Straight trucks is a popular category of trucks.
Thanks to the versatility of many types of straight trucks, these are used to do all kind of jobs such as delivering furniture to moving gravel.
The type of freight needed to be hauled very much depends on the type of the straight truck being used.
Below, I'll describe different types of straight trucks and what are they used for.
How do you tell if a truck is a straight truck
These types of trucks are often used as garbage trucks, city buses, or delivery vehicles for short deliveries within or between cities.
The straight truck is considered to be any type of vehicle that has all of its axles attached to one frame, which means that its body and cab make one single unit. There is also not hitch between the cab and its trailer as you can see in a semi’s format.
Types of straight trucks
1. Pickup trucks
A pickup truck is a light-duty truck with an enclosed cabin and an open cargo area with low sides and a tailgate.
The open back, the hauling of the freight is easy. You load it into the back of the truck, and you are good to go.
Pickups can be more useful than your typical car because you can load things that you cannot in the passenger space of a car. And there’s no need to sacrifice passenger space to lug the cargo.
Pickup trucks provide the advantage of daily function by towing, hauling, and carrying all types of things.
In its early days, the pickup truck was referred to as a half-ton truck because it could carry up to half a ton of freight in the bed and cab combined (1000 pounds).
Today, pickup trucks can carry much greater loads due to the evolution of technology.
2. Cement trucks - concrete mixer
Cement trucks are also known as concrete mixer trucks.
The concrete truck can mix cement, sand, gravel, and water altogether to form concrete.
Another ability of cement trucks is to maintain the concrete in a semi-liquid form by constantly rotating its drum and continuously mixing its components.
That gives ample time to the workers on the construction site before the concrete hardens.
3. Tow trucks
The drivers who have been stranded in unfamiliar locations can attest how blissful they felt when seeing and receiving assistance from a tow truck driver.
A tow truck is a vehicle meant to help other vehicles that find themselves in a sticky situation such as moving disabled or improper parked motor vehicles.
For example, a tow truck may recover a vehicle that was damaged in an accident, return the car on the driving side of the road, and transport the damaged car to a repair shop.
The tow truck is a powerful vehicle that has the strength to move another vehicle.
There are two ways that a tow truck can tow a vehicle:
The first option is by fitting brackets in between the wheels of a car and securing the car safely to the truck with pins.
The second option is using a flatbed tow truck.
The flatbed tow truck has the same function but it works a bit differently.
A flatbed tow truck uses a mechanical system to angle its bed like a ramp to bring the car needing a tow onto the bed.
The car’s wheels are fastened with chains running through them attaching them to the flatbed.
4. Box trucks
A box truck is also known as a box van, cube van, bob truck, or cube truck.
A box truck is a type of straight truck that has its cab and its enclosed cuboid-shaped cargo area on the same chassis.
The cabin is usually separated from the cargo area, although some models have a door separating the driver cabin from the cargo component.
Box trucks come in various sizes and they are used for several types of tasks such as delivery services. They are also used to bring equipment to job sites and to transport inventory from warehouses to the retail stores.
Numerous models of box trucks have a roll-up rear door.
5. Dump trucks
A dump truck is used for transporting materials such as sand, gravel, or demolition waste for construction as well as coal.
A typical dump truck is equipped with an open-box bed, which is hinged at the rear and equipped with hydraulic rams mounted under the front of the body to lift the front, allowing the material in the bed to be deposited ("dumped") on the ground behind the truck at the site of delivery.
6. Cargo Van trucks
Cargo vans are commercial vehicles with space for two passengers and room for cargo in the back. These types of straight trucks are frequently used to expedite smaller shipments.
These vehicles are often used by businesses like plumbers. Many cargo vans do not have windows in the rear cargo area, and cargo guards can be used to separate the interior cargo area from the passenger area if desired.
The enclosed nature of a van provides security for expensive cargo or tools. The cargo van also keeps perishables out of the elements. Many food haulers remake their vans with refrigeration.
Many contractors and professionals set up their vans with storage boxes, shelves, and drawers that make finding tools and parts quick and easy. Plumbers, for example, keep thousands of fittings, that require a high degree of organization, on their trucks. The cargo van also allows easy access from the cab, a feature that comes in handy on cold and rainy days.
