Hydraulic truck cranes are a particular type of mobile crane. These cranes use hydraulics and could lift thousands of pounds. Hydraulics makes use of forces being transmitted through oil pushing in opposite directions on the pistons of the boom so as to lift thousands of pounds. Hydraulic truck cranes are very important in building major projects like bridges, airports, buildings and roads. A crane could accomplish in minutes jobs which would normally take many hours and hundreds of men to complete.
These remarkable machines have played a vital role in constructing cities, houses, individual buildings and entire nations throughout the ages. Even Egypt's Great Pyramids were likely built utilizing basic cranes to enable the heaviest materials in one of the most remarkable construction projects of all time.
The very first representation of a crane was featured during King Ramses' reign in Egypt in 3000 B.C. This was a portrayal of a lifting mechanism which was used to collect water. The first official "cranes" appeared in Ancient Greece. These devices were utilized to create a whole nation in the 5th century B.C.
Initially, cranes were first made out of wood. It wasn't until the designers building dockyards decided they required something stronger and bigger did these machinery evolve. Hick & Rothwell designed the first cast iron cranes during the year 1834, within Bolton, England. This machinery was capable of lifting up to 2 tons. That 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 stronger and more durable. 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 started to build cast iron cranes 4 years later. The first cast iron crane built by Germany was built within Neuburg.