Trucks pulling trucks
Tuesday, 10th April 2007 by James Turnbull
When we recently posted a Truck Crash, there was a lot of unexpected discussion in the comments regarding my use of the term "articulated lorry". I thought it was perfectly normal, but it seems that many of our American readers had never heard the term before, and to them it was rather humorous. This then led to numerous offers of a preferred terminology for that type of truck.
While looking for an answer on the difference between all the names I, of course, visited Wikipedia's page on what they like to call "Semi-trailer trucks". It was here that I found this excellent picture of something I never even realised was possible: A truck pulling another truck, pulling another truck!
I was then even more surprised to learn that this is such a common occurrence someone has managed to find a three-way truck piggy back in Google Earth!
Of course, me being far from a trucking expert, my next question is this: is there a world record for number of piggy-backed trucks?
Thanks: SpiderX22
Just yesterday I saw a truck pulling a truck pulling a truck pulling a truck. That’s FOUR trucks for those of you counting. My wife and I had a good laugh. It was on I-76 in Pennsylvania for those of you who want to search for it. I see them on I-76 all the time.
Now let’s try to be clear hear. The motorised portion of a transport trailer is the tractor or truck. The pulled portion is the trailer. So this is not 3 trucks or in EAF’s case – 4 trucks, but a tractor pulling two (tandem) or three trailers. Looking at the post, is it possible, this is a single flat-bed trailer with two individual large pieces of cargo?
I do work in the trucking industry, in EU. I confirm what padraig said: this is a single truck with a trailer and 2 piece of cargo, actually you see the shadows of the cargo pieces higher than the shadow of the truck, this mean the two pieces are on the trailer and not on the same height.
I have never seen a truck pulling a truck pulling a truck, we do not use this in EU. Only truck and trailer or a truck carrying other truck on a trailer (this is not this case cause the trailer would have been very different).
Has anyone found example of long road_trains being driven across Australia (or elsewhere) on Google Earth?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train
To me the thumbnail seems very similar to the picture in Wikipedia, so I do think it’s three trucks. It doesn’t look like a truck pulling a trailer with two things on it at all, I think.
Agree 100% with Koen – three trucks (lorries!)
Sorry to the guys in the EU, but this is a common occurrence in the US. New tractors (semi truck only) being pulled by another tractor. They lift one truck up onto the trailer hitch of the other, and attach a trailer hitch under the second truck to haul it. They can then hitch another on the second truck. As is shown in the wikipedia entry, it works, and I’m pretty sure that’s what’s happening here. Note in the post here that the angle on the truck windscreen above the cab is at an odd angle, but both the second and third trucks are at a similar angle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HuckepackCrop.JPG
Definitely three trucks in the thumbnail. I’ve personally seen a truck pulling five others (six in all) in the US, but they were of the shorter cab-over-engine variety.
I’ll be the next yank to verify that this happens all the time, and they don’t require a trailer for the transported trucks to be on. You only have to drive on an interstate for an hour or two to run across this.
And in the picture above, it seems pretty clear that this does match the wikipedia picture, just by looking at the shadows.
Here’s what seems like a 3-car “train” in Australia: View Placemark (-19.54833,134.225539)
On a similar note, a week ago, I saw a flatbed trailer atop a flatbed truck atop another flatbed truck.
What I find odd is that you (Brits) call a tractor-trailer an “articulated lorry” but you call an articulated bus a “bendy bus”.
It’s definately a truck pulling 2 other trucks, the lengths of the 3 look to work out right.
Haha bendy bus brings back memories of seeing them in Grimsby, UK all the time.
And that’s a nice find Uri, I agree thats a 2 trailer road train.
I’ve seen the truck piggy backing on a truck, piggy backing on another… all across the USA
I’ve also seen the road trains in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA… mainly gas (petrol) trucks with 2-3 trailers. They only did it on the outskirts of the town. Guess it would be a little tricky to do that in downtown traffic.
I’ve also seen a pickup loaded on the back of the last tractor in the series. I’d guess its to drive home on after they deliver the trucks. These are invariably new vehicles being delivered either to a dealer or a fleet purchaser.
Bend(y/i)buses were marketed as that, hense why the name caught on. Bend(y/i)bus is more consumer friendly than ‘Articulated Public Transport’.
It’s very common for U.S. new truck transporters to “Piggy Back” 3 or 4 and sometimes even 5 new tractors (Trucks) at a time. A setup such as this would simply be called a “combination vehicle”, as it doesn’t have a trailer. A truck pulling a trailer is known and referred to by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as an “Semi-trailer truck“. A “semi-trailer truck“ is still a semi-trailer truck regardless of how many trailers it may be pulling. In the U.S. anything more than 3 trailers (Triples) require special permits. Although the official name is semi-trailer truck other common names include “Tractor-Trailer, Big-Rig, Big-Truck, and 18 Wheelers.
Wait wait, I’m trying to keep up on my English lingo here. I’ve gotten articulated lorry down and now only refer to them as that. But what is a bendy bus? A commuter bus like the greyhound here in the states?
Ok, from my experience driving nearly a million miles around Indianapolis and Central Indiana, I have seen many different combinations of the truck on truck, the most I’ve seen was five, and I’ve been told that it was the maximum length permitted in our state. The same goes for the number of trailers, for the state you can only have a max of two behind the tractor. But in Northern Indiana near Chicago, some companies have permits for three. I’ve seen pictures of the road trains from Australia with as many as ten trailers pulled by tractors that were built specially for that task, they were much bigger than what I’ve seen here, don’t know if they still have that sort of thing there today or not. We’ve got a lot of manufacturing here in Indiana that hasn’t left the state yet, and they all transport differently. The scarry stuff moves through late at night, the big stuff between rush hours and late at night, and the radioactice stuff goes through at night.
What got me was when we had to build a new interstate bridge ten years ago because it didn’t meet the military specification for mobile missle transporters by four inches. That’s one I’ve never seen go through.
As far as the confusion in our languages, I believe that what I heard the famous actor Jon Pertwee say in a lecture years ago still holds truth. The executives in the USA have decided that people residing in the USA are totally unable to understand English, which is why we don’t have as much UK entertainment here as we’d like.
A lorry unloading bridies into a lift.
Great job
hehe…. “truck on truck”
semi-porn?
Do the trucks tied to each other really count as multiple trailers? Are they mounted to a trailer hitch on each truck, and therefore free to rotate, or are they mounted rigidly without the ability to move freely from one to the next? That might change things on transport. who knows?
@Dave: Here you go
I used to live on a highway, and to see a truck pulling a truck pulling a truck pulling a truck pulling a truck (and so on) was a very common occurrence, sometimes two or three times a day. I have seen multiple parked side by side in mall parking lots as well. It isn’t how they get made, but it is how they get delivered. 🙂 If I recall correctly, the trucks being towed do rotate somewhat when the vehicle turns?
This seems like a sensible way to deliver new trucks, so why is not used everywhere (e.g., not in the UK)?
> NO > NO, they are raised and mounted with a “King Pin” to the “Fifth Wheel”(That should start a whole new subject! LOL.) > The King Pin -Fifth Wheel conection allows the attached ubits to rotate. This site has some good pictures of the trucks and conections.. http://www.autotrucktransport.com/home.aspx
Yep, I have seen it in Canada (Toronto 401) too Truck with 2 other trucks on it, which is kinda cute
Most of the trucks I’ve seen don’t have their kingpin connectors put on yet, so the truck/truck/truck/truck is usually put on a wooden rig that seems to be rigid, the trucks make turns OK, but not very fast, once on the interstate, they do OK. All of the trucks in the linkup always appear to be the same and quite new, sometimes there is a pickup tied to the back so the driver has a way home after the delivery, but not always. I think a lot depends on why kind of truck it’s going to be once it’s finished. I guess they whole thing is safe, but who knows until one of them comes apart and spills truck confettii all over the interstate.
Reminds me of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_(album)
I used to drive a Bendy Bus in the States, but it was not articulated. After I bent it one too many times, the owners decided I should look for a different line of work.
I am not sure how to post a link, but about 1500metres along the same road in the direction the truck is coming from there is another three truck set going in the other direction.
https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=34.612707,-92.51195&z=19
Can anyone explain the strange shadow directions in this area, all the way up this highway the cars travelling Northeast seem to have the sun due south and the cars and trucks travelling south west have the sun south west. I suppose it must be to do with the camber of the road, anyone go any ideas?
Ah, that’s easy, when the satellite takes the picture, the flash makes the shadows, so when you get a picture in one place, and you compare it to pictures in another, sometimes the shadows are not aligned the way you think and it drives you nuts. It’s like when you look at down town New York and see the buildings that seem to be leaning in all directions, it’s caused by the satellite taking the pictures at different angles, and the shadows are caused by the flash.
😉
Thanks Tom for that load of old B****X!!
would this be an artriplicated lorry?
/coat
load of old B****X!!
Now, that’s rich, if one must swear, one must swear well 🙂 I love it!
What’s funny with that is that in the states, I could spell it out (but my family history would have prevented it)
@Mrb – now that is indeed a funny one! here for example, the shadows go in different directions just opposite each other on exactly the same bit of road!
@nathar – “artriplicated” lols, very good 😀
Here’s a bunch of the rigs waiting to be delivered. Just to the north is Kenworth’s Ohio facility.
View Placemark
google earth live please!
I WORK FOR A COMPANY THAT PIGGY BACKS TRUCKS. IT CAN BE DANGEROUS IF CARS DO NOT WATCH WHERE THERE GOING! YOU HAVE TO HAVE A TRIPLE ENDORSMENT ON CDL. IT SAVE MONEY TRANSPORTING TRUCKS THIS WAY.IT PAYS GREAT TOO! DRIVE OUT AND FLY BACK TO GET YOUR NEXT LOAD. AND YOU PICK YOUR RUNS TOO.
It’s cabover trucks piggybacked and its common practise for delivery of trucks. they connect to the fifth wheel of the truck in front of them and all pivot. they also deck trucks and two trailers onto another truck with two trailers and head north for a load. the pp trailer of one set is put onto the lead trailer and they are strapped down to the lead trailer of the drive unit and the truck is backed onto the pup and chained down and exhaust stack removed
Hi there! I live in Mexicali, Mexico and we have a Kenworth and a Peterbuilt Plant (brands of trucks for the US market). So in here, it’s rather common to see a truck pulling another and another truck. The maximum that I has seen, I think, its four of them.