Today, truck cranes are an indispensable type of special equipment used at almost every construction site. Where it is necessary to lift a load to a height or carry out its transportation, it is impossible to do without a powerful truck crane.
The functionality of cranes was appreciated in the forties of the last century, when they were just released from the assembly line. However, the first truck crane with a lifting capacity of only 1.5 tons, released by the plant “Red Metalist” in 1934, strikingly different in technical characteristics and appearance from modern analogues. These truck cranes were not used in construction, because in addition to the small lifting capacity they were characterized by low lifting height (up to 3 meters) and high maintenance costs.
But in agriculture and loading and unloading works they were simply indispensable. Despite the fact that the plant “Red Metalist” produced 140 units of equipment per year, the production was justified from an economic point of view, in addition, cranes contributed to a significant relief of manual labor. In 1941 the Odessa plant began production of improved truck cranes. The cabin mounted on the chassis of a three-axle car ZIS-6, maximum lifting capacity of 3 tons, hook lifting height up to 5 meters - all these parameters characterized the truck crane “Yanvarets” Odessa production as a modernized type of special equipment.
However, after about 10 years the production of this model fell into disrepair. At this time, the Lviv plant began production of truck cranes models K-32 (capacity of 3 tons, lifting height up to 7.5 m) and K-42 (capacity of 4.5 tons and lifting height of 7.5 m). But due to the fact that these models did not have sufficient strength of the frames for torsion, it led to undesirable problems (skewing, deflections of braces). For this reason, cranes of Lviv production did not find a wide distribution.
Over the years, the production of truck cranes increased, and in the 60s of the last century the plant LAZ began large-scale production of the most successful model LAZ-690. The machine with a payload of up to 3 tons could lift loads with a bent boom to a height of up to 7.2 meters. LAZ-690 quickly found a wide application, both in loading work in warehouses and ports, and in capital construction and road maintenance. The 70s were considered a turning point in the domestic crane industry.
At that time, hydraulic drives began to be used in the production of machines, which allowed to increase the lifting capacity of truck cranes, as well as to improve their other operational characteristics. In the last decades of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century, the production of truck cranes underwent a number of technical changes. Today we can observe that dozens of domestic and foreign factories produce truck cranes in a variety of technical variations.
At this time, hydraulic drives began to be used in the production of machines, which allowed to increase the lifting capacity of truck cranes, as well as to improve their other performance characteristics. In the last decades of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century, the production of truck cranes underwent a number of technical changes. Today we can observe that dozens of domestic and foreign factories produce truck cranes in a variety of technical variations.
The performance characteristics of modern models are so high that truck cranes find their application both in construction and in other industrial and economic spheres. Due to the development of this sphere it became possible to have companies providing crane rental services. Such companies also operate in other segments of the special equipment market.
