Crawler crane hire · Sydney + Central Coast
Crawler crane hire Sydney — built for a site a crane can’t access.
A mini crawler crane moves on rubber tracks instead of wheels. That one difference is why builders call us: it drives off the truck and onto lawns, sand, slopes, mud and pavers under its own power, spreads its weight at about 50 kPa of ground pressure, and climbs a 20-degree grade to get where the lift is. Parramatta Cranes hires two Maeda mini crawler cranes, the 285 and the 305, with a ticketed operator, across Sydney and the Central Coast, 24 hours a day. They lift up to 2.98 tonnes close in, and the 305 reaches a 12.5 m hook height. These are compact crawlers for tight sites, not the 50-tonne lattice crawlers you see on infrastructure jobs, and this page is honest about where each belongs.
- Tracks from 750 mm wide
- About 50 kPa ground pressure
- Climbs 20-degree grades
- From $195/hr + GST, operator included
What sets a crawler crane apart
It goes to where the lift is, not where the truck can park.
A truck-mounted crane needs firm, level ground to park on and a clear boom path from the street. A mini crawler crane needs neither. It leaves the truck at the kerb and tracks itself to wherever the load has to go, then plants four outrigger legs and lifts. Here is what that buys you on a real site:
The 285 puts about 50 kPa on the ground, the 305 about 36 kPa. That is in the range of a person walking. A truck crane’s outrigger pads load the ground many times harder, which is why lawns, pavers, sand and fresh fill that would swallow a wheeled crane carry a mini crawler without a mark.
Rated for a 20-degree grade, so steep driveways, basement ramps, sloped backyards and battered estate blocks are drivable. Rubber tracks grip where wheels spin, and we carry mats and timbers to bridge soft patches.
At 2.2 to 2.8 km/h the crane walks from the truck, through the gate or the front door, across the site and into position. No second machine to unload it, no float onto the block, no waiting for a spot on the road.
Once in position the outriggers extend individually, so the crane levels itself on uneven ground, half on a path and half on a garden bed, or with legs shortened on one side against a wall.
The 285 weighs 1,990 kg all up. With the load spread through outrigger mats it works on suspended slabs, upper floors and rooftops that a wheeled crane could never reach.
When the lift point is further in than the crane can reach, our tracked carrier walks the steel, glass or pool shell in on its own tracks and the crawler crane takes it from there.
Our mini crawler crane fleet
Two Maedas, one for every gap.
| Specification | Maeda MC285C-3 | Maeda MC305C-3 |
|---|---|---|
| Max capacity | 2.82 t at 1.4 m | 2.98 t at 2.5 m |
| Max hook height | 8.7 m | 12.5 m |
| Max working radius | 8.2 m | 12.2 m |
| Track width | 750 mm | 1,280 mm |
| Machine weight | 1,990 kg | 3,900 kg |
| Ground pressure | About 50 kPa | About 36 kPa |
| Travel speed | 0 to 2.2 km/h | 0 to 2.8 km/h |
| Gradeability | 20 degrees | 23 degrees |
| Setup footprint | 4.8 × 4.7 m, about 3.2 × 2.5 m confined | 5.2 × 4.8 m, smaller on short legs |
| Best for | Tightest access, doorways, indoor, residential, slabs | Heavier lifts, over-the-house reach, commercial and industrial |
| Rate | $195 per hour + GST | $205 per hour + GST |
| Full spec + range chart | Maeda 285 | Maeda 305 |
Both are also spider cranes, because they set up on four extendable outrigger legs, and both are mini cranes, because they fit where nothing else does. The word crawler describes the base. If you want the setup explained, read spider crane hire; if you want the machines compared side by side for a job, start at mini crane hire Sydney.
Mini crawler or heavy crawler
Straight answer: which crawler crane do you actually need?
The lift is 20 tonnes and up, the site is an open infrastructure, bridge or high-rise job with room for a lattice-boom machine, and the crane will live on site for weeks. That is a 50 to 600 tonne crawler from a heavy-lift company, and we are not that company. Call us anyway and we will tell you who is.
The load is under 3 tonnes and the problem is the ground or the gap, not the weight: a backyard behind a house, a sloping block, a lawn that cannot be driven on, an indoor slab, a coastal site on sand, or a job a Franna cannot get to. That is exactly what our two Maedas are for, and they are usually the only crane that can do it.
Weighing a mini crawler against a Franna or a small mobile crane? The owner has years of Franna seat time, so we can tell you honestly when the truck crane is the better call. See Franna crane hire Sydney.
Ground we work on
The most common call. Pool shells, steel and roof trusses into finished backyards without tearing up the turf or the garden beds. Mats go down where the outriggers land.
Central Coast and Northern Beaches sites on sand that a truck crane sinks into. Tracks float on it, and our base at The Entrance is close.
Hills District acreage, Penrith and Campbelltown estates cut into a hillside, harbour-slope homes. The crane tracks down or up the slope to a level spot and levels itself with the outriggers.
New estate blocks in Marsden Park, Gregory Hills, Jordan Springs and Box Hill after rain. Low ground pressure and rubber tracks keep it moving where wheels bog.
Upper floors of apartment and commercial builds, and low roof decks reached by a ramp or a hoist. The 285 is light enough to work on a slab with mats spreading the outrigger loads.
Factories, warehouses, shopping centres and heritage buildings, where the crane tracks through the door and works under the roof.
On the job
What the ground adds to the price
Usually nothing. Sometimes a few mats.
Soft ground does not change the crane rate. A crawler crane on lawn, sand or fill costs the same per hour as one on concrete: $195 for the Maeda 285 and $205 for the Maeda 305, operator included, plus travel and GST, with a six-hour minimum. The only ground-related extra is track mats at $25 each with a minimum of two, and we tell you at quote time whether your site needs them. If the setup point is further in than the crane can reach, the tracked carrier is added at $800 a day. The full rate card with worked examples lives on the mini crane hire Sydney page and the pricing guide; this page does not repeat it.
How a crawler crane hire runs
Photos of the path from the street to the lift point, the narrowest gap, and what the crane will stand on. Grass, pavers, slab, sand or mud all change the plan, none of them stop it.
We pick the 285 or the 305, decide where the mats go, and check the lift against the crane’s load chart at your actual reach. See how to prepare your site.
The crane unloads from our truck at the street and tracks itself in, over whatever is in the way, to the setup point.
Outriggers out on mats, operator and dogman run the lift, then the crane folds up and tracks back to the truck. Most residential lifts finish inside the six-hour minimum.
The numbers that matter
What our crawler cranes lift
- Structural steel — beams and lintels on tight sites, with our steel beam lifting service
- Glass and facade panels — flown on the Glassboy vacuum lifter, see glass lifter hire
- Pool shells, spas and landscaping materials — over the house and onto the lawn without driving on it
- Plant, machinery and air-conditioning — onto low roofs, into plant rooms and across suspended slabs
- Roof trusses, timber packs and bulk bags — into estate blocks and backyards with no truck access
- Anything a Franna cannot reach — see pick and carry crane hire for how the crane and carrier work together
Where the ground is hardest
The soft-ground, slope and estate-mud jobs cluster in a handful of areas. These are the ones where the tracks earn their keep most weeks:
Frequently asked questions
Do mini crawler cranes work on soft ground?
Can a crawler crane climb a driveway or a sloping block?
Will the crane damage my lawn, pavers or driveway?
How much can a mini crawler crane lift?
Does soft ground or a slope make crawler crane hire cost more?
What is the difference between a crawler crane and a spider crane?
How does a crawler crane get onto an upper floor or a slab?
Do you offer long-term crawler crane hire?
Related
Send us a photo of the ground. Grass, sand, mud, slope or slab, text it to 0434 242 777 with the load weight and we will tell you which Maeda tracks in. Open 24/7.