A truck mounted lattice boom crane is a mobile cable-controlled crane mounted on crawlers or rubber-tired carriers or a hydraulic-powered crane with a telescoping boom mounted on truck-type carriers or as self-propelled models. They are designed to use with different types of loads and cargo with little to no setup easily assembled and transportable to the destination. Mobile cranes generally operate booms from the end of which the hook is suspended from wire rope and sheaves. The wire ropes are operated through the cab operator controls a variety of transmissions run the crane by steam engines, electric motors, and internal combustion IC engines have all been used. The older cranes transmissions tended to use clutches. This issue was later fixed when using IC engines to match the steam engines' "max torque at zero speed" characteristic by the addition of a hydrokinetic element culminating in controlled torque converters.
The operational advantages of this arrangement can now be achieved by electronic control of hydrostatic drives, which for size and other considerations is becoming standard. Some examples of this type of crane can be converted to a demolition crane by adding a demolition ball, or to an earthmover by adding a clamshell bucket or a dragline and scoop, although design details can limit their effectiveness.
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