Various Types of Commercial Vehicles

There are too many types of commercial vehicles to list them all here, but we wanted to provide an overview of the most common types of commercial vehicles in use today.

TRUCKS and TRACTORS

Conventional Tractor: A tractor with the engine in front of the cab with three axles.  

Cabover Tractor: A tractor with the engine under the cab. The cab must be raised and tilted forward to access the engine. Usually has three axles as well.

Daycab: A tractor that doesn’t have a sleeper berth. Used for local driving.

Terminal Tractor/Hostler/Yard Truck: A specialized tractor used to move trailers in and out of docks and around the yard.

Winch Truck: A tractor with a heavy duty winch behind the cab and a heavy duty roller at the end of the truck. Used to hook up frac tanks and similar tanks that have no landing gear.

Straight Truck: Heavy straight vehicles. Can have a flatbed, drybox, curtain side, refrigerated box, tank, or dump. Can also be buses among other things.

Sleeper: A type of tractor with a compartment attached to the cabin for the truck driver to sleep. Some sleepers offer a premium sound system, flat screen TV and additional storage. Roof heights vary but the raised roof sleeper has the highest roof for more space and better driver comfort.

Bucket Truck: Also known as a boom truck and equipped with an extendable hydraulic boom carrying a large bucket for raising workers to elevated, inaccessible areas.

Refrigerated Truck: Typically a van or box truck designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures with a mechanical refrigeration system attached that is powered by a separate engine.

Tow Truck: Also called a wrecker or recovery vehicle is used to move disabled, improperly parked or impounded vehicles. A tow truck is distinct from a motor carrier that moves multiple new or used vehicles simultaneously. There are several styles of Tow Trucks including; boom, wheel-lift, integrated, flatbed and lift flatbed.

Heavy Hauler: a specialized, very large transporter for moving oversized loads too large for road travel without an escort and special permits. Typically consists of a heavy tractor unit with a multi-axle lowboy flatbed trailer. Some feature multiple steering axles and can carry loads over 100 tons.

TRAILERS

Flatbed: A standard flatbed trailer is a trailer that has no top, sides, or doors. Loads must be secured with straps or chains and binders. A lot of flatbed loads must be tarped to protect the product.

Dry Van: A trailer that is fully enclosed with rear doors and is used to haul nonperishable cargo.

Reefer: A trailer that is temperature controlled and fully enclosed and insulated with a refrigeration unit in the front (nose) of the trailer. Used to haul perishable cargo.

Curtainside: A flatbed trailer with a hard structure on the roof and front and rear of the trailer, with sliding curtains on the side. With this setup, there is no need to tarp. Cargo is secured with straps like a regular flatbed.

Conestoga: A flatbed trailer that has a sliding tarp design that covers the cargo without damage and allows access when opened.

Side Kit: A flatbed trailer that is fortified with panels made from plywood or fiberglass. Some have a tarp and bow system installed on top. It is typically used to transport freight that is neither packaged nor crated.

Belly Dump/Bottom-Dump: A trailer with a dump gate to dump material straight from the bottom of the box.

Side Dump: This trailer unloads their cargo by tilting the trailer to one side.

Live bottom: A trailer that has a conveyor belt on the bottom of the trailer tub that pushes the material out of the back of the trailer at a controlled pace. The tub does not have to be raised to deposit the materials.

End Dump: A trailer that unloads out of its rear, with the box lifted into the air.

Tanker: A trailer with a permanently affixed tank.