Liebherr XXL crawler update

More details and the first picture have been obtained by IC of Liebherr's eagerly awaited range-topping LR XXL crawler crane (See News, Liebherr developing XXL crawler crane, IC April 2008).

Capacity of the new giant remains undisclosed but will be "two times that of the [1,350 tonne capacity] Liebherr LR 11350 or even a little bit more" according to a Liebherr spokesperson. That would put it somewhere near 3,000 tonnes. It will be a competitor for the Terex Demag CC 8800-1 Twin, according to Liebherr.

Maximum load moment will be 50,000 tonne-metres, which is more than the Twin. To give an idea of how much bigger the new crane will be, Liebherr's current largest crawler crane, the 1,1350 tonne capacity LR 11350 will be nearer in size to the 600 tonne capacity LR 1600.

The XXL will be able to crawl under full load in all configurations and the rear counterweight will either be floating or on a wheeled carrier. Slewing will be via a conventional type single slewing ring.

Four boom systems will be available, including a new patent-pending super heavy design. The others are light, standard and heavy. The single boom will be close to 4 m in its widest dimension, like the other large parts. An assist crane of 200 tonnes capacity will be used to help assemble the new crane.

For transport the heaviest component will be 65 tonnes and most of the pieces will be containerised (20-foot standard), including the counterweight slabs, the power modules, electrics and cab. Three component unit loads will be overdimensional at 4.25 m while all others will be a maximum of 4 m.

Powering the new giant will be a pair of V8 Liebherr Stage IIIb / Tier 4 diesel engines each producing 500 kW. It is a redundant system in that there will be full power available with both engines running and half speed lifting with one engine running.

In terms of application, the capacity of the new crane will allow much more pre-assembly of loads on the ground before having to lift them into place.

Fabrication of boom sections for the first unit had just started in late November and assembly will start in the second half of 2009 at the Liebherr-Werk Ehingen factory in Germany.

Pictured is a first view of what the new XXL crane will look like. For size comparison purposes it is shown next to a 600 tonne capacity Liebherr LR 1600 crawler crane.

See www.khl.com and future issues of International Cranes and SpecializedTransport magazine for the next available update as soon as more information becomes available.