Abstract: A telescopic crane boom is provided in which tubular boom sections include a thicker, flat bottom plate and a thinner channel having the free edges of its walls welded to the bottom plate at the lateral edges of the bottom plate. Wear pads for supporting an outer boom section, e.g., the fly section, are placed on the bottom plate of the adjacent inner section, e.g., the mid-section, closely adjacent to the vertical walls of the inner section, and underlying the walls of the outer section, to provide substantially columnar support for the walls of the outer section, reduced bottom plate bending forces, and reduced boom width and weight.