Crane sizes
Crane sizes are quoted in tonnes, but the number on the side is not what a crane can lift on your job. Here is how sizes work, and what a hire firm needs to pick one.
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Why there is no simple size chart
A crane's headline tonnage is its maximum capacity, at short radius, in its strongest configuration. It is not what it can lift on your job.
Rated capacity falls as the load moves further from the crane (the radius), and it changes with the boom length, the counterweight fitted, whether outriggers are fully extended, and the angle of the slew. Each crane has load charts from its manufacturer that give the capacity for each configuration. That is why a crane hire firm asks for the load's weight, the radius and the height, and sizes the crane from its load charts rather than from the weight alone.
Common crane types, smallest to largest
| Type | What it is | General size |
|---|---|---|
| Mini and spider cranes | Small tracked cranes that fold to fit through gates and doorways | Typically from under a tonne to several tonnes |
| Lorry loaders (HIAB) | A crane on a lorry that also carries the load | Smaller than mobile cranes; capacity is often quoted in tonne-metres, which reflects reach as well as weight |
| City and compact cranes | Short, manoeuvrable mobile cranes for tight streets and sites | At the small end of the mobile crane range |
| All-terrain mobile cranes | Road-going cranes with telescopic booms on outriggers | From small to very large, with the biggest rated in the hundreds of tonnes and more |
| Tower cranes | Fixed cranes for building projects, including self-erecting and mobile tower cranes | Sized by the jib length and the load at the tip as well as maximum capacity |
| Crawler cranes | Tracked cranes assembled on site | From mini crawlers to the largest cranes built; Liebherr rates its LR 13000 at 3,000 tonnes |
General ranges only. Capacities vary by model and configuration; the manufacturer's load chart for the specific crane is what counts.
Why a "50 tonne crane" may not lift 50 tonnes
The figure in a crane's name is usually its maximum rated capacity, which applies at a short radius in its best configuration. At the radius a real job needs, the same crane may only lift a fraction of that. The weight of hooks, slings and lifting beams also counts against the capacity. So a load that weighs much less than the crane's headline figure may still need a bigger crane, or a crane standing closer.
What decides the crane a hire firm sends
- Weight of the heaviest load, plus lifting accessories.
- Radius: the furthest distance from the crane's centre to where the load is picked or placed.
- Height the load has to reach or clear.
- Space to stand the crane and spread its outriggers, and access to get it there.
- Ground under the outriggers or tracks.
- Duration: a single lift, a few days, or a whole project.
You do not need to choose a size to ask for a crane. Give the details you know on the form, and the hire firm sizes the crane. Under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), every lifting operation has to be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out safely. BS 7121, the British Standard code of practice for the safe use of cranes, sets out how that is usually done. What that planning involves.
Sources, checked 12 October 2026: Liebherr, crawler crane LR 13000; HSE, Planning and organising lifting operations (derating is among the factors a plan addresses).
Other types of crane
- Mobile crane hire
- Mini crane hire
- Spider crane hire
- HIAB hire
- Tower crane hire
- Crawler crane hire
- Contract lift or crane hire
- Heavy haulage and abnormal loads
- Machinery moving
- Lift plans and the appointed person
- Crane sizes
Crane hire by town
Questions people ask
What size crane do I need?
It depends on the heaviest load, the radius (how far from the crane it has to go), the height, the space and the ground. The crane hire firm works it out from the crane's load charts, so give those details on the form.
Can a 50 tonne crane lift 50 tonnes?
Usually only at a short radius, in its strongest configuration. Capacity falls as the radius grows, so at a typical working radius it may lift much less.
What is a load chart?
The manufacturer's table of what a crane can lift at each radius and configuration. Crane hire firms use it to choose the crane and plan the lift.
What is the biggest crane type?
The largest cranes are crawler cranes. Liebherr describes its LR 13000 as the most powerful conventional crawler crane in the world, rated at 3,000 tonnes.
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