Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction, with a cabin that is independent of the payload portion of the vehicle. Smaller varieties may be mechanically similar to some automobiles. Commercial trucks can be very large and powerful and may be configured to be mounted with specialized equipment, such as in the case of refuse trucks, fire trucks, concrete mixers, and suction excavators. In American English, a commercial vehicle without a trailer or other articulation is formally a "straight truck" while one designed specifically to pull a trailer is not a truck but a "tractor".
The majority of trucks currently in use are powered by diesel engines, although small- to medium-size trucks with gasoline engines exist in North America. Electrically powered trucks are more popular in China and Europe than elsewhere. In the European Union, vehicles with a gross combination mass of up to are defined as light commercial vehicles, and those over as large goods vehicles.
History
Steam wagons
s were not common until the mid-19th century. The roads of the time, built for horse and carriages, limited these vehicles to very short hauls, usually from a factory to the nearest railway station. The first semi-trailer appeared in 1881, towed by a steam tractor manufactured by De Dion-Bouton. Steam-powered wagons were sold in France and the United States until the eve of World War I, and 1935 in the United Kingdom, when a change in road tax rules made them uneconomic against the new diesel lorries.Internal combustion
In 1895, Karl Benz designed and built the first internal combustion truck. Later that year some of Benz's trucks were modified to become busses by Netphener. A year later, in 1896, another internal combustion engine truck was built by Gottlieb Daimler, the Daimler Motor Lastwagen. Other companies, such as Peugeot, Renault and Büssing, also built their own versions. The first truck in the United States was built by Autocar in 1899 and was available with engines. Another early American truck was built by George Eldridge of Des Moines, Iowa, in 1903. It was powered by an engine with two opposed cylinders, and had a chain drive A 1903 Eldridge truck is displayed at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum, Walcott, Iowa. Trucks of the era mostly used two-cylinder engines and had a carrying capacity of. After World War I, several advances were made: electric starters, and 4, 6, and 8 cylinder engines.Diesel engines
Although it had been invented in 1897, the diesel engine did not appear in production trucks until Benz introduced it in 1923. The diesel engine was not common in trucks in Europe until the 1930s. In the United States, Autocar introduced diesel engines for heavy applications in the mid-1930s. Demand was high enough that Autocar launched the "DC" model in 1939. However, it took much longer for diesel engines to be broadly accepted in the US: gasoline engines were still in use on heavy trucks in the 1970s.Electric motors
predate internal combustion ones and have been continuously available since the mid-19th-century. In the 1920s Autocar Trucks was the first of the major truck manufacturers to offer a range of electric trucks for sale. Electric trucks were successful for urban delivery roles and as specialized work vehicles like forklifts and pushback tugs. The higher energy density of liquid fuels soon led to the decline of electric-powered trucks in favor of, first, gasoline, and then diesel and CNG-fueled engines until battery technology advanced in the 2000s when new chemistries and higher-volume production broadened the range of applicability of electric propulsion to trucks in many more roles. Today, manufacturers are electrifying all trucks ahead of national regulatory requirements, with long-range over-the-road trucks being the most challenging.Etymology
Truck is used in American English; the British English equivalent is lorry.The first known usage of "truck" was in 1611 when it referred to the small strong wheels on ships' cannon carriages, and comes from Greek τροχός = "wheel". In its extended usage, it came to refer to carts for carrying heavy loads, a meaning known since 1771. Its expanded application to "motor-powered load carrier" has been in usage since 1930, shortened from "motor truck", which dates back to 1901.
"Lorry" has a more uncertain origin, but probably has its roots in the rail transport industry, where the word is known to have been used in 1838 to refer to a type of truck, specifically a large flat wagon. It might derive from the verb lurry which was in use as early as 1664, but that association is not definitive. The expanded meaning of lorry, "self-propelled vehicle for carrying goods", has been in usage since 1911.
International variance
In the United States, Canada, and the Philippines, "truck" is usually reserved for commercial vehicles larger than regular passenger cars, but includes large SUVs, pickups, and other vehicles with an open load bed.In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the word "truck" is mostly reserved for larger vehicles. In Australia and New Zealand, a pickup truck is frequently called a ute, while in South Africa it is called a bakkie.
In the United Kingdom, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, and Hong Kong lorry is used instead of truck, but only for the medium and heavy types, while truck is used almost exclusively to refer to pickups.
Types by size
Ultra light
Often produced as variations of golf cars, with internal combustion or battery electric drive, these are used typically for off-highway use on estates, golf courses, and parks. While not suitable for highway use some variations may be licensed as slow speed vehicles for operation on streets, generally as a body variation of a neighborhood electric vehicle. A few manufactures produce specialized chassis for this type of vehicle, while Zap Motors markets a version of their Xebra electric tricycle.Very light
Popular in Europe and Asia, many mini-trucks are factory redesigns of light automobiles, usually with monocoque bodies. Specialized designs with substantial frames such as the Italian Piaggio shown here are based upon Japanese designs and are popular for use in "old town" sections of European cities that often have very narrow alleyways.Regardless of name, these small trucks serve a wide range of uses. In Japan, they are regulated under the Kei car laws, which allow vehicle owners a break in taxes for buying a smaller and less-powerful vehicle. These vehicles are used as on-road utility vehicles in Japan. These Japanese-made mini-trucks that were manufactured for on-road use are competing with off-road ATVs in the United States, and import regulations require that these mini-trucks have a speed governor as they are classified as low-speed vehicles. These vehicles have found uses in construction, large campuses, agriculture, cattle ranches, amusement parks, and replacements for golf carts.
Major mini-truck manufacturers and their brands include: Daihatsu Hijet, Honda Acty, Tata Ace, Mazda Scrum, Mitsubishi Minicab, Subaru Sambar, and Suzuki Carry.
Light
Light trucks are car-sized and are used by individuals and businesses alike. In the EU they may not weigh more than and are allowed to be driven with a driving licence for cars.Pickup trucks, called utes in Australia and New Zealand, are common in North America and some regions of Latin America, Asia, and Africa, but not so in Europe, where this size of commercial vehicle is most often made as vans.
Medium
Medium trucks are larger than light but smaller than heavy trucks. In the US, they are defined as weighing between. For the UK and the EU the weight is between. Local delivery and public service are normally around this size.Heavy
Heavy trucks are the largest on-road trucks, Class 8. These include vocational applications such as heavy dump trucks, concrete pump trucks, and refuse hauling, as well as ubiquitous long-haul 4x2 and 6×4 tractor units.Road damage and wear increase very rapidly with the axle weight. The number of steering axles and the suspension type also influence the amount of the road wear. In many countries with good roads a six-axle truck may have a maximum weight of or more.
Off-road
Off-road trucks include standard, extra heavy-duty highway-legal trucks, typically outfitted with off-road features such as a front driving axle and special tires for applications such as logging and construction, and purpose-built off-road vehicles unconstrained by weight limits, such as the Liebherr T 282B mining truck.Maximum sizes by country
Australia has complex regulations over weight and length, including axle spacing, type of axle/axle group, rear overhang, kingpin to rear of trailer, drawbar length, ground clearance, as well as height and width laws. These limits are some of the highest in the world, a B-double can weigh and be long, and road trains used in the outback can weigh and be long.The European Union also has complex regulations. The number and spacing of axles, steering, single or dual tires, and suspension type all affect maximum weights. Length of a truck, of a trailer, from axle to hitch point, kingpin to rear of trailer, and turning radius are all regulated. In additions, there are special rules for carrying containers, and countries can set their own rules for local traffic.
The United States Federal Bridge Law deals with the relation between the gross weight of the truck, the number of axles, the weight on and the spacing between the axles that the truck can have on the Interstate highway system. Each State determines the maximum permissible vehicle, combination, and axle weight on state and local roads.
| Country | Maximum with three axles | With one trailer | Maximum combination |
| Australia | |||
| China | |||
| EU | | ||
| Finland | |||
| Ireland | |||
| Sweden | |||
| UK | |||
| USA | none | none |
Uniquely, the State of Michigan has a gross vehicle weight limit of, which is twice the U.S. federal limit. A measure to change the law was defeated in the Michigan Senate in 2019.