What did I see?

[Blood_of_Tyrants]

Between Nashville and Memphis last week I saw four big green vehicles on the backs of low boys. They looked like a bigger version of the 4 wheel drive construction site forklifts as pictured below. The big difference is that instead of forks on the end, it had some sort of very large device on the front that may have been a wide mine detector. The device was about 10-12 feet wide and mounted to the lifting beam in the middle and looked like it might rotate. Any ideas what it might be?

 

[gunboy1656]

Probably container movers.

 

[NDT]

Agreed, a container "top handler"

 

[duncan]

Yes, going with a reach stacker too, come in a ton of different sizes. If you see one of these stack some 40ft 30+ ton containers 4 high you cant help but admire the raw power of them.

 

[mudguppy]

yes, that's what they were. they were a Kalmar make. we could only move them around w/ HETS. i used to have some pretty cool recovery pics - we had to right one after the DA driver flopped it on it's side while moving a 40'-er around too fast off road. we just used 2 HEMMT wreckers to right it.

the Kalmar VT240s are replacing the RTCH's. personally, though, a good RTCH operator can run circles around a Calmar just like a good M10A forklift operator can run circles around the variable reach M10000. they may have more "capability" but they have to be operated slowly.

here's a good pic i found in a second on the 'net: Kalmar VT240. better pics can be found...

 

[ecostruction]

GL just had one of those, or a version of it, at Letterkenny a month ago.

 

[Blood_of_Tyrants]

Yep, that's what it was with military flat green paint.

 

[MyothersanM1]

Only got a front pic of this one. Sorry. My son is in the driver's seat. Thing's a monster! Was at Torrance, CA this last May.

 

[Blood_of_Tyrants]

Yep, that's what I saw. Took up the entire 50' trailer.

 

[mudguppy]

what else is cool about those is that the cab can hydraulically shift all the way to the left side and down in order to lower the boom for transport.