The hydraulic truck crane is a specialized mobile crane which uses hydraulic power to raise and transport thousands of pounds. Hydraulics uses forces being transmitted through oil pushing in opposite directions on the boom's pistons in order to lift thousands of pounds. Hydraulic truck cranes are very important in constructing major projects like bridges, airports, roads and buildings. A crane could accomplish in minutes jobs that will normally take a lot of hours and hundreds of men to accomplish.
These remarkable machines have played a very important role in building houses, cities, entire nations and individual buildings throughout the ages. Even the Great Pyramids in Egypt were probably built using basic cranes to allow the heaviest materials in one of the most awesome construction projects ever.
The first representation of a crane was featured during King Ramses' reign within Egypt in 3000 B.C. This was a portrayal of a lifting mechanism which was used to collect water. The very first official "cranes" appeared in Ancient Greece. These devices were utilized to create a whole nation in the 5th century B.C.
Originally, cranes were first made out of wood. It wasn't until the designers building dockyards decided they required something stronger and bigger did these equipments develop. Hick & Rothwell designed the very first cast iron cranes within Bolton, England, during 1834. This equipment can lift 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 bigger 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 started to build cast iron cranes 4 years later. The very first cast iron crane built by Germany was built in Neuburg.