What is a Commercial Truck? A Guide to Trucking Types

Box Truck

A box truck is also known as a box van, cube van, or cube truck. This cab truck has a cube-shaped cargo area attached. With a box truck, the cabin and cargo area are separate entities. The truck has a cargo box added to the chassis, and you can clearly see where the pieces join.

A box van is only one piece. A rear door separates the cabin from the cargo area, but the vehicle is unibody. Box trucks often transport appliances and furniture.

Dump Truck

As you may know, dump trucks take waste away from construction sites and carry cargo for purposes where convenient unloading by dumping is required. They have an open-box bed with a hinged rear so that the driver can dump materials from the truck easily. Standard dump trucks have one 4x2 four-wheeler and one front steering axle.

Garbage trucks collect solid waste and transport that waste to landfills. Though you are probably familiar with garbage trucks, you may not recognize the different types. The seven styles of garbage trucks include:

• Front-loaders
• Rear-loaders
• Side-loaders
• Manual side-loaders
• Automated side-loaders
• Manual/automatic side-loaders
• Semi-automatic side-loaders

The name of the truck corresponds to the place on the truck where the driver can load and dump trash bins. Manual loaders require the driver to dump the waste using the truck controls.

Flatbed Truck

A flatbed truck is a big truck with no sides or roof on the body. The completely level bed allows for quick loading of large, heavy goods. You may see a flatbed truck carry a small house or other weather-proof cargo.

Bucket Truck

Also known as a boom truck, bucket trucks have a hydraulic boom that can raise people to high up areas. You will see this type of truck used by construction workers or utility companies.

Grapple Truck

Grapple trucks have a grapple loader mounted to their frame. Sanitation, public works departments, or waste collection companies use these trucks to load and haul bulky waste. The six types of waste collection systems that require grapple trucks are:

• Loader and body systems
• Roll-off systems
• Rear-mounted loader
• Rear steer systems
• Haul truck systems
• Transfer systems

Refrigerator Truck

Refrigerator trucks are equipped to carry freight at certain temperatures. The cooling agent can be ice, a mechanical refrigeration system, or carbon dioxide. These trucks differ from insulated vans, which do not have a cooling apparatus.

Heavy Hauler

A heavy hauler 18-wheeler allows drivers to transport oversized loads without a special permit. They have a multi-axle flatbed trailer and a heavy tractor unit. It is not uncommon to see multiple trailers towed by one tractor unit.

Tow Truck

Tow trucks move vehicles from one location to another. They may move broken-down vehicles or those involved in accidents, cars improperly parked, or impounded. Tow trucks only carry one vehicle at a time, and there are five styles of tow trucks, including:

• Boom
• Wheel-lift
• Integrated
• Flatbed
• Lift flatbed

About The Stephens Law Firm Accident Lawyers

The Stephens Law Firm Accident Lawyers can help you with personal injury cases, including accidents involving commercial trucks in Houston, Texas. As a top rated Texas truck accident attorney, Joe Stephens has helped hundreds of clients get compensation for wrongful injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured, call 281-623-1701.