Just realized my old trick for leveling a crane on soft ground still works after 15 years

Back in 2010 I was working a job on a site near a river, ground was all mud and silt from recent rain. Couldn't get the outriggers to hold steady no matter what I tried. An old timer I worked with showed me this trick where you lay down a couple layers of heavy timber mats, like railroad ties, then spread gravel over them before setting the pads. I forgot about it for years, started using those plastic pads everyone sells now. Last month I had a similar muddy site and the plastic pads kept sinking. Dug out the old timber method from memory and it worked perfect. Has anyone else gone back to an older way of doing something after newer gear let you down?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivers281mo ago

I had a similar situation back in 2012 on a job next to a creek after spring thaw. The newer composite pads I bought just squished into the mud like they were made of butter. I went back to the old railroad tie and gravel method my grandpa showed me and it held the crane steady all week.

kevin_schmidt971mo ago

Man that railroad tie and gravel method is still the real deal... I had the same thing happen to me on a gas line job couple years back. Those new plastic pads just spun right down into the muck after a day of rain. Switched back to the old timber mats with a base of crushed stone like my uncle taught me in the 90s and the crane sat solid as a rock the whole rest of the week. Sometimes the old school stuff just knows what the ground actually needs.