Choosing the suitable shipping mode and equipment type may be challenging even for experienced shippers. Knowing the main trailer types and specifications can help determine the best way to move their freight. There are numerous trailers, each specially designed to meet different shipping demands. To better understand equipment options, learn more about the primary and most used trailer types in our ultimate guide:
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Dry vans are closed-box trailers without temperature control. They move the most significant amount of the world&#;s cargo. These fully enclosed trailers have doors on the back, so shippers can only load them from the rear. Most have wooden floors for securing with nails and blocking.
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Usually, a dry van trailer is 53ft in length, but in some cases, it can be 48ft.
&#; Shippers can only load and unload them from the rear with a forklift.
&#; Dock required for loading and unloading.
&#; The deck van&#;s height is 4 ft. from the ground.
&#; The maximum haul weight is 45,000lbs, but dry van carriers prefer to limit the weight to 43,000lbs.
Refrigerated or reefer trailers have refrigeration units capable of setting to the same temperature range. Food, beverages, flowers, or fine art are the most common commodities shipped with reefers. Refrigerated trailers have corrugated metal floors, so loads cannot be nailed to the floors. Moving freight with a refrigerated truck is not an option if the load requires blocking and bracing.
Usually, a refrigerated trailer is 53ft in length, but in some cases, it can be 48ft.
&#; Can only be loaded and unloaded from the rear with a forklift
&#; Dock required for loading and unloading
&#; The deck van height is 4 ft. from the ground
&#; Maximum haul weight is 43,000lbs, but dry van carriers prefer to stick around up to 40,000
The flatbed trailer is an open deck equipment with no sides and no roof, mainly used for transporting industrial commodities. These trailers are versatile, making them a common asset for carriers. It is a basic trailer with no sides or roof, providing quick and easy loading and unloading. Typical uses include heavy loads that are not perishable, delicate, or vulnerable to precipitation &#; since there is no cover to protect the freight. Open deck equipment is the most flexible with loading/unloading. Most commonly used for moving industrial commodities (e.g., steel coils, plates, etc.). In practice, shippers often use &#;flatbed&#; as a general term for a few different types of open deck equipment.
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Step Deck trailer, or Drop Deck trailer, is an open type of trailer with two deck levels: an upper deck and a lower deck that drops down after clearing the tractor unit. Generally, step deck trailers can haul taller loads than Flatbed trailers and often have ramps for unloading. They are also safer for forklift pickup since they are closer to the ground. Shippers can lower the main deck of a step deck to adjust the center of gravity and allow them to haul the higher material.
Lowers the center of gravity even lower than a step deck, allowing to haul a higher material 1-1.5ft off the ground.
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&#; Usually 28-29ft on the main deck
&#; The main deck (in the middle) is usually called the &#;well.&#;
&#; Can only be loaded from the top or side and cannot be loaded from the rear
&#; The best option for oversized freight over 10ft
Hotshot is a trucking term that usually refers to moving an expedited load over a short transit time. Sometimes, shippers use hotshots to move cargo dedicated to a single customer to remote or hardly accessible areas.
&#; Pick-up trucks with 20-40 trailers that can carry up to 18,000lbs of material
&#; Used for hauling smaller/partial loads
&#; Often used to deliver freight to the hard-to-access areas/job site (in the mountains; sharp turns that won&#;t allow a regular truck to pass, etc.)
&#; Typically look like flatbeds/step deck
Less-than-truckload or LTL shipping is a transportation mode where freight shipments do not require the entire space in a truck&#;s trailer. Shippers often combine their LTL shipments with other loads. This shipping type is the best option for shipments that weigh less than 15,000 pounds.
Less-than-truckload shipping allows multiple shippers to share space on the same truck. Since you&#;re sharing the truck&#;s space with numerous shippers, there is a higher risk of damaged goods. With LTL, your would usually load and unload the freight multiple times before arriving at its destination. Due to space sharing, LTL often lets shippers save costs on transportation and be more flexible with their shipping.
&#; Shippers should palletize, bundle, or crate their LTL loads to handle them with a forklift
&#; You can only transport LTL shipments in van trailers
&#; LTL shipment weight ranges from 151 to 20,00lbs
&#; Carriers can transfer LTL freight to different trucks several times between the origin & destination
If a shipment you are about is more than 6 pallets or over 6,000lbs, it might be eligible for a volume quote. Volume quotes are usually cheaper than regular LTL rates.
Oversized freight is freight that exceeds regular freight weight and dimension limits. A load must be indivisible in most states to qualify for overweight/over-dimensional permits. Inseparable means that this load should be a single piece that shippers can&#;t divide into two legal loads. Any oversize cargo will require permits.
Hazmat stands for hazardous freight, which means transporting dangerous supplies or materials requiring special handling and increased safety regulations.
&#; Max legal weight limit for a hazmat load is 80,000Ibs
&#; Legal Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) is 13ft 6 inches
&#; Legal height of any vehicle and its cargo is 102 inches
Truck owners and prospective truck owners: thinking of your next diesel semi-truck? Don&#;t know where to begin?
We understand. Choosing which brand, type, and trailer-cab configuration can be daunting. But with the heavy-duty trucking industry poised to grow 7.9% over the next five years, you couldn&#;t have picked a better time to think about what types of diesel semi-trucks exist.
If you&#;re looking for what types of diesel semi-trucks exist, you&#;ve come to the right place. We&#;re Equipment Experts, Inc., Tacoma, Washington&#;s go-to fleet and diesel repair truck shop.
For the last 20-plus years, we&#;ve been providing fleet teams, drivers, and operators with top-notch diesel repairs, fleet maintenance advice, and preventive maintenance support.
If you&#;re in the market for a new diesel semi truck &#; or are just wondering what types of semi trucks exist &#; join us! In this guide, we&#;ll explore the many different types of diesel semi-trucks, their utility, and other key information needed to help you with all your semi-truck repair needs.
Let&#;s roll!
Semi-trucks: despite their heft and size, it&#;s a wonder they&#;re called semi.
Before we explore the many different types of semi trucks on the market, we first want to understand what we mean when we say &#;semi&#; truck.
A semi-truck refers to a combination of two components:
The truck area is where passengers sit, and the trailer area is where heavy equipment and goods are stored and transported.
The cool part about semi-trucks is that there&#;s one for virtually every need! With our newfound knowledge, let&#;s find out what our friends in the trucking industry have built.
With competitive price and timely delivery, Haiheyuan sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.
We&#;ll explore the most common types of semi-trucks on the market in the next section.
The most common types of semi trucks on today&#;s market include:
Day cabs are some of the most standard semi-trucks on the market. These trucks contain an area for drivers and passengers to sit, and they may be equipped with rear windows.
Because they don&#;t have a sleeper cabin attached, operating in reverse tends to be easier. Day cabs are often used for shorter trips that don&#;t require overnight hauls.
These types of budget-friendly semi-trucks have shorter bodies and are easier to drive in narrow areas. Best of all, almost any trailer can attach to it, making it one heck of a desirable commercial truck.
If you&#;re looking for a semi-truck that can be taken on the road for days at a time, a sleeper semi-truck is the truck for your business.
Sleeper semis are built with sleeping quarters, helpful accessories, and other luxurious amenities. These trucks help people accomplish tasks for over-the-road hauling.
These trucks come in a variety of different sizes and styles. You can choose a simple sleeper truck with a basic sleeping area. Or, opt for an extended sleeping area with a full RV setup.
Like the day cab, a sleeper truck can be hooked up to a variety of trailers. Because of its flexibility and comfortable sleeping compartment (among other benefits), a sleeper semi-truck is a solid over-the-road truck.
Like its namesake, custom haulers are different from standard trailers and tractors.
If you want a specialized tractor with heavy-duty towing capabilities, say the word. With custom haulers, heavy lifting can be done. With custom haulers, you can even add sleeping quarters to the truck.
The benefit of opting for a custom hauler is that custom haulers tend to have some of the most powerful engines on the planet. These trucks help transport oversized loads and different types of cargo across long distances.
Custom haulers are a great truck choice because of their power and versatility.
&#;So, why is the word &#;trailer&#; used with the word &#;semi-truck?&#;&#; you might ask. Great question.
Instead of calling a truck a semi-tractor semi-trailer truck, we just call the combination of the tractor and trailer a &#;semi-truck&#; (also known as tractor-trailer).
While we&#;re on the topic, semi-trailers are what we call the trailers attached to the tractor. Semi-trailers have one job (and one job only): to haul distinct goods.
Fortunately, trailers come in a variety of sizes and shapes. For example, some carry refrigerated goods, and others carry livestock. Hook a liftgate up to one of them, and you&#;re all set to load and unload goods for most jobs.
Different semis use different trailers. As a result, becoming familiar with the most common types of semi-trailers can help you with your fleet operation.
The most common types of semi-trailers include:
While not an exhaustive list, these are some of the most common semi-trailer types on today&#;s market. Find the right one for your fleet operation, and you&#;ll be well on your way to running a successful fleet operation.
Now that we&#;ve got our bearings on the different types of trucks and trailers, we want to explore which are available in today&#;s market. The following are some of the most popular semi-truck brands you&#;ll have access to when buying or leasing a semi-truck.
Freightliner
: is a staple in the trucking industry. Founded in , people like Freightliner trucks are for their durability, efficiency, and exceptional fuel economy.Western Star
: Founded in , Western Star is well-known for its heavy-duty trucks. These trucks hold up well in even the most rough environments. Western Star trucks haul goods from all different types of industries.Peterbilt
: This Oakland, California-based company carries some of the largest inventory of semi-trucks and trailers on the planet.Autocar
: In business since , Autocar has focused on delivering semi-trucks built with the latest technology.With these companies, finding the right semi-truck and trailer for your needs is easy. The tough part is knowing how to budget for preventive maintenance and what&#;s needed to keep your fleet running long and strong.
Over-the-road trucks can log over one million miles before being retired. How many miles have you driven in your life?
Different types of semi trucks exist for different needs. The most common types of semi trucks include:
Whether you operate a slop-nosed truck or a lowboy trailer, every truck driver needs a sidekick. At Equipment Experts, we pride ourselves on being that sidekick. We help semi-truck drivers, operators, and fleet managers by conducting quality fleet and truck repairs for all their needs.
Whether you&#;re a fleet manager building out a preventive maintenance program or a truck driver in need of an emergency mobile repair, trust the Experts for sound truck repairs and fleet advice. To schedule a visit or learn more about what we do, contact us today!
We look forward to getting to know you and better serving you.
The different types of semi trucks &#; also known as tractor-trailers &#; include:
Other types of trucks exist &#; like dump trucks and tanker trucks &#; but these trucks fall under the above-mentioned categories.
The most common types of trailers for semi trucks include:
A trailer makes it possible for a trucker to better load and unload cargo, carry heavy loads, and travel long distances with large volumes of freight. Like all machinery, a trailer can break down.
We recommend reaching out to a specialized diesel mechanic if you ever need fleet service on a trailer.
The answer depends on your needs.
With the right service and maintenance, your semi-truck can log up to 1,000,000 miles. We recommend servicing your truck every 15,000, 30,000, 100,000, 150,000, and 200,000 miles for system, oil, and parts-related repairs.
You can maximize the life of your semi-truck by sticking to a solid preventive maintenance plan that&#;s either miles-based or time-driven.
Consider servicing your truck every 10,000- 20,000 miles for engine oil, filter changes, and lubrication top-offs. Depending on whether you operate in warm or cold weather, you&#;ll want to adjust the frequency of each service accordingly.
If ever you&#;re in doubt about what needs servicing on your truck, one of the members of our Expert team would be happy to troubleshoot the issue with you. Give us a call anytime.
For more Custom Semi Trailersinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.