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Heard a guy at the union hall say he never uses his swing brake on crawler cranes
Said it saves wear on the swing gear and he just bikes the house to stop the load. I tried it on a job in Phoenix last month moving AC units on a roof. Felt sketchy at first but he was right about control. You just gotta feather the lever instead of locking it. Anyone else run without the swing brake?
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the_river1mo ago
Well sure, if you enjoy playing roulette with your load and insurance rates. I'll stick with the brake and let the young bucks experiment.
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dakotaknight1mo ago
Young bucks experimenting" is a good way to put it, but haven't you ever noticed how much smoother the load rides without that brake grabbing? Seems like a trade-off between control and safety that's worth hashing out. What's the worst thing you've actually seen happen from running without it?
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