A company in Kenya that works with engineering machinery, mining and the support services around them has put five BOB-LIFT SQ5SA4 5-ton telescopic boom cranes to work on its own IVECO T-WAY 6×6 trucks. The customer told our sales team it is very satisfied with the cranes and is now planning a second batch. This report is based on three photos and a 56-second video sent back from the customer’s yard, and on the SQ5SA4 drawing and load chart from our technical department.
| Order at a glance | Details |
|---|---|
| Customer | Engineering machinery, mining and support services company, Kenya |
| Cranes | 5 × SQ5SA4 telescopic boom truck-mounted crane |
| Rated capacity | 5,000 kg, 12.5 t·m lifting moment, 360° slewing |
| Trucks | The customer’s own IVECO T-WAY 6×6 with dropside bodies (BOB-LIFT supplied the cranes) |
| Next step | Second batch being planned |
What the customer’s photos show
Each crane sits directly behind the cab, between the cab and a long blue dropside body. The photos come from one of the trucks, which carries a fleet number on its windscreen.
- Boom marking. The red boom carries the BOB-LIFT name and the SQ5S series mark, the mark used on our 5-ton telescopic boom cranes.
- Outriggers down. In every shot the near-side outrigger is extended and lowered onto a solid pad before the crane lifts.
- Hydraulics on the crane. A black hydraulic oil tank with a level gauge sits beside the crane column.
The video: loading a machine onto the deck
The customer’s video shows a complete self-loading cycle. An operator stands at the control station beside the lowered outrigger and lifts a white machine unit on a chain sling from the ground behind the truck, slews it over the side and lands it on the rear part of the deck. The boom is raised and only partly extended, so the load stays at a short radius where the crane has plenty of capacity in hand.
SQ5SA4 specifications and load chart
The SQ5SA4 is a 5-ton telescopic boom truck-mounted crane: a crane with a straight boom that extends in sections, mounted on a truck chassis behind the cab. In our model code, SQ5 is the 5-ton class, S is a straight (telescopic) boom and A4 is a four-section boom. The figures below come from the technical department’s drawing.
| Item | SQ5SA4 |
|---|---|
| Max lifting capacity | 5,000 kg |
| Max lifting moment | 12.5 t·m |
| Horizontal reach | 3,990 mm retracted to 11,790 mm extended |
| Slewing | 360° |
| Hydraulic flow and pressure | 32 L/min at 21 MPa |
| Recommended power | 18 kW |
| Oil tank | 100 L |
| Crane self weight | 2,400 kg |
| Installation space behind the cab | 800 mm |
| Outrigger span | 2,293 mm retracted to 5,593 mm extended |
Lifting moment is the load multiplied by the working radius, so it tells you how quickly capacity falls as the hook moves out. The full 5,000 kg applies only at about 2.2 m radius, with the shortest boom raised to 50°. The table below shows what the load chart allows with the boom level.
| Boom length | Working radius (boom level) | Rated load |
|---|---|---|
| 4.2 m | 4.0 m | 3,000 kg |
| 6.8 m | 6.6 m | 1,650 kg |
| 9.4 m | 9.2 m | 900 kg |
| 12 m | 11.8 m | 600 kg |
Read the chart at the furthest point the load has to travel, not at the headline tonnage. In the customer’s video the machine is lifted close to the truck, which is the efficient way to use a 5-ton crane. Our guide on how to read a crane load chart walks through the method step by step. In the United States, the OSHA crane rule requires the load chart to be available to the operator at the control station [1], a sensible habit on any site.
Why a 5-ton telescopic crane suits a mining service truck
For machinery and mining support work, a crane truck is mainly a self-loading vehicle. It picks up equipment at the yard, carries it on its own deck and sets it down at the site without waiting for a separate crane. Typical loads for this kind of work include pumps, compressors, generator sets, spare parts and tool boxes. In our experience, buyers who fit a crane to a service truck care about three things more than maximum tonnage:
- Load at the deck edge. Most lifts happen within a few metres of the truck. The SQ5SA4 still rates 3,000 kg at 4.0 m with the boom level.
- Reach for the occasional far lift. Four boom sections give 11.8 m of reach for light loads, such as placing parts over a wall or onto a structure.
- Simple maintenance. A straight telescopic boom has fewer pivot points than a knuckle boom, which keeps greasing and inspection quick. A knuckle boom folds more compactly and places loads more precisely near the truck, so it suits short city trucks better than a long 6×6 body.
The 6×6 chassis was the customer’s choice for unpaved site roads. The crane itself works the same on any truck that meets its installation space and hydraulic requirements. Because the crane stands on outriggers, the ground under each pad matters as much as the crane; our article on crane outriggers and ground bearing pressure explains how to check it.
Five cranes, one model, and a second batch
Running one model across a fleet keeps things simple. Operators learn one control layout and one load chart, and the workshop stocks one set of seals, hoses and wear parts for every truck. A repeat order of the same model keeps that advantage as the fleet grows.
Every BOB-LIFT crane carries a 12-month warranty on the whole crane. Common spare parts are dispatched within 48 hours, and our service team replies within 12 hours. Before packing, each crane is mounted on the factory test bay and run through lifting, slewing and outrigger functions under load, as described on our quality testing page.
Frequently asked questions
How much can a 5-ton telescopic truck crane lift?
The SQ5SA4 lifts its full 5,000 kg only at about 2.2 m radius. With the boom level it rates 3,000 kg at 4.0 m and 600 kg at 11.8 m, so always check the load chart at your working radius.
Can a BOB-LIFT crane be fitted to my own truck?
Yes. The Kenyan customer’s cranes are on its own IVECO 6×6 trucks. Send us the truck model, wheelbase and the space behind the cab, and we will check that the crane fits. The SQ5SA4 needs 800 mm of installation space and a 32 L/min hydraulic supply.
Which other cranes are in the 5-ton class?
Our telescopic boom truck-mounted crane range also includes the three-section SQ5SA3, and there are 5-ton knuckle boom models as well. Each product page lists the full specifications and load chart.
Planning a similar crane truck
We thank our customer in Kenya for sharing these photos and the video. If you are building service or equipment trucks, send us your truck and load details: the truck model and wheelbase, the hydraulic power you can take from the truck, and the heaviest load with the distance it has to travel. We will check the SQ5SA4 load chart against those figures, or suggest a larger or smaller model. Lead time and shipping are confirmed with your quotation.
Written by Achord Chan, Product Operations Director at BOB-LIFT, based on the customer’s photos and video, our sales team’s account and the SQ5SA4 technical drawing. We do not publish the customer’s name or company.
