Site essentials

Stabiliser pads

You want to set the stabilisers of a crane, an aerial platform or a wheeled excavator on ground that bears poorly.
Three points decide:
the force under the most heavily loaded foot, the bearing capacity of the ground, the area and thickness of the pad.
A photo of the stabiliser foot and of the ground is enough to start.

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Describe my need

On the left, under each stabiliser of the crane, a wide stabiliser pad spreads the load of the foot over the ground. On the right, without a pad, the stabiliser foot sinks into the soft earth and the machine tilts. Computer-generated image. — **Left:** under each stabiliser of the crane, a wide stabiliser pad spreads the load of the foot over the ground. **Right:** without a pad, the stabiliser foot sinks into the soft ground and the machine leans. Computer-generated image.

A wide pad, placed under the stabiliser foot.
It spreads the machine's bearing over the ground,
and the foot sinks in much less, if it is sized for the force and for the ground.

Other names for this product: bearing pads, outrigger pads, crane pads, cribbing mats, jack pads, stabilisation blocks.

The essentials

Family: Site essentials
Material: High-density polyethylene, also timber or aluminium
Laying: One pad centred under each stabiliser, by hand or by machine depending on the weight
Carrier machine: None, the pad is laid under the stabiliser

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01 Use

What they are for

**Left:** under each stabiliser of the crane, a wide stabiliser pad spreads the load of the foot over the ground.
**Right:** without a pad, the stabiliser foot sinks into the soft ground and the machine leans.
What sets them apart:
they enlarge the bearing surface of the stabiliser, and the foot punches much less into the ground, if the pad is sized for the force and for the ground.
Computer-generated image.

A stabiliser pad is a rigid, flat panel, placed under the foot of a stabiliser before lowering it.
It enlarges the bearing surface:
the force the foot transmits to the ground is spread over a larger area, and the pressure on the ground drops accordingly.
If the ground cannot bear that pressure, the pad sinks with the foot:
its sizing is done in the study.

They are used under mobile cranes, telescopic handlers, aerial platforms, wheeled excavators and lorries fitted with a loader crane.
They also protect a slab, asphalt or paving that would keep the mark of a foot set down bare.

High-density polyethylene is the most common material:
it does not rot and is not affected by moisture.
There are also timber and aluminium pads, square or round, often fitted with handles for carrying.

A pad does not replace a ground survey. On fresh fill, at the edge of an excavation or above a cellar, the ground can give way under the pad itself.
The bearing surface needed depends on the machine, the load lifted and the ground, not on a generic figure.

02 What we check with you

On which machine?

Stabiliser pads do not fit on any machine: one pad is laid, centred, under each stabiliser.
The force under one stabiliser and the dimensions of the foot: we calculate them with you for your machine.
This force depends on the load lifted and the boom position, to be checked in your machine's handbook.

What the tool does

They are made of high-density polyethylene, but also of wood or aluminium.
For example, for a length of 1 000 mm: thickness from 40 to 100 mm, permitted load from 30 to 80 t.
Depending on their weight, they are laid by hand or by machine.
Their dimensions, the permitted load and the weight of one mat: we calculate them with you for your machine.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

No connection: the pad is simply laid under the stabiliser.

Figures taken from 38 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

All the measurements found for this equipment →

Don't have these figures?
A photo of the machine is enough to start.

03 Your study

Have your site checked.

Describe the machine, what it lifts and the ground on which it will be set up.
State whether it often changes position on the site.

What we need to answer you

The machine Its make, its type and the number of its stabilisers.
What it lifts The heaviest load and the reach at which it lifts it.
The ground Soil, fill, gravel, asphalt, slab, or an excavation edge.
The foot A photo of the stabiliser foot, with an object to give the scale.
The use A one-off site, or pads that follow the machine everywhere.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

04 Choice

What determines the choice

Each point says what changes the choice.
The values, we check them in your carrier's instructions and in the tool's.

01 — The machine and its force Mobile crane, telescopic handler, aerial platform, wheeled excavator:
the area and the thickness are chosen with the highest force under one foot.
02 — The ground Loose soil, fill, asphalt, slab:
the weaker the ground, the bigger the pad must be.
03 — The material Polyethylene, timber or aluminium:
it is chosen with how often it is used, the weight to carry and where it is stowed on the machine.
04 — Shape and storage Square or round, with or without handles:
it is chosen with the space provided on the machine to carry it.

05 Check

What is checked before ordering

The permitted load It is checked against the actual force under the most heavily loaded foot, and against the actual ground underneath, not against a figure read on its own.
Centring The foot is set in the middle of the pad:
an off-centre pad tips and loses its bearing surface.
The machine's manual What it prescribes for setting up on pads comes before everything else.
Handling The weight of a pad decides whether it is laid by hand, and where it is stowed on the machine.

In the same family