5 ms·

The article brings all of this up, as well as the prevalence of "sleeper" cabs in US but not EU. This all seems pretty obviously likely to contribute. One non

by ska 5y ago

The article brings all of this up, as well as the prevalence of "sleeper" cabs in US but not EU. This all seems pretty obviously likely to contribute. One non obvious thing in article; apparently up until 1986 both US and Europe had a strict limit on length of trailer + truck, which is a clear incentive to shorter cabs (gets you more trailer). In 86 US relaxed this, correlates pretty well with the fall off on cab-over designs.

mantas 5y ago
Sleeper cabs are popular in Europe too. But sleeper part is rather tiny. Yet trucker still sleep in them for weeks.
- ska 5y ago
  Fair enough, that was sloppy terminology of me!
- buildsjets 5y ago
  And that is the difference between a hired employee and an owner-operator.
  - mantas 5y ago
    I doubt euro trucks had different chassis designs if trucks were owned by truckers. But trucking in Europe is a mess with massive companies squeezing truckers and importing cheaper workers from wherever to keep salaries low and conditions shitty. At least one sector where Europe out-big-corps US?
    - dghlsakjg 5y ago
      Rest assured: the American trucking industry abuses workers too.
  - VBprogrammer 5y ago
    I mean, I'm sure European truckers would love a full kitchen, a shower and a double bed if they could get it. But the length limits would still be a problem and it would be hard enough to stay competitive without having to refuse the standard length trailers.
    - AshleyGrant 5y ago
      You're not going to see a full kitchen and shower in a standard sleeper cab. You'll get one or two beds, maybe a dinette, a microwave, and a fridge. To get the kitchen and shower, you're going to have to go custom. Going custom, you're only limited by money, space, and regulations.
      - Aloha 5y ago
        And the 'dinette' is literally a fold down table in front of the bunk. Cabovers had all of those things too.
  - futharkshill 5y ago
    Most truckers in Denmark own their own trucks?
  - brnt 5y ago
    In NL plenty of truckers own their own truck.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - scraptor 5y ago
    Because US truck drivers are well known for their amazing working conditions and financial independence?
    - jandrese 5y ago
      In the US a lot more truck drivers are owner operators, so yes to the financial independence part.
      - closewith 5y ago
        Is that true? Contractors supplying their own tractors is the norm in Ireland, at least.
- taneq 5y ago
  I imagine the truckers in Europe are also smaller than their American counterparts.
runarberg 5y ago
In the US I see many dump trucks pulling trailers with a very long extension rod (the thing that connects to the motorized truck; I don’t know the actual name for it). Even on the Puget Sound I see them entering the ferries with a ton of wasted space. Do you have any idea why dump trucks make them self so much longer without providing any more load capacity? Edit: Here is an example. You could fit another truck in the space between the truck and the trailer: https://d2uhsaoc6ysewq.cloudfront.net/53248/Dump-Trucks-Western-Star-4700-21770360.jpg https://d2uhsaoc6ysewq.cloudfront.net/53248/Dump-Trucks-West...
- mh- 5y ago
  Maneuverability. There's no articulation point between the cab and the dump. The gap between the dump and trailer allows for very tight turns.
- aklemm 5y ago
  I would guess this has to do with maneuverability. It's very hard to back up a trailer when the drive vehicle wheelbase is long compared to the trailer. Adding a bunch of tongue length helps a lot.
- vallassy 5y ago
  The bit between the truck and trailer is a drawbar. As mentioned, it is indeed mainly for manoeuvreability. In Australia, that combination is called a 'truck and dog', the dog being the rear trailer. The front axle(s) on the dog are steerable by the drawbar. The upshot of this combination is that you can tip the truck without having to disconnect the trailer, by 'folding' the combination up on itself, turning the whole lot into a U-shape. As for load, these trucks are completely loaded, there is no waste. This is simply because the things that a tipper transports (bitumen, dirt, grain, gravel etc.) are very dense. Load limits, at least in Australia, are based on the amount of axles under the vehicle, so the only way to increase the load capacity of these trucks is to increase axle count. Example: https://www.aeitransport.com.au/biggest-load-to-be-moved-in-western-australia/dsc00912/ https://www.aeitransport.com.au/biggest-load-to-be-moved-in-... The image of the truck and dog you linked seems especially long. This might be a specialised setup for roadworks, where the driver can actually tip the load (in a controlled manner) through the drawbar and drive the dog over the top of it. The longer drawbar would leave room for the tipping body on the truck to raise completely, and also lower the angles experienced by the hitch if the driver offloads too much material between the truck and dog.

by ska 5y ago

mantas 5y ago

Sleeper cabs are popular in Europe too. But sleeper part is rather tiny. Yet trucker still sleep in them for weeks.

ska 5y ago
Fair enough, that was sloppy terminology of me!
buildsjets 5y ago
And that is the difference between a hired employee and an owner-operator.
- mantas 5y ago
  I doubt euro trucks had different chassis designs if trucks were owned by truckers. But trucking in Europe is a mess with massive companies squeezing truckers and importing cheaper workers from wherever to keep salaries low and conditions shitty. At least one sector where Europe out-big-corps US?
  - dghlsakjg 5y ago
    Rest assured: the American trucking industry abuses workers too.
- VBprogrammer 5y ago
  I mean, I'm sure European truckers would love a full kitchen, a shower and a double bed if they could get it. But the length limits would still be a problem and it would be hard enough to stay competitive without having to refuse the standard length trailers.
  - AshleyGrant 5y ago
    You're not going to see a full kitchen and shower in a standard sleeper cab. You'll get one or two beds, maybe a dinette, a microwave, and a fridge. To get the kitchen and shower, you're going to have to go custom. Going custom, you're only limited by money, space, and regulations.
    - Aloha 5y ago
      And the 'dinette' is literally a fold down table in front of the bunk. Cabovers had all of those things too.
- futharkshill 5y ago
  Most truckers in Denmark own their own trucks?
- brnt 5y ago
  In NL plenty of truckers own their own truck.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- scraptor 5y ago
  Because US truck drivers are well known for their amazing working conditions and financial independence?
  - jandrese 5y ago
    In the US a lot more truck drivers are owner operators, so yes to the financial independence part.
    - closewith 5y ago
      Is that true? Contractors supplying their own tractors is the norm in Ireland, at least.
taneq 5y ago
I imagine the truckers in Europe are also smaller than their American counterparts.

runarberg 5y ago

In the US I see many dump trucks pulling trailers with a very long extension rod (the thing that connects to the motorized truck; I don’t know the actual name for it). Even on the Puget Sound I see them entering the ferries with a ton of wasted space. Do you have any idea why dump trucks make them self so much longer without providing any more load capacity? Edit: Here is an example. You could fit another truck in the space between the truck and the trailer: https://d2uhsaoc6ysewq.cloudfront.net/53248/Dump-Trucks-Western-Star-4700-21770360.jpg https://d2uhsaoc6ysewq.cloudfront.net/53248/Dump-Trucks-West...

mh- 5y ago
Maneuverability. There's no articulation point between the cab and the dump. The gap between the dump and trailer allows for very tight turns.
aklemm 5y ago
I would guess this has to do with maneuverability. It's very hard to back up a trailer when the drive vehicle wheelbase is long compared to the trailer. Adding a bunch of tongue length helps a lot.
vallassy 5y ago
The bit between the truck and trailer is a drawbar. As mentioned, it is indeed mainly for manoeuvreability. In Australia, that combination is called a 'truck and dog', the dog being the rear trailer. The front axle(s) on the dog are steerable by the drawbar. The upshot of this combination is that you can tip the truck without having to disconnect the trailer, by 'folding' the combination up on itself, turning the whole lot into a U-shape. As for load, these trucks are completely loaded, there is no waste. This is simply because the things that a tipper transports (bitumen, dirt, grain, gravel etc.) are very dense. Load limits, at least in Australia, are based on the amount of axles under the vehicle, so the only way to increase the load capacity of these trucks is to increase axle count. Example: https://www.aeitransport.com.au/biggest-load-to-be-moved-in-western-australia/dsc00912/ https://www.aeitransport.com.au/biggest-load-to-be-moved-in-... The image of the truck and dog you linked seems especially long. This might be a specialised setup for roadworks, where the driver can actually tip the load (in a controlled manner) through the drawbar and drive the dog over the top of it. The longer drawbar would leave room for the tipping body on the truck to raise completely, and also lower the angles experienced by the hitch if the driver offloads too much material between the truck and dog.