The hydraulic truck crane is a specific mobile crane which uses hydraulic power to raise and move thousands of pounds. Hydraulics uses forces being transmitted through oil pushing on the boom's pistons in opposite directions in order to lift thousands of pounds. Hydraulic truck cranes are very important in building major projects like for example bridges, airports, buildings and roadways. A crane could complete in minutes jobs which would normally take hundreds of men and a lot of hours to complete.
These remarkable machinery have played a vital part in building houses, cities, individual buildings and entire nations throughout the ages. Even the Great Pyramids in Egypt were probably constructed using basic cranes to enable the heaviest supplies in one of the most amazing construction projects ever.
The very first cranes were established in 3000 B.C. Egypt during the reign of King Ramses. This lifting mechanism was first used to collect water. The first official "cranes" appeared during Ancient Greece. These devices were utilized to build an entire nation in the 5th century B.C.
These cranes were originally made out of wood. The designs of cranes started to change when dockyards started to need stronger and larger machinery. Hick & Rothwell developed the very first cast iron cranes within Bolton, England, during the year 1834. This machine could lift up to 2 tons. That very same year, wire ropes were added to the crane by Herr Albert Sr. who was an Official of the German Superior Board. The wire rope made the crane more durable and stronger. This addition allowed cranes to have a larger capacity for lifting heavy weights.
Ultimately, the wire ropes were weaved together in order to form an even more powerful strength. This wire formation also brought the added advantage of flexibility. Germany began to build cast iron cranes 4 years later. The very first cast iron crane made by Germany was made in Neuburg.