger machines a luffing or lattice jib can be fitted at the boom head to add reach and height.
AT cranes are the workhorses of European construction and infrastructure. A typical job mix includes wind-turbine installation, bridge erection, industrial maintenance, and one-off heavy lifts where the speed of a mobile crane beats the rigging cost of a tower or crawler. Outriggers must be deployed before lifting; ground-bearing pressure under the outrigger pads is what determines whether a given site is usable.
When buying or renting, the key comparison points are maximum lift capacity at a defined radius (read from the load chart), boom length, on-board counterweight, axle configuration (affects road permits), and whether the unit is single-engine or twin-engine. Most modern ATs are single-engine.