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Pro tip: The old way to set up on soft ground versus using a proper crane mat system
I was reading an old shop manual from the 80s and it said to just use scrap wood under a frame rack on dirt. Found out the hard way that can still sink a good inch, even on packed soil. We switched to renting proper composite mats from United Rentals last year and it's night and day for keeping things level. Anyone else make that switch and notice how much faster setup is?
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rowanf641mo ago
Wait, they said an inch of sink on packed soil? That's wild, I would have guessed maybe half that at most. It really shows how much weight gets focused on those points. Once you feel that first little wobble you know you're in for a bad time. The proper mats just spread it out so much better, no more constant rechecking the level.
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abby8361mo ago
Oh man, tell me about it. We tried the scrap wood thing for years, just layers of busted pallets and old 4x4s. It was a total joke on any kind of damp ground. I remember watching a whole corner of the rack just vanish into the mud like it was quicksand, took us an hour to jack it all back up and start over. Switched to those rented mats and it's like setting up on concrete now, just drop them and go. The time we save not fighting the stupid level every single day is huge.
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