Real work, real result: one Brisbane repairer, one light truck, 40 minutes saved on every job.

SKPL-LIFT SQ08Z series hydraulic crane at work lifting for a mobile-loader repair job

A one-man repair business that couldn't afford to wait

Dave Thompson runs a one-man mobile equipment repair service out of Samford Valley, on the outskirts of Brisbane, Queensland. Most days he's in a shed, on a farm or in a yard, replacing anti-collision bars on mobile loaders and servicing other machinery. The work itself was never the problem — the lifting was. Every heavy component meant one of two things: wait up to 40 minutes for a forklift or a bigger crane to show up, or find a second pair of hands he couldn't afford to keep on call.

The fix: put the crane on the truck he already drives

Dave mounted an SKPL-LIFT SQ08Z series 800 kg hydraulic crane to his light truck. Now he positions a new anti-collision beam, swaps worn parts and loads heavy gear on and off the truck by himself — no extra crew, no waiting for hired lifting equipment. Because the crane runs from a 12 V / 24 V electric power pack, he didn't even need a PTO on the vehicle.

The result, in numbers

•    About 40 minutes saved on every job that used to wait for lifting equipment

•    The crane paid for itself in under two months

•    Solo operation — one person lifts, positions and fits the components

What the lifting numbers actually mean

“800 kg” is the maximum, and it applies only at close reach. Lift further out and the safe load drops — the crane is limited by its 1.0 Ton·m lifting moment, not a marketing figure:

At full 3.7 m reach you have about 200 kg; the slew angle is 330° (not a full 360°). Check these against your heaviest, most common lifts.

Built to last outdoors

A crane that lives on a truck in the weather fails at the welds and the joints first. The SQ08Z is finished with a zinc-rich epoxy primer and a double-layer polyurethane topcoat; the pins, bushes and connectors are galvanised, and the steel structure is fabricated with certified welding.

Safety, standards and power

A load moment limiter stops the crane operating beyond its safe limit, and a hydraulic oil cooler keeps oil temperature stable in sustained or hot-weather work. The crane is engineered to AS 1418.11 (vehicle-loading cranes). It runs from the vehicle's PTO where available, or from a 12 V / 24 V electric power pack where a PTO isn't an option — so utes and pickups without a PTO stay in play.

Who the 800kg Hydraulic Crane is for

Solo operators and small crews who move equipment, furniture, materials, tools, gas bottles, water tanks and generators — anyone who currently waits on a forklift or a second pair of hands. If your workload regularly exceeds 400 kg at more than 2 m reach, our 1,000 kg hydraulic  crane is the better fit.

Full specifications

Available with stabiliser legs (SQ08ZB2+1, 360 kg) or without (SQ08ZB2MW+1, 320 kg). Specifications subject to change without notice.