Spierings details four crane configurations of the SK1265-AT5 eLift

According to the Dutch manufacturer, lifting capacity and reach are not the only factors that decide how a mobile tower crane earns its keep. Transport weight, the space available on site and the ballast a job actually requires all determine how efficiently the crane can be deployed. The SK1265-AT5 eLift answers this with a modular ballast concept: only the counterweight the lift demands goes on the crane, rather than the machine carrying its full ballast everywhere.

Four configurations, four weight classes

In its first configuration, for travel on public roads, the SK1265-AT5 eLift keeps its total weight below 60 tonnes, with intelligent axle load distribution limiting each of the five axles to roughly 12 tonnes. That keeps the crane within the transport regulations that apply on the road.

For work on site, additional ballast takes the crane into its second configuration at under 64.6 tonnes, raising lifting capacity while the machine stays compact. An integrated auxiliary crane lets the operator position the ballast without any support equipment.

Configuration three, at under 66.3 tonnes, is pitched as the maximum performance available within the five-axle concept, balancing reach, capacity and mobility. The fourth and heaviest configuration, at under 69.7 tonnes fully assembled, gives the crane its maximum stability and lifting performance.

Ballast detection picks the load chart

Switching between setups only works if the load chart in use matches the counterweight actually installed. The SK1265-AT5 eLift therefore carries an Automatic Ballast Detection System, which recognises the fitted ballast configuration and applies the corresponding load chart by itself, with no manual selection by the operator.

Spierings says this removes a source of error and guarantees the crane always works to the correct chart for the ballast on board. Together with the on-board auxiliary crane, it is intended to make moving between the four configurations quicker and safer.

One crane, sized to the lift

The result, in the manufacturer’s reading, is a five-axle mobile tower crane that can be sized to the lift in hand: light enough to travel efficiently between jobs, and ballasted up only when a project calls for the full lifting performance the chassis can support.