European Trucks vs American Trucks.. why the difference?

[absoluteczech]

Why the difference? how come european trucks dont have noses?









the funny thing is back in the 70's american trucks had that style.. was there a reason it changed?

[Señor Peligro]

Hmm, let me look this up on Wikipedi......oh.

[disenfranchised]

Hmm, let me look this up on Wikipedi......oh.

[ThreadBomber]

You read my mind broseph, always wondered the same thing myself.

[absoluteczech]

Hmm, let me look this up on Wikipedi......oh.

its actually back up, and i did look, just european truck racing showed up

[seadoo2006]

Hit "esc" just after the page loads and the redirect is stopped ... workarounds FTW!

[absoluteczech]

You read my mind broseph, always wondered the same thing myself.

totally radical brah

[ThreadBomber]

Hit "esc" just after the page loads and the redirect is stopped ... workarounds FTW!

[Fritz27]

I think it has to do with length regulations. Generally, European trucks have to navigate smaller roads so having a shorter front end makes life easier for the drivers.

[JOHNS92JETTA]

IIRC it has to due with overall length laws. (feel free to correct me if im wrong)

In the us they changed the law years ago to allow overall longer lengths.

[absoluteczech]

i knew they had length laws, but i thought it was the trailers that had to be shorter

[patrickvr6]

There are length requirements in Europe that we don't have here. DUTCHMania can explain more as I believe he is a driver over there.

[patrickvr6]

i knew they had length laws, but i thought it was the trailers that had to be shorter

I think it is for the truck trailer combo. A shorter nose allows a longer trailer while still coming in under the maximum length.

[MikkiJayne]

You do see US-style trucks over here occasionally (mostly Scanias). I think its more to do with fitting the environment rather than a total length restriction.

[rs4-380]

europe has length restrictions on the entire rig (tractor and trailer). US used to do it that way but switched in the to just length restrictions on the trailer.

[ThreadBomber]

OK, so why did the US switch? I guess the US new style is safer, and the driver can sit a bit lower... And I guess it's piles easier to work on.

[absoluteczech]

i have to say imo i think the european trucks look nicer.

[Vettes, Volvos and VWs]

To my knowledge the shorter nose makes it easier to move through tighter roads and not have to worry about hitting things. The trucks also take up less space and are thus easier to park which is a huge concern in many urban european cities in Germany, Italy, France, etc, where parking is limited

[Sledge]

The longer wheelbase of a long-nose tractor also makes for a smoother ride than a cab-over which is important if you're driving it 8+ hrs a day.

[Shomegrown]

i knew they had length laws, but i thought it was the trailers that had to be shorter

No. In the US, only the trailer length is regulated. The cab can be as long as you want. In Europe, the combined tractor + trailer length is regulated. This means it's advantageous to have the tractor be as short as possible to be able to haul more cargo.

[Vettes, Volvos and VWs]

The longer wheelbase of a long-nose tractor also makes for a smoother ride than a cab-over which is important if you're driving it 8+ hrs a day.

Which would be more consistant with a cross country trip in the USA and Canada due to the larger spans between destinations, which is not typically a problem in much smaller European countries. American trucks often have bigger sleepers as well.

[Dpaul04]

You do see US-style trucks over here occasionally (mostly Scanias). I think its more to do with fitting the environment rather than a total length restriction.

Im going to call this. If nots for length reasons, it must be safety.

[vasillalov]

Bumper height regulations! Something that DOT does not get.

[CoolWhiteWolfsburg]

I heard on Top Gear that it has something to do with murdering prostitutes

[Volvo_D]

Less nose = more soul ?

[eunos94]

I don't know the exact reasons but I can tell you that a cab looks cooler (my opinion) but rides horribly. Riding directly over the front wheels SUCKS!

[Cousin Eddie]

its actually back up, and i did look, just european truck racing showed up

Nope, it just loaded the main page and then interrupted me mid page load for "trucks" to show a black screen with a big W logo and a shadow cast saying they'll be shut down for 24 hours to raise awareness.

[svantevid]

If i remember correctly, in North America, the length laws only touch the trailer length, while in Europe the length that matters is the overall length of the truck and the trailer, therefore shorter trucks. as simple as that

[Lifelong Obsession]

If i remember correctly, in North America, the length laws only touch the trailer length, while in Europe the length that matters is the overall length of the truck and the trailer, therefore shorter trucks. as simple as that

You are correct.

Some parts of the US had similar restrictions in the 1960s and 1970s, so cabovers were common in those decades, but quickly lost popularity after length laws were standardized.

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/...-semi-tractor/

[Rage In The Machines]

So that's why Optimus grew the nose. It wasn't all Michael Bay's fault.....

[Lucian1988]

its a combination of most things listed above, and also some other factors:

such as the roads being very tight, more like highways instead of interstates like here in the US. the shorter rig lenght of the european model makes it much easier to move around, while in the US the nose is actually much more efficient at high speeds, like on interstates.

[gonzo08452]

One is made for men

[1Point8TDan]

Bumper height regulations! Something that DOT does not get.

What about public transit buses in the country?



Still either semi will hurt in a collision!

[svantevid]

Still either semi will hurt in a collision!

what?

[IronJoe]

I was never happy with the change: