In this paper we propose an implementation scheme of independent joint control for a four-degree-of-freedom heavy-duty hydraulic actuated crane. First, on-line generation of feasible trajectories, following a driver's lead and satisfying the actuator constrains for the redundant kinematic chain, is performed. Second, an implementation of two new Sliding Mode algorithms with variable barrier function gains, which allow robust tracking of the generated trajectory with alleviation of high frequency oscillations, is presented. Experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed semi-automation scheme, exploiting the forestry application motivated low accuracy requirement.