Truck

:For further uses of the word truck, see Truck (disambiguation).

Anatomy of a Truck

Almost all trucks share a common contruction: they are made of a chassis, a cab, axles, suspension and wheels, an engine and a drivetrain.

Related Topics:
Chassis - Cab - Axle - Suspension - Wheel - Engine - Drivetrain

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Chassis

A truck chassis consists of two parallel U-shaped beams held together by crossmembers. It is usually made of steel, but can be made (whole or in part) of aluminium for a lighter weight. The chassis is the main structure of the truck, and the other parts attach to it.

Related Topics:
Beams - Steel - Aluminium

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Cab

The cab is an enclosed space where the driver is seated. A sleeper is a compartment attached to the cab where the driver can rest while not driving. They can range from a simple 2 to 4 foot (0.6 m) bunk to a 12 foot (3.0 m) apartment-on-wheels. Modern cabs feature air conditioning, a good sound system, and ergonomic seats (often air suspended). There are a few possible cab configurations:

Related Topics:
M - Foot - Apartment - Air conditioning - Sound system

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• cab over engine or flat nose, where the driver is seated on top of the front axle and the engine. This design is almost umbiquitous in Europe, where overall truck lengths are strictly regulated. They were common in the United States, but lost prominence when permitted length was extended in the early 1980s. To access the engine, the whole cab tilts forward, earning this design the name of tilt-cab.
• conventional cabs are the most common in North America. The driver is seated behind the engine, as in most passenger cars or pickup trucks. Conventionals are further divided into large car and aerodynamic designs. A Large car or long nose is a conventional truck with a long—6-8 foot (1.73 m) or more—hood. With their very square shapes, these trucks offer a lot of wind resistance and can consume more fuel. They also offer poorer visibility than their aerodynamic or COE counterparts. By constrast, Aerodynamic cabs are very streamlined, with a sloped hood and other features to lower drag. Most owner-operators prefer the square-hooded conventionals, it has something to do with..."Take pride in your ride".
• cab beside engine designs also exist, but are rather rare.
• Slang terms
• "Tiltin' Hilton" :Cab-over with a sleeper berth.
• "Aardvark" : The aerodynamically designed conventional.
• "Hood" : Any conventional that is NOT an "Aardvark"

Engine

Trucks can use all sorts of engines. Small trucks such as SUVs or pickups, and even light medium-duty trucks in North America will use gasoline engines. Most heavier trucks use four stroke turbo intercooler diesel engines, although there are alternatives. Huge off-highway trucks use locomotive-type engines such as a V12 Detroit Diesel two stroke engine.

Related Topics:
SUV - Pickup - Gasoline - Four stroke - Turbo - Intercooler - Diesel - V12 - Detroit Diesel - Two stroke

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In the United States, on-highway trucks almost always use an engine built by a third party, such as Caterpillar Inc. or Cummins. The only exceptions to this are Volvo trucks and Mack trucks, which are available with Volvo and Mack diesel engines, respectively, and Freightliner, which is built by Daimler/Chrysler and is available with Mercedes-Benz diesel engines made by the parent company.

Related Topics:
Caterpillar Inc. - Cummins - Volvo - Mack - Daimler - Chrysler - Mercedes-Benz

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Drivetrain

Small trucks use the same type of transmissions as cars. Bigger trucks often use manual transmissions, which must be built stronger to withstand the torque their engines make. Common North American setups include 10, 13 and 18 speeds. Automatic transmissions for heavy trucks are becoming more and more common, due to advances both in transmission and engine power.

Related Topics:
Transmissions - Cars - Automatic transmission

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The trend in Europe is that more new trucks are being bought with automatic transmissions. This may be due in part to lawsuits from drivers claiming that driving a manual transmission is hard on their knees.

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