I tried a new way to check my crane's level on a site in Phoenix

For years I just used the built-in bubble level on the machine. Last month on a job with uneven ground, I brought a digital level from my toolbox. The digital one showed I was off by almost two degrees, which the old bubble level didn't catch. It made a huge difference in how smooth the picks felt. What other small tools have you guys added that made a big change?

3 comments

3 Comments

juliahall1mo agoMost Upvoted

Wow, that's a serious eye-opener! I always trusted those bubble levels too, figured they were good enough. Your story makes me realize how much I might be missing. I bet that two degrees feels huge when you're moving a load. Now I'm wondering what else I've been doing the old way just because it's how I learned. I need to look into a digital level for my own rig.

michael_bennett111mo ago

So what kind of work are you doing with your rig? I'm curious because for some loads, like a long pallet, that two-degree twist really stresses the straps.

cameron4262d ago

Man tell me about it! Once you start using a digital level you realize how much those old bubble levels were just giving you a rough guess. I remember I helped a buddy load a big generator on his flatbed years ago and we used a bubble level and thought it was good. Then we got to the job site and the thing was sitting crooked, had to use a come-along to pull it straight. A digital level would have saved us like an hour of messing around on the side of the road. Do you have a brand in mind or just starting the search?