Used Boom Trucks & Crane Trucks for Sale — Chinese Chassis, Export Ready

Four Types of Truck-Mounted Crane — Which One Fits Your Job?

Not every crane truck is the same machine. The same vehicle goes by several names — truck-mounted crane, lorry mounted crane, and across much of Africa and the Commonwealth simply a hiab truck — but the configuration underneath is what actually decides the job it can do. Understanding the four main types saves you from buying the wrong tool and paying for lifting capacity you will never use — or worse, ordering too light.

• Telescopic boom truck (straight boom): Sections slide out hydraulically to extend reach, typically 8–22 m. High lift height, fast cycle times, simple to operate. Best for construction materials, precast concrete, and telecom tower work. Common ratings: 5 t, 8 t, 10 t, 12 t, 16 t.
• Knuckle-boom crane / lorry loader (articulating boom, widely called a hiab across Africa and the Commonwealth): Two or more boom segments fold like a finger joint. The crane folds flat behind the cab when not in use, leaving the full bed free for cargo. Ideal for self-loading delivery trucks, timber yards, steel service centres, and any job where the truck also carries the load. Ratings from 3 t·m up to 100 t·m moment.
• Self-loading crane truck (loader crane + tipper): Combines a rear-mounted knuckle boom with a tipping body. One driver loads, hauls, and offloads without ground crew. Popular for sand/aggregate yards and small construction contractors in East and West Africa.
• Full truck crane (on dedicated carrier): Purpose-built crane carrier — outrigger spread, 360° slew, high boom angles. Heavier units from XCMG, Zoomlion, and Sany in the 25 t and above class. These are specialist machines; lead times and inspection depth increase accordingly.

If you are comparing a truck mounted crane against a mobile crane or a pick-and-carry crane, the truck-mounted option usually wins on total cost when the machine must also travel public roads between sites daily.

Lifting Capacity & Boom Reach: A Practical Reference

Buyers searching for a crane truck for sale often anchor on a single number — the rated lift at minimum radius. That figure means very little without knowing the actual working radius on your site. Use this table as a starting framework; confirm actual load charts before purchase.

Remember: a boom truck for sale listing almost always quotes maximum single-line capacity at minimum radius. Ask for the full rated capacity chart at 3 m, 6 m, 10 m, and maximum radius before you commit.

Chinese Crane Truck Brands: What You Are Actually Buying

China produces the world's largest volume of truck-mounted cranes and truck cranes. The main names you will encounter in the used market:

• XCMG: Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group — one of the largest crane OEMs in China by volume. Truck cranes (QY series) are export staples across Africa and the Gulf. Parts supply chain is among the most developed of any Chinese brand outside China.
• Zoomlion: Competitive with XCMG on full truck cranes; growing used-market presence in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.
• Sany: Known for rough-terrain and all-terrain cranes; truck-mounted units in the 25–50 t range increasingly seen in East African infrastructure projects.
• HOWO / SHACMAN chassis with third-party crane: The most common configuration for 5–16 t telescopic crane trucks and knuckle-boom lorry loaders. The truck body is a standard HOWO or SHACMAN (proven, parts available in almost every African capital), and the crane unit is mounted by a body builder.

For buyers who already run a HOWO fleet — common across South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania — a used boom truck on the same chassis simplifies driver training, servicing, and spare parts procurement. We prioritise HOWO and SHACMAN platforms for exactly this reason. You can browse the broader HOWO lineup on our HOWO truck pages.

What to Inspect on a Used Crane Truck Before You Buy

A used crane truck carries two inspection layers: the truck chassis and the crane superstructure. Our team checks both. Here is what matters, in plain terms:

Crane Superstructure

• Boom sections and welds: Look for cracks at pin holes, bent sections, and weld repairs. On telescopic booms, check slide pads and chrome cylinder rods for scoring.
• Hydraulic cylinders and hoses: Any weeping at seals on the boom lift cylinder or extension cylinders means immediate replacement cost. Budget for hose renewal on any unit over eight years old.
• Slew ring (slewing bearing): Grab the boom base and check for play. A worn slew ring is expensive to replace and affects load safety. This check alone disqualifies many otherwise tidy units.
• Outriggers and pads: Extend all four outriggers fully. Check for bent arms, leaking cylinders, and missing or cracked pads. On rough African ground, outriggers take abuse.
• Winch and hook block: Run the winch under load. Check rope/wire condition, hook swivel freedom, and safety latch.
• Load chart plate: Must be present, legible, and match the crane serial number. Missing or defaced charts are a red flag for units that have been over-loaded.
• Safety devices: Verify the rated capacity limiter (RCL/LMI) or mechanical overload protection is functional. Many importing countries now require this for port clearance.

Truck Chassis

• Frame straightness (especially behind the cab where the crane subframe bolts)
• PTO (power take-off) engagement — the crane's hydraulic pump runs from here
• Transmission and axle condition, tyre wear pattern
• Cooling system adequacy — crane operation adds heat load in hot climates

We document findings with photos and share the inspection report before you commit to payment. No guesswork on a machine that lifts over people's heads.

How We Source, Inspect & Ship Your Crane Truck

Sigma does not keep a fixed warehouse of crane trucks — this is a specialist, sourced-to-order line. Here is how the process works:

1. Requirement brief: Tell us your lift capacity, boom reach, application, chassis preference, and destination country. If you are unsure, describe the job — for example, setting 9-metre utility poles on laterite roads in Uganda is more useful than just a tonne rating.
2. Sourcing: We locate matching units from our supplier network across China. We shortlist two to four candidates and send you photos, mileage, year, and crane brand before any commitment.
3. Inspection: Our technicians carry out the full chassis and crane superstructure inspection described above. Critical defects are repaired or the unit is rejected.
4. Conversion: LHD/RHD conversion in-house if required. Steering, instrument cluster, and lighting adapted to destination-country standards.
5. CIF shipment: We handle port loading, marine insurance, and freight to your destination port — Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Tema, Apapa, Durban, Jebel Ali, Umm Qasr, and others. We have shipped to more than 40 countries.

Lead time from confirmed order to loading is typically four to ten weeks depending on unit availability and conversion scope. We do not quote faster than we can deliver. If you also need general haulage capacity alongside your crane unit, our used trucks for sale inventory covers a wide range of chassis and configurations.

Choosing a Crane Truck for Africa & the Middle East: Practical Notes

Operating a lorry crane in Nairobi, Lagos, Accra, or Baghdad is different from operating one in Europe. A few notes from experience:

• Dust and heat: Hydraulic oil degrades faster in high-ambient temperatures. Specify a cooler-capacity crane unit and budget for oil and filter changes at shorter intervals. HOWO and SHACMAN cooling systems are well-proven in sub-Saharan conditions.
• Road conditions: Outrigger pad size matters on unpaved ground. Larger pads, or supplementary timber mats, prevent sinkage on laterite or sand. Check that the outrigger spread on your chosen unit matches the ground-bearing capacity typical on your sites.
• Parts supply: XCMG crane parts are available through regional dealers in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and the UAE. HOWO chassis parts are widely available in almost every African capital — a key advantage over European-brand alternatives.
• Import duties and axle limits: Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania all apply strict axle-load limits. A 6×4 crane truck configured for 25-tonne gross in China may need derating or a special permit locally. We advise on this during the order brief.
• Operator certification: Gulf states (UAE, Iraq, Qatar) require crane operator certification and periodic third-party inspection of lifting equipment. Factor this into your total cost of ownership when comparing crane truck price across suppliers.

Buyers in South Africa sourcing cranes alongside general haulage units often start at our trucks for sale in south africa page to benchmark the broader fleet before specifying the crane unit separately.

Crane Truck vs. Mobile Crane: When the Truck-Mounted Option Wins

A common buyer question is whether to buy a truck crane or a separate mobile crane plus a cargo truck. The answer depends on utilisation.

• Buy a truck-mounted crane when: The machine must travel public roads daily between job sites; you need one driver to handle transport and lift; your lifts are consistent in weight and radius; budget is limited and you cannot justify two depreciating assets.
• Buy a separate mobile crane when: You have a fixed heavy-lift application (port, plant shutdown); lifts regularly exceed 25 tonnes or require complex rigging; the crane will stay on-site for weeks at a time while trucks continue hauling elsewhere.

For most small and mid-size contractors in East and West Africa, and for utilities companies across the Middle East, the boom truck wins on total cost. One machine, one driver, one insurance policy, one maintenance schedule. The cargo bed — when a knuckle boom is fitted — still carries payload on the return trip.

For buyers whose core need is bulk haulage with occasional lift capability, a self-loading crane truck on a tipper chassis is often the lowest-cost entry point into the crane truck category. For heavier haulage without the crane, see our semitrailer trucks or general lorries price pages.