Transportation is ubiquitous in our lives and roads, and trucks are its backbone. But ground transportation has many different forms, which translates into very different types of vehicles. Depending on the type of merchandise to be transported, the dimensions or the structure of the vehicle, we must choose the one that best suits our needs.

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Types of trucks in ground transportation

Firstly, based on its structure, we can divide the types of trucks for land transport as follows:

Rigid

They are those vehicles in which the driver’s cabin and the trailer on which the merchandise goes are an indivisible part of the same structure. Being of a smaller size they are usually used in urban transport and parcels.

Articulated

In contrast to rigid trucks, articulated trucks are made up of two rigid parts that are joined through a joint, hence its name.

Trailer

It is a type of articulated vehicle which has a cabin (or tractor truck), which is not intended for the transport of merchandise, and a semi-trailer, which is in charge of carrying the materials to be transported. If when we talk about ground transportation we think about trucks, surely the first thing that comes to mind is a trailer.

Road train

In this case, a truck is joined with one or more semi-trailers (the existence of more than one semi-trailer occurs especially in some countries where the distances to be traveled are very large, Australia is a good example of this)..One of the great challenges for all these types of vehicles is that due to their dimensions they have difficulties in traveling on some roads that are not designed to accommodate such long vehicles.

By type of merchandise

In ground transportation, the shape and equipment of trucks make them more appropriate for some types of shipments or materials.

Canvas truck

This type of trailer is the most common and its semi-trailer is covered on the sides and on the top with tarps, which can be removed. This allows it to be very comfortable for loading and unloading and can be adapted to a large number of materials, as well as being suitable for the transport of products that are difficult to load.

Open platform

In this case, the platform where the cargo goes is open (although it may be partially covered by the sides depending on the merchandise and the possibility of it moving). Although it also offers many options, it is usually used for heavy goods, construction, etc.

Refrigerators

As their own name indicates, the refrigerators are the trucks in charge of the ground transportation of the merchandise that has to travel refrigerated. Depending on whether they have cold generation systems or only insulation from the outside, they can be refrigerated, refrigerated or isothermal. Food is the most common customers of this type of vehicle.

Although less frequent, there are also calorific trucks to keep the temperature above a certain amount of degrees.

Tank

Very common in ADR merchandise, tanks are used to transport liquid, gaseous and chemical products, which have particular safety requirements.

Closed box trailers

Closed box trailers, as opposed to tarpaulins, have a rigid structure in the cargo compartment. This means that they can only be loaded from the rear, while the canvas ones can also be loaded from the sides. They are vehicles commonly used for urban delivery and parcels, although there are also closed box trailers.

Car carrier

These trucks are specifically designed for ground transportation of cars. There are two models of car carriers: the open one, which is the most common, and the closed one. The latter does not allow vehicles to be seen from the outside and is sometimes used to transport the most expensive cars.

Cage Truck

Cage trucks are used to transport live animals. For this, they have part of the sides or roof open so that air reaches the animals and there is sufficient ventilation.

Containers

Containers are watertight cargo structures, allowing them to protect merchandise from inclement weather. They are used for multimodal transport and to facilitate loading and unloading of container ships.

The infinity of materials to transport makes the variety of trucks continue and be very long: hopper (often used for earthmoving), stakes (log transport, among others), concrete mixer, armored (money movements), vehicles special for heavy machinery and a long etcetera.

According to its weight and category

The trucks for the transport of merchandise are divided into three groups according to their Maximum Authorized Mass (MAM). That is, how much does the total vehicle weigh, including the load, the vehicle’s structure, the weight of the driver and other occupants, the fuel, etc.

• N1: up to 3,500 kilos.
• N2: greater than 3,500 kg and up to 12,000 kg.
• N3: greater than 12,000 kilos.

Due to its level of emissions

Another way to classify vehicles corresponds to their level of emissions. Maybe you have never heard that a vehicle is Euro 5 or Euro 6 and you did not know what they meant. Well, these nomenclatures refer to the requirements of the European Union regarding the level of emissions of polluting particles (nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide …) from trucks. The most recent is Euro 6, which corresponds to the year 2014, and which forces new trucks sold to comply with the limits set.

The great variety in sizes, weights, typologies, purposes and structures attests to the diversity of logistics and land transport needs. Logistics and the supply chain must pamper your products and an essential step for this is that they be treated in the best way during transport. Being carried in the best temperature conditions, in the most efficient for loading and unloading and in the safest depending on the nature of the merchandise. So, it is important to know what type of truck suits our ground transportation needs.

Trailers are very practical elements when it comes to adding space in a vehicle or when moving an object of greater volume than the capacity of the trunk. If you want to know more about premium galvanised trailers in Australia, visit our website.