Talked to a guy from the 80s who changed how I think about crane brakes

Met a retired operator at the diner in Tulsa last month. He said he never trusted air brakes after a 40-ton crawler slipped on him in 87. That stuck with me so now I do a full brake test every morning before hooking anything, even if the logbook says it passed. Anyone else have a habit you picked up from an old-timer?

2 comments

2 Comments

emery_black1d ago

Man that story hits hard. Old timers carry lessons you just dont get from a manual. My mentor back in the day was a guy named Red who ran a 50 ton P&H for thirty years. He always tapped the boom pins with a wrench before a lift, said it told him if they were seated right by the sound. I still do that every single time even though guys newer than me laugh at it. But Ive caught two pins that were barely seated that way, so I dont care if it looks weird. Youre right to trust the gut check over a paper log any day.

the_sam1d ago

Tulsa diner stories are a dime a dozen man. I'm not saying the guy lied, but how do you know that 40-ton crawler slipped because of the brakes and not because he was rusty or the ground was crap or he just messed up the lift? People love to blame equipment. Also when was the last time a full brake test caught anything a logbook missed? Logbooks are barely worth the paper they're written on half the time because guys just pencil whip them. But a daily full test is still just a snapshot, you know. If a line blows or a seal goes mid-lift all that morning testing is out the window real quick. I'm not saying skip the check, I'm saying don't act like tapping a wrench on a pin or hitting the brake pedal once saves you from physics.