Mobile Crane Rental in Amarillo, TX
Mobile crane rental here means a hydraulic truck crane, a telescoping boom on a highway carrier that drives to your site, and in Amarillo the right size comes from the load chart (the maker's table of rated loads) at your radius, the ground under the outriggers (the extending legs that lift the carrier off its tires), the wind and any power line near the swing. OSHA's crane standard defines a mobile crane as a lifting device with a "cable suspended latticed boom or hydraulic telescopic boom" that is "designed to be moved between operating locations by transport over the road" (29 CFR 1926.1401). Below are maker specs for four models, dated national rates, the federal, Texas and City rules, and what a written quote at no charge needs from you.
$300 to $700 per hour, average mobile crane, nationwide (equipment-rental marketplace guide of April 27, 2026) · full pricing guide
A hydraulic truck crane rides on one road chassis, and Manitowoc names quick set-up and highway speed travel among the features of its Grove truck cranes. Manitowoc's 2025 guide for the Grove TMS9000-2 shows a larger example: 115 US tons maximum capacity, a six-section boom from 36.6 to 169.3 feet, 263.4 feet of tip height with the lattice extension and insert, and a 65 mph top speed. Short visits that need reach suit the class: rooftop HVAC units, steel, trusses, precast panels, tanks and signs. OSHA bars lifting over the front of wheel-mounted equipment unless the maker permits it (29 CFR 1926.1417(r)), and Manitowoc says a front outrigger is standard on Grove truck cranes "for 360 degree operation."
None of the published crane cost guides gives an Amarillo rate, so the reference points are national. The crane cost guide a national equipment-rental marketplace published on April 27, 2026 lists an average mobile crane at $300 to $700 per hour, a 50-ton crane at $150 to $300 per hour and a 100-ton crane at $250 to $600 per hour; its mid-sized class runs $250 to $600 an hour bare against $400 to $750 with an operator. The guide puts the daily minimum on hourly rentals at three to eight hours, and ThePricer (updated November 12, 2025) says most providers bill portal to portal, counting travel from the yard. Our cost page for cranes and equipment lines up every published range with its source.
OSHA's crane standard splits the duties on a truck-crane job. The employer must ensure that "each operator is trained, certified/licensed, and evaluated" under OSHA's operator qualification rule, 29 CFR 1926.1427, and OSHA's crane FAQ says lessors who provide operators "have duties under the cranes standard." The project's controlling entity must see that the ground is "firm, drained, and graded" and point out voids, tanks or utilities under the setup that site documents show (section 1926.1402). A competent person starts a visual check before each shift, and a qualified person inspects the crane at least every 12 months (section 1926.1412). The State and City rules are laid out in our Amarillo permit, power line and FAA guide.
Getting a truck crane to an Amarillo job is a highway trip; the Handbook of Texas says US 60, 87 and 287 merged at Amarillo and also names Interstates 40 and 27. TxDOT lists frontage-road construction under way on Loop 335 from SW 9th Avenue to Western Street, expected to finish in 2026, and TxDMV makes the mover responsible for routing and current restrictions. Canyon, 15 miles south on Interstate 27 by West Texas A&M University's count, has a page on crane and equipment work in Canyon; the City of Dumas puts itself 45 miles north, and our Dumas crane rental page covers its plants and roads. National Weather Service normals for 1991-2020 rank March and April as the windiest months.
A truck-crane quote starts with the load: its weight with rigging, where it is picked up and where it lands (which fixes radius and height), what the outriggers will stand on, how the crane gets in, any overhead line nearby, the street address and the dates you want. That quote comes in writing at no charge and spells out the crane and its size, operated or bare, the hour minimum, travel, and each permit, mat, rigging or escort cost on its own line, plus any tax. If the crane must stand in a City street, alley or sidewalk, we name the right-of-way permit and traffic control plan before the date is booked. Light, close picks may suit boom truck rental.
Free quote
Truck Crane Examples: Published Maker Specs
Four truck cranes from two manufacturers show the spread of the class, from a 40-US-ton rating to 115 US tons. Capacity here is the headline figure, which Manitowoc defines as the rating at minimum radius with the basic minimum boom length.
| Example model (maker) | Max capacity | Main boom | Max tip height | Road speed and drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grove TMS875-2 (Manitowoc) | 75 US tons | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Grove TMS9000-2 (Manitowoc) | 115 US tons | 36.6-169.3 ft, six sections | 263.4 ft with lattice extension and insert | 65 mph; 8 x 4 x 4 drive |
| Link-Belt 40|HT | 40 US tons at 10 ft radius | 36.8-115 ft | 171 ft | not listed |
| Link-Belt HTC-86110 | 110 US tons at 7 ft radius | 38.3-164.1 ft | 262 ft with lattice extensions | not listed |
Every figure is the named maker's published maximum for that model, read from its product page or guide. What a crane may lift on a given day is set by its chart for the boom, radius and counterweight actually rigged. These four stand in for the class; none is a machine we own.
Signs Your Amarillo Lift Needs a Truck Crane
A truck crane is worth pricing when the load is heavier, higher or farther out than a boom truck or telehandler can handle and the crane can park on firm ground within reach. Each of these conditions points to this class or a larger one.
- The load has to clear a roof edge, parapet, wall or tree line, so the hook must reach over an obstacle instead of hanging beside it.
- The piece is heavy for its distance from the parking spot, like a rooftop unit set back from the edge, a long steel beam or a full tank.
- Pavement, a compacted pad or a street lies within reach of the set point, firm and drained enough for outriggers under OSHA section 1926.1402.
- An overhead line runs close enough that the crane or its load might reach inside 20 feet of it, so OSHA's clearance options apply, and inside six feet so does the Texas 48-hour notice.
- The job is near Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, inside the 20,000-foot band off its runways where 14 CFR 77.9 can call for FAA notice on a tall boom.
Reading a Truck Crane Load Chart, Radius First
A truck crane's capacity is set by the radius, not by the tonnage painted on the carrier. Manitowoc defines load radius as the "horizontal distance from axis of rotation to center of gravity of the freely suspended load," and its charts state that "In all cases, operating radius shall govern capacity." The headline rating is the most favorable case, which Manitowoc says "is obtained at minimum radius with basic minimum boom length of a crane," and Link-Belt prints a short radius beside the number: 40 US tons at 10 ft for its 40|HT, 110 US tons at 7 ft for the HTC-86110. Hook blocks and rigging come off the chart, since Manitowoc says their weight "must be subtracted from the rated load," and the user must de-rate for soft or uneven ground, out-of-level setup, wind and side loads.
OSHA forbids operating "in excess of its rated capacity" and wants the weight "determined from a source recognized by the industry (such as the load's manufacturer)," or by an industry-recognized calculation, or checked with a load weighing device or rated capacity indicator during the first hoist, stopping to verify if the load tops 75 percent of the chart's maximum at the farthest radius the lift will use (29 CFR 1926.1417(o)). Outriggers carry it all to the ground, fully extended or set as the chart specifies, with the weight off the wheels (section 1926.1404(q)). Where the pads sit on Pullman soil, the USDA series description gives 35 to 50 percent clay beneath the surface layer and a slow permeability class.
Permits That Move and Park a Truck Crane in Amarillo
Three public bodies can have a say before a truck crane lifts in Amarillo. TxDMV's no-permit envelope runs to 14 feet tall and 8 feet 6 inches across, with "Gross - 80,000 pounds maximum," and Transportation Code section 623.181 lets TxDMV issue an annual permit for unladen lift equipment that exceeds legal weight or width; TxDMV's annual crane permit page is captioned "Annual Mobile Crane Permits." The fee is $100, the permit runs one year from its movement-to-begin date, and it allows a width of 10 feet, legal height and length, a gross weight of 120,000 pounds, 25,000 pounds per single axle and 46,000 per tandem group. The City of Amarillo comes in when the crane stands in its right of way, which the City defines as land it owns or controls, streets, sidewalks, alleys and easements included.
The City's Right of Way Division takes applications through e-Builder, lists a $260 permit fee plus a $10 technology fee, and sets the hours in its own words: "No work is allowed on weekends or between 6:00 pm and 7:00 am on weekdays, unless approved by the City Engineer", with emergencies also excepted. Traffic Engineering must accept the traffic control plan before setup. The FAA is third: a boom that meets its notice criteria near Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport needs Form 7460-1 filed at least 45 days before work (14 CFR 77.7).
Power Lines and Wind: The Two Limits on Every Lift
A truck-crane lift in Amarillo halts for a power line inside the required clearance or for wind beyond what the load chart allows. OSHA's power line rule, section 1926.1408, has the employer ask whether the crane, its hoist rope, the rigging or the load could reach within 20 feet of a line rated up to 350 kV; if so, the utility deenergizes and grounds it, the crane stays 20 feet off, or the crew keeps the Table A distance for the voltage, 10 feet up to 50 kV. Every line counts as energized until its utility confirms otherwise. Texas adds a notice rule: Health and Safety Code section 752.003 requires telling the line's operator "at least 48 hours before the work begins" and agreeing on de-energizing, moving or guarding the line, paid by whoever is responsible for the work, before any work inside six feet.
Amarillo's 1991-2020 wind normal from the National Weather Service is 13.6 mph, and Liebherr's customer magazine says crane load tables generally apply in gusts up to 20 mph, with a lower limit for loads that catch more wind; our Amarillo wind and weather data breaks the year down by month. Under OSHA section 1926.1417(n), the competent person adjusts the equipment or the operation for wind, ice and snow. We track the forecast for each lift day; when the operator or competent person stops work for wind or weather, as OSHA section 1926.1417 and the maker require, the lift is rescheduled and the quote states how standby time is billed.
Operated or Bare, Truck Crane or Another Class
Two choices set the price, the paperwork and the tax line: who runs the crane, and whether a truck crane fits the job at all. Operated rental means the crane arrives with its operator; bare rental means the machine alone, run by your operator.
Operated rental, operator included
We supply the crane and its operator, to whom OSHA section 1926.1427 applies on every lift. The national April 27, 2026 cost guide lists $400 to $750 per hour for its mid-sized class operated. Under the Texas Comptroller's Rule 3.294, a single charge for a machine and operator "shall be presumed to be the performance of a service and no tax may be charged" unless the service is taxable under Tax Code Chapter 151. Suits one-off lifts.
Bare rental, your own operator
You rent the machine and supply the operator, who under section 1926.1427 needs a government license where one is issued, or failing that a certification issued by an accredited testing organization or through an audited employer program, plus a documented evaluation; we ask who will operate. The guide lists $250 to $600 an hour bare for the mid-sized class. Rule 3.294 taxes a rental without an operator; Amarillo's combined rate is 8.25 percent. Suits contractors with their own operator.
Truck crane, all-terrain or boom truck
A truck crane is built for pavement and highway miles; Grove lists 65 mph for the TMS9000-2. If the set point sits across mud, sand or a rutted site road, price an all-terrain crane, a class Tadano describes with all-wheel steering and suspension for off-road capability. For a light, close pick, ThePricer (November 12, 2025) lists boom trucks at $100 to $300 per hour nationally.
Mobile Crane Rental FAQs
How much does it cost to rent a mobile crane in Amarillo?
No published cost guide gives an Amarillo crane rate, so national guides are the yardstick. One national equipment-rental marketplace, in its April 27, 2026 crane cost guide, gives $300 to $700 an hour for an average mobile crane and $800 to $1,500 a day, crane only, for its mid-sized class. HomeGuide's tree-moving guide (December 22, 2025) says "Crane rentals with operators cost $350 to $1,500 minimum for 4 to 6 hours." Our written quote itemizes size, hours, travel, permits and rigging.
Do I need a certified crane operator to rent a crane under OSHA rules?
For construction work, yes, and the duty sits with the employer. OSHA's 29 CFR 1926.1427 requires each crane operator to be trained, certified or licensed, and evaluated: a government license where a state or local government issues one, otherwise a certification from a testing body that a nationally recognized agency has accredited, or from an audited employer program. A paragraph (d) certification is valid for 5 years, and NCCCO is one accredited certifying body. Rent bare and you name the operator.
Can a crane lift near power lines in Amarillo?
Yes, within limits set by OSHA and Texas law. OSHA section 1926.1408 asks whether any part of the crane or its load could pass within 20 feet of a line up to 350 kV; if so, the line is deenergized and grounded, the crane holds 20 feet, or it keeps the Table A distance. Texas adds a six-foot rule in Health and Safety Code chapter 752 and at least 48 hours' notice to the line's operator for closer work. We check both before the lift.
Do I need a permit to put a crane on the street in Amarillo?
Plan on the City of Amarillo's right-of-way permit if the crane or its outriggers will occupy a street, alley or sidewalk. The ROW Division lists a $260 permit fee plus a $10 technology fee, with fees varying by type of work, and the City's Traffic Engineering Department reviews and accepts the traffic control plan before anything goes up. We confirm with the City whether it wants anything more for a crane before your date is set.
How big a truck crane does a rooftop HVAC unit need?
The unit's weight and its distance from the crane decide the size, not the tonnage on the crane. Manitowoc defines maximum capacity as the rating at minimum radius with the basic minimum boom length, and Link-Belt rates its 40|HT at 40 US tons only at a 10-foot radius. Rigging weight comes off the chart. Send the unit's weight from its manufacturer, the roof height and where the crane can park, and we size the crane from the load chart.
Related Services in Amarillo
Free Mobile Crane Rental Quote — Amarillo
Free quote