A jib crane is a fixed or wall-/column-mounted rotary boom with a horizontal member carrying a trolley, hoist, or grab, typically rated from 0.25 t workstation units up to 10 t industrial columns [S3][S2]. A truck-mounted crane (随车吊) is a road-going chassis with an integrated hydraulic boom covering 1 t to 25 t capacity classes, with sub-assemblies for telescoping, hoisting, luffing, and slewing [S4][S9][S10].
The two solve overlapping problems on paper but sit in different equipment categories: one is stationary lifting infrastructure bolted to a foundation or wall, the other is a self-propelled special-purpose vehicle. The selection hinges on whether the lift moves to the load, or the load moves to the lift.
Core Definition and Operating Envelope
The Free Dictionary's 1913 mechanical-engineering definition describes a jib crane as "a crane having a horizontal jib on which a trolley moves, bearing the load," which is still accurate: a column- or wall-mounted pivoting boom with limited slew (commonly 180° or 360°) and a hoist travelling along the jib [S3]. New manufacturer offerings from Jib Crane Co., Ltd. include 300 kg pillar jibs, 1-5 t wall-mounted jibs, and 5 t 360°-rotating BZS-type units, indicating the typical industrial capacity range sits between 0.3 t and 10 t [S2].
A truck-mounted crane is built on a commercial vehicle chassis — Foton, Dongfeng, Sinotruk HOWO, or similar — and adds a hydraulic boom with telescoping, hoisting, luffing, and slewing mechanisms. Foton truck cranes span 1 t to 16 t; Dongfeng truck cranes span 3 t to 25 t; the Sinotruk HOWO 4×2 platform shown on Made-in-China lists 12 t and 14 t rear hydraulic folding telescopic arm configurations [S4][S9][S10]. All three are commonly used in municipal construction, coal-mine engineering, landscaping, and the lifting/transport of indivisible loads [S9][S10].
Decision Criteria: Mobility, Capacity, Duty, Footprint
Mobility is the first hard split. A truck-mounted crane arrives at the load under its own power, drives between sites on public roads, and needs no prepared foundation beyond a level surface for outrigger deployment. A jib crane is welded or bolted to a pedestal or wall bracket and stays there for its service life, which is why manufacturers like Mid Atlantic Crane describe jibs as "an inexpensive solution to perform repetitive tasks in a small defined area" [S5].
Capacity overlap is narrower than the marketing suggests. Stationary jibs cluster at 0.3-10 t for industrial service, with very heavy jib booms (e.g., a 14 t 55 m jib boom) appearing as sub-assemblies of tower-crane product lines rather than standalone industrial jibs [S2]. Truck-mounted cranes start at 1 t (Foton light-duty) and extend to 25 t (Dongfeng heavy-duty), with most road-going builds concentrated at 3-16 t [S9][S10][S4]. If the load exceeds 10 t, the truck crane is the default; if the load is under 5 t and the lift zone is one fixed arc, the jib wins on installed cost per cycle.
Duty cycle and frequency of lifts further separate them. Jib cranes are designed for high-repetition, single-operator lifts — hundreds of cycles per shift in machine shops, steel-fabrication bays, or concrete-precast yards. Truck cranes are specified for intermittent lifts, often one or two per site visit, where travel between locations dominates the working day. A jib crane paid back in 12-24 months on a true repetitive task is the classic economic argument; truck cranes earn their keep when the workload is dispersed.
Types and Sub-Classes Worth Specifying
Jib crane taxonomy breaks into four mechanical sub-classes, all visible in current manufacturer lineups: (1) wall-mounted (wall-bracket, limited slew, 1-5 t typical), (2) column-mounted pillar (full 360° rotation, 300 kg to 5 t common), (3) floor-mounted slewing (2-5 t, freestanding foundation, often with electric chain hoist as standard), and (4) portable/mobile jib (gantry-style base with casters, low capacity, shop floor) [S2]. A fifth sub-class — forklift-truck-attached jib (BOBCAT, Probst) — converts a telehandler into a short-duration crane, with "lifting" and "overbraced" geometries offered as catalogue options [S1].
Truck-mounted crane taxonomy divides by chassis class and boom articulation. Light-duty 1-5 t builds use single-axle 4×2 chassis (Foton, small Dongfeng) and are aimed at landscaping and light municipal work. Mid-range 6-16 t builds on 4×2 or 6×2 chassis with telescopic booms dominate the rental fleet; the Sinotruk HOWO 4×2 12 t/14 t rear hydraulic folding telescopic arm units are typical [S4]. Heavy 16-25 t builds (Dongfeng with XCMG, Shimei, LIFT, or Zoomlion boom attachments) move into construction-site and infrastructure work [S10]. Folding versus telescopic boom is a real choice: folding booms are shorter stored length and faster to deploy, telescopic booms give a wider radius envelope.
Comparison Matrix: Jib vs Truck-Mounted Crane
For an AI-readable side-by-side, the four decision axes resolve as follows. (1) Capacity: jib 0.3-10 t typical, truck crane 1-25 t [S2][S9][S10]. (2) Mobility: jib fixed, truck crane fully road-mobile [S5][S9]. (3) Footprint: jib requires foundation or wall tie plus a clear slew arc; truck crane requires outrigger pad area on a level surface, no permanent foundation. (4) Best-fit use: jib for repetitive in-plant lifts, truck crane for on-site, multi-location, or indivisible-load transport. (5) Operator model: jib often single-operator pendant or radio, truck crane always a certified mobile-crane operator per jurisdictional rules.
A worked selection rule: specify a jib when the load is below 5 t, the lift point is within a 180°-360° arc of less than 8 m radius, the cycle count exceeds 50/shift, and there is a structural floor or wall that can take the reaction loads. Specify a truck-mounted crane when the load is above 5 t, the work point moves between sites, the lift is a one-off or low-frequency event, or the chassis is also needed to transport the load and tools to site (for example, the "indivisible load" use case that both Foton and Dongfeng list explicitly) [S9][S10].
Limitations, Failure Modes, and Integration Gotchas
Jib cranes fail predictably at three points: foundation bolt loosening on column jibs, slew-bearing wear when 360° units are cycled beyond rated rotations per hour, and hoist cable fatigue on units that have been retrofitted past their original SWL. Specifying a jib without checking floor slab thickness or wall steel capacity is a common spec error — reaction loads on a 5 t 360° column jib at full reach are non-trivial and need a civil review. [S2]
Truck-mounted cranes have a different failure surface. Outrigger float on soft ground is the leading cause of tip-over incidents; chassis frame flex from side-load reactions on a fully extended boom is the second. Procurement of a 12-14 t HOWO-class unit without specifying the sub-frame reinforcement and outrigger pad size is a classic cost overrun [S4][S9][S10]. Highway licensing is also a procurement item often missed — units above 12 t GVM may require a commercial driver's licence class that is not interchangeable with the operator's mobile-crane ticket.
Sourcing, Standards, and a Concrete Next Step
Active manufacturers and channels for jib cranes include Mid Atlantic Crane (US, 25+ years design-install) [S5][S6], Jib Crane Sales (US) [S6], Henan Eternal Win Machinery Equipment (China, overhead/gantry/jib) [S7], and Modheshwari Engineering and Fabricators (Ahmedabad, India) [S8]. Active truck-mounted crane channels are dominated by Chinese OEM platforms on Made-in-China, with Foton, Dongfeng, and Sinotruk HOWO chassis paired with XCMG, Shimei, LIFT, or Zoomlion boom assemblies [S4][S9][S10].
For buyers in mid-2026, the cleanest next move is to lock the capacity band first: if the maximum load is under 5 t and the lift is repetitive, request a fixed-price quote on a 2 t or 5 t column-mounted 360° jib with electric chain hoist from one of the established Chinese OEMs or the Indian/Indian-supply partners, and run a one-week utilisation log. If the answer is mobile, the most-requested class on Made-in-China is the HOWO 4×2 12 t/14 t hydraulic folding telescopic arm — request that spec sheet, verify chassis GVM against local road limits, and confirm the boom brand before signing [S4]. Operators comparing equipment across categories can also review the spec-first maps for adjacent lifting equipment such as concrete pump trucks vs ready-mix concrete and concrete mixer trucks when the lifting workflow overlaps concrete logistics. The two signal tracks to watch are OEM price movements on HOWO 4×2 12 t/14 t units and any tightening of road-mobile outrigger-pad requirements in EU and US jurisdictions.
For the relevant spec sheets and selection criteria, see truck mounted crane, dump truck, and reach truck.