A truck (US) or lorry (UK) is a motor vehicle, more specifically a commercial vehicle commonly used for transporting goods and materials. Some light trucks/lorries are similar in size to a passenger automobile. Commercial transportation trucks/lorries or fire trucks can be large, and can also serve as a platform for specialized equipment.
The word
Etymology
The word "truck" possibly derives from the Greek "trochos" (τροχός = wheel). In North America, certain kinds of big wheels were called trucks . When the gasoline engine driven trucks came into fashion, these were called "motor trucks".
International variance
For more details on this topic, see List of truck types.In the United States and Canada "truck" is usually reserved for commercial vehicles larger than normal cars, and for pickups and other vehicles having an open load bed.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, lorry is used instead of truck , but only used for the medium and heavy types (see below); i.e. a van or an off-road four-wheel drive vehicle such as a Jeep may rarely be called a truck in the United States, but would never be regarded as a lorry in the UK or Ireland. The same applies to the initials HGV (for Heavy Goods Vehicle), which is basically synonymous with lorry . What the Americans call a station wagon is called an estate car in the UK.
In U.S. English, the word "truck" is used in the names of particular types of truck, such as a "fire truck" or "tanker truck". Note that in British English these would be a "fire engine" and "tanker" or "petrol tanker" respectively.
"Lorry" is also used in Hong Kong.
The word "lorry" is also used in Cambodia, although there it can refer to a train.
In Australia and New Zealand, a pickup truck (a relatively small, usually car- or van-derived vehicle, with an open back body) is usually called a ute (short for "utility"), and the word "truck" or "lorry" is mostly reserved for larger vehicles. The small utility truck was invented in Australia in the 1930s.
Other languages have loanwords based on these terms, such as the Malay language and the Spanish language in northern Mexico.
A commonly understood term for truck across many European countries is camion . Camion is also used in Quebec to identify trucks in French. Additionally, from the German language the initials "PKW" ( P ersonen k raft w agen or passenger carrying vehicle) for a car/van or small truck and "LKW" ( L ast k raft w agen or cargo/load/freight carrying vehicle) for larger trucks are understood.
Nordic languages use a term similar to the German one: Lastbil (Danish and Swedish), Lastebil (Norwegian) and Vörubíll (Icelandic), which all roughly translates to "load car". It should be noted that the loanword "truck" in these languages normally refers to a forklift.
In Italy TIR is widely used, albeit unofficially, to mean "long trucks", with reference to the TIR Treaty. Smaller trucks are referred to as camion (unofficially) or autocarri (official name: literally "automobile-wagon").
Driving
In the United States, a commercial driver's license is required to drive any type of commercial vehicle weighing 26,001 lbs (11,800 kg) or more.
The United Kingdom and the rest of Europe now have common, yet complex rules (see European driving licence). As an overview, to drive a vehicle weighing more than 7,500 kilograms (16,535 lb) for commercial purposes requires a specialist licence (the type varies depending on the use of the vehicle and number of seats). For licences first acquired after 1997, that weight was reduced to 3,500 kilograms (7,716 lb), not including trailers.
In Australia, a truck driving license is required for any motor vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) exceeding 4,500 kilograms (9,921 lb). The motor vehicles classes are further expanded as:
LR Light rigid: a rigid vehicle with a GVM of more than 4,500 kilograms (9,921 lb) but not more than 8,000 kilograms (17,637 lb). Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9,000 kilograms (19,842 lb) GVM.
MR Medium rigid: a rigid vehicle with 2 axles and a GVM of more than 8,000 kilograms (17,637 lb). Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9,000 kilograms (19,842 lb) GVM. Also includes vehicles in class 'LR'.
HR Heavy Rigid: a rigid vehicle with 3 or more axles and a GVM of more than 8,000 kilograms (17,637 lb)). Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9,000 kilograms (19,842 lb)) GVM. Also includes articulated buses and vehicles in class 'MR'.
HC Heavy Combination, a typical prime mover plus semi trailer combination.
MC Multi Combination e.g. B Doubles/Road trains.
There is also a heavy vehicle transmission condition for a licence class HR, HC or MC test passed in a vehicle fitted with an automatic or synchromesh transmission, a driver’s licence will be restricted to vehicles of that class fitted with a synchromesh or automatic transmission . To have the condition removed, a person needs to pass a practical driving test in a vehicle with non synchromesh transmission (constant mesh or crash box).
In 2006, the U.S. trucking industry employed 1.8 million drivers of heavy trucks. There are around 5 million truck drivers in India.
Anatomy of a truck
Almost all trucks share a common construction: they are made of a chassis, a cab, an area for placing cargo or equipment, axles, suspension and roadwheels, an engine and a drivetrain. Pneumatic, hydraulic, water, and electrical systems may also be identified. Many also tow one or more trailers or semi-trailers.
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, sometimes seen in semi-trailer trucks.
There are a few possible cab configurations:
- Cab over engine (COE) or flat nose ; where the driver is seated above the front axle and the engine. This design is almost ubiquitous in Europe, where overall truck lengths are strictly regulated, but also widely used in the rest of the world as well. 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 . This type of cab is especially suited to the delivery conditions in Europe where many roads follow the layout of much more ancient path, and trackways which require the additional turning capability of the cab over engine type. The COE design was invented by Viktor Schreckengost.
- Conventional cabs are the most common in North America, and are known in the UK as American cabs . 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 to 8 foot (1.8 to 2.4 m) or more) hood. With their very square shapes, these trucks experience a lot of wind resistance and typically consume more fuel. They also provide somewhat poorer visibility than their aerodynamic or COE counterparts. By contrast, Aerodynamic cabs are very streamlined, with a sloped hood and other features to lower drag. Most owner-operators prefer the square-hooded conventionals.
- Cab beside engine designs also exist, but are rather rare and are mainly used inside shipping yards, or other specialist uses such as aircraft baggage loading.
Engine
The oldest truck was built in 1896 by Gottlieb Daimler. Most small trucks such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) or pickups, and even light medium-duty trucks in North America and Russia will use petrol engines (gasoline engines), but many diesel engined models are now being produced. Most heavier trucks use four stroke diesel engine with a turbocharger and intercooler. Huge off-highway trucks use locomotive-type engines such as a V12 Detroit Diesel two stroke engine. Diesel engines are becoming the engine of choice for trucks ranging from class 3 to 8 GVWs.
North American manufactured highway trucks almost always use an engine built by a third party, such as CAT, Cummins, or Detroit Diesel. The only exceptions to this are Volvo
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