Lifting Machinery and a Steel Tank with a 12-Ton Truck Crane in Argentina

A customer in Argentina mounted a yellow BOB-LIFT SQ12ZA4 12-ton knuckle boom truck crane behind the cab of a rigid truck and sent back 11 photos of it at work. Outdoors, the crane lifts a round steel tank onto a raised steel stand next to a sheet-metal building. Indoors, the truck drives into large industrial sheds and the crane lifts long, plastic-wrapped machines off their skids while a small team steadies them by hand.

We only know what the pictures show and what the spec sheet says. The weights involved and the customer's line of business were not shared.

The photos show the same truck doing two quite different lifts: one outdoors at height, one indoors under a roof. Outside, the boom is raised high to clear the top of the stand and set the tank down on it. Inside, the boom is kept low and folded so it works under the roof trusses and next to an existing overhead crane whose beam is marked 2 t.

A knuckle boom makes this possible because its sections fold. The operator can bring the hook in close and low for indoor work, or unfold the boom to full height outdoors, without changing equipment.

In the BOB-LIFT model code, SQ12 is the 12-ton class, Z is a knuckle (folding) boom and A4 means one main boom plus three hydraulic extension booms. The SQ12ZA4 is rated at 12,000 kg maximum lifting capacity and 27 t·m maximum lifting moment, with 360° slewing. Recommended power is about 30 kW; the hydraulics run at 55 L/min and 28 MPa with a 160 L oil tank. The crane weighs 4,480 kg and needs 1,400 mm of installation space behind the cab.

The maximum capacity applies close to the column. Check the load chart at your real radius rather than the headline figure.

Each indoor set of photos shows the same routine:

1. Drive the truck into the shed.
2. Extend the yellow-and-black outrigger legs and lower them onto the concrete floor.
3. Rig slings and spreader straps to the machine skids.
4. Lift and lower the machine into position.

On a finished floor the outriggers matter twice: they keep the truck level and stable, and they spread the crane's load over a larger area of the slab; pads under the outrigger feet reduce point loads further. For indoor placement, plan the lift in advance; UK HSE guidance on LOLER is a widely used reference for lift planning. Tag lines give extra control of a suspended load and keep hands off it.

If you move machinery into buildings or install tanks and silos, tell us the heaviest item, the radius from the truck, the clear height inside the building and the truck chassis you plan to use. We will check the load chart at that radius and recommend a crane size that fits under your roof and on your truck.