The hydraulic truck crane is a specialized mobile crane which utilizes hydraulic power to lift and move thousands of pounds. Hydraulics makes use of forces being transmitted through oil pushing on the pistons of the boom in opposite directions in order to lift thousands of pounds. Hydraulic truck cranes are very vital in constructing major projects like airports, bridges, buildings and streets. A crane could accomplish in minutes jobs which will normally take many hours and hundreds of men to complete.
These impressive equipments have played a very important role in building houses, cities, entire nations and individual buildings throughout the ages. Even Egypt's Great Pyramids were likely built using basic cranes to enable the heaviest supplies in one of the most awesome construction projects ever.
The very first cranes were established in 3000 B.C. Egypt in the reign of King Ramses. This lifting device was originally utilized to collect water. The first official "cranes" appeared during Ancient Greece. These devices were used to create a whole nation throughout the 5th century B.C.
These cranes were originally made out of wood. The designs of cranes started to change when dockyards began to require stronger and bigger equipments. Hick & Rothwell designed the very first cast iron cranes during the year 1834, within Bolton, England. This machinery was capable of lifting as much as 2 tons. That very same year, the addition of wire rope was added to the crane by an Official of the German Superior Board, Herr Albert Sr. The wire rope made the crane stronger and more durable. This addition enabled cranes to have a larger capacity for lifting heavy weights.
Ultimately, the wire ropes were weaved together to be able to form an even more powerful strength. This wire formation also brought the added advantage of flexibility. Germany began to make cast iron cranes 4 years later. The very first cast iron crane built by Germany was built within Neuburg.