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.