Renault Kerax 420 - Schmuki S.A.

This is a Renault Kerax 420 in 6x6 layout of the company Schmuki S.A. from Lucens in Switzerland.

The Renault is equiped with the heaviest Palfinger crane, a PK 150002 G. A support leg has been mounted to the front bumper. This one is tiltable so that it doesn’t affect the maximum angle of inclination much.

Here we have a side-view. The length of the chassis is determined largely by the required distance between the crane and the front support legs. This distance is larger than it normally is. The entire crane chassis is different at many points, compared to a normal Palfinger chassis.

The Palfinger has been mounted above the tandem. This way the boom can fold between both axles when it is in transport position. It is also visible here that the distance from the crane to the front and rear support legs is about equal. This gives stability is most directions. The only direction where the crane doesn’t have it’s full lifting table is directly to the front, over the cab. The chassis of the truck isn’t strong enough in this area to support the load.

A secure support base to the rear is given by the 4 tiltable support legs. The 2 rear ones are mounted to a subframe that can extend for 1,2 meters to the rear.

This rear view shows that the truck is kinda heigh with this crane. This is caused by the fact that a 6x6 chassis is already very high. The big support frame and the crane give it the rest of it’s height. The Palfinger is equiped with a winch, visible at the top of the boom.

At the other side a big winch is mounted besides the crane. The cable of this winch will run through the guiding-roll that is mounted on top of the rear support legs.

A better view on the big winch, which has a really thick cable ! On top of the oiltank of the crane we see 2 big coolers.

This truck is mainly used for the maintanence and cutting of trees. This area of Switzerland has a lot of woods. For this job they use accessories like workman baskets or grabbers with cutters. In this line of work the large outreach of this crane (with jib) is an adavantage. Beside the air filter there is the oil-cooler of the ZF-Intarder (retarder) that is connected to the gearbox.

The legally allowed weight of a 3-axled truck is not enough to carry a crane like this, especially not when a stable support system like here together with a 6x6 is chosen. This is one of the reasons why this truck has been registered as machine (brown license plate). This way it is allowed to make use of the technical axle loads. In this case that means a total weight of up to 34 tons is allowed. In this configuration it weighs 33 tons!!

The combination of a Renault 6x6 with a Palfinger of this size makes this vehicle really unique !!

This is the jib that belongs to the truck.

 
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