Hydraulic truck cranes are a specific kind of mobile crane. These cranes make use of hydraulics and are able to lift 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 essential in building major projects like for instance bridges, airports, buildings and roadways. A crane could accomplish in minutes jobs that will normally take hundreds of men and lots of hours to complete.
These remarkable equipments have played a vital role in constructing houses, cities, individual buildings and entire nations throughout the ages. Even the Great Pyramids in Egypt were probably constructed with the help of basic cranes to allow the heaviest supplies in one of the most awesome construction projects ever.
The very first representation of a crane was featured during King Ramses' reign within Egypt during 3000 B.C. This was a portrayal of a lifting mechanism that was used to collect water. The first official "cranes" appeared in Ancient Greece. These mechanism were used to build a whole country in the 5th century B.C.
These cranes were originally made out of wood. The designs of cranes began to change when dockyards began to require stronger and larger machines. Hick & Rothwell designed the first cast iron cranes within Bolton, England, in the year 1834. This machinery was capable of lifting as much as 2 tons. That very same year, wire ropes were added to the crane by an Official of the German Superior Board, Herr Albert Sr. The wire rope made the crane more durable and stronger. This addition enabled cranes to have a larger capacity to lift heavy weights.
The wire ropes were weaved together forming a more powerful rope with even more strength. The newly formed wire also added more flexibility. Germany began to make cast iron cranes 4 years later. The very first cast iron crane built by Germany was built in Neuburg.