Crane Outrigger Pads: A Practical Sizing Guide
2026-04-26
How to size crane outrigger pads safely — pick pad area and thickness for your crane, outrigger load, and ground conditions.
Why outrigger pads matter
A crane’s entire working weight concentrates onto four small outrigger floats. Without crane outrigger pads, that pressure routinely exceeds the ground’s capacity and a leg sinks — the leading cause of mobile-crane tip-overs. The pad spreads the float load over a larger area so the machine stays level and stable through the lift.
Size for ground bearing pressure
The core sum is simple: take the maximum outrigger load, divide by the pad area, and keep the result below the soil’s safe bearing pressure — the point-load side of ground protection mat load ratings. Weaker ground needs a bigger pad, not a thicker one. Get the maximum leg load from the crane’s load chart for the worst-case radius and slew, not the static parked figure. Outrigger pad sizes and crane mat sizes run from small bucket-truck pads up to large crane mats, so step up a size rather than guess.
Square or round
A square outrigger pad puts the most area under a large float or spreader foot and gives a flat, stable seat for bigger mobile cranes. A round pad seats cylindrical MEWP and boom-lift feet neatly and rolls for easy handling. Match the pad shape to the foot it carries.
Material and thickness
High-grade HDPE and UHMWPE pads are light, will not rot or absorb water, and resist impact. Thickness should suit the load so the pad spreads pressure without dishing or excessive flex — a pad that bends under the float is not spreading the load you think it is.
Handling and storage
Rope or cut-out handles make pads easy to place and recover, and UV-stable polymer means they can live on the truck and shrug off weather between jobs. Keep a range of sizes on board so the operator can step up a size when the ground turns out softer than the survey suggested.
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