Truck-mounted crane
A telescopic-boom crane permanently mounted on a commercial truck chassis, designed for fast road travel and rapid setup on prepared sites.
A truck-mounted crane (sometimes called a truck crane, boom truck, or commercial-chassis crane) places the crane upper-works onto a standard heavy-truck chassis. The result is a machine that drives on the highway at full road speeds, parks itself, deploys its outriggers, and starts lifting — typically faster to set up than any other mobile crane class.
The category covers a wide range. At the small end are commercial-chassis cranes (5-30 tonne capacity) that look like a flatbed truck with a folding boom — used by utilities, telecoms, and tree-care contractors. At the large end are dedicated truck cranes with custom heavy-haul chassis, capacities of 100+ tonnes, and full telescopic booms; these compete with all-terrain cranes on speed of road transit.
The trade-off vs all-terrain cranes is mobility on site. Truck cranes drive well on roads and paved yards but have limited off-road capability — they're designed for sites with prepared standing positions. For sites that mix road travel with rough-ground operation, an AT crane is the better tool; for sites that are paved or yards with good access, a truck crane is faster, cheaper to operate, and often simpler to permit on public roads.
Common manufacturers include Tadano, Manitowoc/Grove (TM series), Liebherr (LTF series), and many regional Chinese and Japanese makers. When comparing models, check maximum capacity at radius, on-board counterweight, axle layout (affects road weight permits), and whether the boom is single-engine or twin-engine.