Mobile Crane Service in Oatman, Arizona

The Route Is the Whole Story

Any mapping tool will tell you Oatman is 53 miles from Lake Havasu City. It is, if you are in a pickup. It is not, if you are in a boom truck. The short route runs the Oatman Highway over Sitgreaves Pass, eight miles of tight switchbacks with no shoulder, and vehicles over 40 feet are prohibited on it. Our 40 ton truck is well over 40 feet.

That leaves the long way, out to the interstate and around by Bullhead City. It is a materially longer drive than the number on the map, which is why we treat Oatman as a booked job rather than something we can add to an afternoon. We would rather tell you that at the start than surprise you with it later.

Working in a Historic Main Street

Oatman is a small historic mining town and the street reflects it. Old timber buildings sit tight to the road, the street is narrow, and there is very little room to spread outriggers without closing the whole thing. Add pedestrians and the burros that wander the street and you have an environment where a crane has to be planned around, not just parked.

In practice that means an early start before the street fills, a clear plan for where the truck sits, and a conversation with whoever manages the street about closing part of it for the duration. For a lot of Oatman work the 22 ton truck is the right answer purely because of footprint.

• Rooftop and mechanical equipment on small buildings
• Structural steel lifted into old timber buildings
• Equipment and generator placement
• Sign, canopy and awning steel
• Sign and pole setting along the main street

Distance and Dispatch

Oatman is 53 road miles from our yard at 850 London Bridge Rd in Lake Havasu City. That is measured by road, not straight line, because the road distance is what actually decides how a day gets scheduled. Middle dispatch band. Same day depends on what is already booked that day.

• The 53 mile figure is a car figure. It uses the Oatman Highway over Sitgreaves Pass.
• Vehicles over 40 feet are prohibited on Sitgreaves Pass. Eight miles of switchbacks with no shoulder. A 40 ton boom truck is well over that length.
• The real crane route goes by Interstate 40 and Bullhead City and takes considerably longer than the map suggests.
• The town itself is a narrow historic main street with old buildings tight to the road and almost no setup room.
• Burros wander the street. That is charming for visitors and a genuine consideration when a load is in the air.