Welded, Tie-Rod & Telescopic Hydraulic Cylinders: Which One Do You Need?

Choosing the right hydraulic cylinder starts with understanding the fundamental differences between welded, tie-rod, and telescopic designs. Each has distinct advantages depending on your application, pressure requirements, and maintenance needs.

Welded Cylinders (CBU, CCL, CTCL, CWT, CWT3)

Welded cylinders are constructed with the end caps permanently welded to the barrel, creating a compact, robust unit ideal for high-cycle, heavy-duty environments.

• Best for: Construction equipment, agricultural machinery, mobile hydraulics
• Key advantages: Compact design, higher pressure tolerance, no external hardware to loosen
• Mounting options: Bushing eye (CBU), cross lug (CCL), trunnion + cross lug (CTCL), tang (CWT), 3-point tang (CWT3)
• Trade-off: Not field-serviceable without cutting

Tie-Rod Cylinders (CTR2.5, CTR3)

Tie-rod cylinders use external steel rods to hold the end caps together, making them fully disassemblable for maintenance and seal replacement.

• Best for: Industrial machinery, automation, stationary equipment
• Pressure ratings: CTR2.5 (2,500 PSI), CTR3 (3,000 PSI)
• Key advantages: Easy field service, standardized dimensions, cost-effective for lower-pressure applications
• Mounting options: Clevis, front flange, rear flange, foot mount

Telescopic Cylinders (CTC, HTC)

Telescopic cylinders consist of multiple nested stages that extend sequentially, delivering a long working stroke from a very compact retracted length. They are single-acting and rely on gravity or load pressure to retract.

• Best for: Dump trucks, tipper trailers, agricultural tipping bodies, mining transport
• CTC (Custom Telescopic Cylinder): Standard-duty multi-stage lift cylinder for commercial dump trucks and agricultural tipping applications
• HTC (Heavy-duty Telescopic Cylinder): Reinforced multi-stage cylinder for mining haul trucks and heavy-load transport
• Key advantages: Maximum stroke in minimum retracted length, high load capacity, simple single-acting operation
• Trade-off: Single-acting only (gravity retract); not suitable for push-pull applications

Quick Selection Guide

Still Not Sure?

Contact our engineering team with your bore size, stroke length, operating pressure, and mounting requirements — we'll recommend the right cylinder for your application.