Heavy duty trucks are commonplace on the roads of the USA, being used to haul loads in all directions across the continent. Among the most versatile vehicles of all, they are the workhorses of the road, and have been around for many years. It’s no surprise that these massive behemoths of the road have something of a cult following, and they are exciting to see, but it’s for their incredible load-carrying capability and superb versatility that they are best regarded.
The truck has been around as long as powered vehicles took to the road, a point at which people realised there was a need for heavy gods vehicles that could carry great loads. In this article we are looking in the main about how heavy-duty trucks are constructed, with particular attention to the frame and its design. Let’s start by talking about what we mean by heavy duty truck, and how these machines differ from other types of truck.
What is a Heavy-Duty Truck?
A heavy truck is one of the many types of truck that are in use on our roads, and as the name suggests is both the heaviest and the biggest. How do we define a heavy-duty truck? Officially it is one that has a gross weight of 33,000lbs (15000kg) or more. This includes both the vehicle itself and the payload. The weight of a truck fully laden and on the road can be as much as 80,000lb (36000kg). Clearly, this is a truck that can take very large loads indeed.
So, why are we interested in the frame design for heavy duty trucks? Let’s talk about this in more detail and see why it is important.
Frame Design for Heavy Duty Trucks
A heavy-duty truck uses a frame design that is constructed from what are known as C-channel members. These are made from strong steel and are this shape to enhance the inherent strength of the frame – or, as it is also known, the chassis. What is a C-channel member? If you can imagine a length of steel formed into a box section but with one wall missing. In other words, when you look at it end-on it will resemble a letter ‘C’. The strength lies in the fact it is formed in this fashion.
Now, the construction of a heavy-duty truck frame is done in a certain way, which we will describe as best we can in a few steps. Before we do, we recommend you check out www.finditparts.com for a comprehensive range of heavy duty truck accessories and parts, at great prices.
Here’s how a heavy-duty truck chassis is created:
The frame lengths are put through a machine that drills holes to connect the crossmembers. There are two lengths and any number of crossmembers which join the lengths together. Once all these have been connected by bolts and by welding, the basic frame is ready for the heavy-duty truck. Onto it will go the engine mounts, bodywork mounts and more, each of which is designed to take a suitable load weight that will allow it to be usable and safe.
In the early days of vehicle manufacture this method of chassis construction was used for all vehicles, but nowadays many cars have unitary chassis designs for faster manufacturing. Although the method remains in use for heavy trucks – and for other commercial vehicles – it is now conducted largely using a computer to determine the sizes and so on, but the basic idea of construction remains intact.
So, what more can we tell you about the heavy-duty truck frame? Put simply, despite more than 100 years of development in chassis design and a wealth of improvements for other vehicles, that for the heavy duty truck remains the same, and for good reason: it is the design that handles the most weight safely, and the simplest way of constructing custom chassis for different sizes of truck.
The Truck and the Future
With the numbers of heavy duty trucks on the road at an all time high it is no surprise to find that there are many manufacturers in the business of designing and building chassis for heavy trucks. It is one area of vehicle manufacture in which custom design is still rife, as opposed to the automobile world where things are done in a factory fashion and made on production lines.
The art of building heavy duty C-channel chassis may be an old and established one, but there is little room for improvement in what is a basic, very strong and proven design that has stood the test of time. Check the link we gave you for the best in heavy duty truck parts and you’ll see some excellent value products.
