Shuttlelift has announced that it will unveil an impressive new gantry crane for its dealers when they arrive in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, this week for the annual dealer meeting. On site will be the largest rubber-tired, double-beam, fully traversable gantry crane the manufacturer has ever built: the Shuttlelift DB 200.
More than 54 feet tall, more than 68 feet wide and just under 44 feet long, the new DB 200 is by all accounts a gargantuan machine, and it can handle loads that are up to a whopping 400,000 pounds. Yet according to Kurt Minten, Shuttlelift’s director of industrial sales, the crane has a unique ability that overshadows even these impressive statistics.
“What makes this machine unique is that a 200-ton load can move from one side of the crane to the other,” he explained. “This is the largest full-capacity, fully traversable crane out there.”
In other words, the crane can lift a full-capacity load on one side or the other, not just on its centerline. Any other manufacturer’s rubber-tired gantry crane with a lifting capacity greater than 300,000 pounds will have that capacity diminished when the load is not on the centerline.
“The DB 200 is a new design, which we specifically tailored to suit the customer’s requirements,” Minten said. “We’re all very enthused about it.”
The new DB 200 will be undergoing product testing during the dealer meeting, so Shuttlelift’s team of experts will be demonstrating all of its customized features to the group. Then, later in November, the machine will be delivered to its new owner, a large power supplier in Canada.
“The local dealer, Cropac Equipment, will be heavily involved in setting up the crane with our technicians and overseeing its operation through the one-year warranty period.”
Not only is the new DB 200 the largest crane of its type in the market, this particular model comes with an array of important features. One is all-wheel electronic steering; since all four wheels at all four corners of the crane are able to turn, the operator can employ several different modes of steering — 2WS 90° Front, 2WS 90° Rear, Crab, Transverse and Coordinate — which means maximum flexibility, maneuverability and precision handling.
Next, the machine has a wireless remote control, an option that improves visibility of the load by allowing the operator to be anywhere around the load or work being performed. Laid out in the same format as the cab controls, this feature enhances operational safety and efficiency. The crane also has an electronic load readout which provides indication in the cab of the load weight being lifted.
A special addition to the new DB 200 is the custom operator’s cab. This particular cab is elevated so the operator’s eye level, in a seated position, is 35½ feet from the ground for optimal viewing of the load. And, instead of the standard ladder, a series of stairs and platforms offers easy access to the cab.
“This is a good example of the partnerships we cultivate with our customers,” Minten explained. “People come to us with something that may seem inconsequential to us, or perhaps it presents engineering hurdles, but it’s important to them. We don’t shy away from unique engineering challenges.”
He also mentioned a unique safety feature: a proximity sensor and ultrasonic shutdown system.
“If there’s an obstacle up to 19 feet out from the machine, the system will sense that there’s something in that zone and it will stop the machine,” he said. “You’re not going to be relying only on the operator.”
And, as with all Shuttlelift rubber-tired mobile gantry cranes, the new DB 200 has hoists mounted low for easy inspection and routine maintenance; and grease-able fittings on sheaves and pivot points that flush out contaminants, increasing the life of the bearings.
“We think our customers and dealers are going to be very excited to see this machine,” Minten said of the new DB 200. “Yes, it’s a very big, powerful crane, and it’s also truly unique to the marketplace.”
