This crane is a collection of parts from many different vehicles.
Cranes are designed to do a specific job, and style often has to give way to practicality, but a man named Brandon in Kansas, USA, didn’t want that. He dreamed of a wild vehicle he built himself, and then determined to build a super long, low ground crane that looked like no other crane.
Dubbed the “Big Hooker”, it is a crane truck made up of various vehicles. Its chassis was taken from a 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer truck, while the cabin used the bodies of two wheat trucks joined together. The natural rust layer makes the bodywork look more seamless, but according to the car owner, this is one of the hardest parts of the process.
Powering the crane was a two-stroke Detroit engine that Brandon chose for its unique sound. Sound is transmitted through a 453 kg exhaust system that runs under the door to be placed right behind the cabin. The thick exhaust pipes on the sides also act as door sills, but they can get hot enough to burn passengers as they exit the truck.
This particular truck is over 8.5 meters long and weighs about 6,350 kilograms. Despite the visible ground clearance, the high exhaust pipes exceed the cabin, making the car reach a height of over 2.7 meters. However, this huge size does not prevent the ability of the “Big Hooker” to work. The engine has enough power to quickly wear down the rear tires. As a result, the truck needs to change about 8 sets of tires a year, and the owner has accumulated more than 16,000 km on the odometer, bringing it to various events and car shows.
The interior doesn’t have much to offer, with mostly exposed sheet metal, although Brandon has added some soundproof padding. The seats are taken from a 2014 Ford F-150, as is the center console, which Brandon has modified to accommodate the Allison transmission.
Additionally, Brandon had to build many parts for the one-of-a-kind crane, including a custom grille using whatever he had around him. Brandon even forged a huge hook by himself by melting aluminum wheels and other scraps.
