Trucking Terms Explained
Gross Vehicle Weight: The weight of a vehicle and its load.
Train Weight: The weight of a vehicle, a trailer and its load. PLATED WEIGHT.
Plated Weight: Either the design weight limit given on a manufacturer’s plate or the legal weight limit given on the Department’s plate
Draw Bar Trailer available for carriage and reward
Articulated Truck A tractor unit with a semi-trailer attached where part of the load is borne by the drawing vehicle. Articulated Lorries (Artics) are the main vehicle category to transport goods by road. This combines a tractor unit with a trailer using a turn-table device. Artics have different types of trailers some of the most common are listed below:
Flatbed trailer - Most versatile and can be used for almost any kind of cargo one disadvantage is that the goods need to be protected from the elements and theft.
Tilt trailer - Similar to the flat bed trailer, but with a removable canopy.
Curtain side - Most common vehicle for road haulage and comes with a rigid roof and rear doors. The sides are PVC curtains that can be drawn back for easy loading and unloading.
Box trailer - Boxed rigid unit, with loading through back doors. A must for long haulage or for valuable goods.
Road train - a rigid vehicle at the front, which pulls a trailer behind it.
Low-loaders - Can be used for transporting heavy machinery and other outsize goods. Set low to the ground for easy loading.
Swap-body system -Not common and have been designed to accommodate standard cargo containers.