There are many long-nosed trucks in large areas. I think we can all agree that it can’t be used just because it looks so long-nosed.
Of course, we see long-nosed trucks in and around Europe, and flat-nosed trucks in and around America, albeit rarely. There are several reasons why this distinction is so sharp; So let’s talk about what they are.
First of all, let’s talk about the legal restrictions on the length of the trucks:
Most of the trucks currently traveling on American highways are long-nosed (standard cabin) trucks, as we have just said. Their average length is 21 meters in total, and the length of the trailer is 16 meters. Unfortunately, this was not always the case.
There was a scourge that limited the length of trucks that could travel on American motorways, the Motor Carriers Act. Because of this law, the length of the tow trucks was kept as short as possible and the amount of cargo carried was tried to be kept to the maximum.
However, with the update of this law in 1980, the length limit was abolished and only the size of the towed trailer was limited. Thus, truck manufacturers were able to produce trucks of different lengths. Of course, this regulation only applied to America, and in Europe manufacturers still had to comply with the 18.75 meter total length rule. So they continued to keep their noses straight to maximize the amount of payload they could carry.
As you can imagine, the trucks have huge engines.
The smallest examples can start with inline 6 engines of around 10 liters and progress to 12-14 liters V8 engines. Of course, it is not an easy task to fit these huge engines. For example, the engine of a flat-nosed truck is positioned directly under the driver’s cab so that it can fit together with the necessary components. Of course, this positioning also brings some disadvantages.
First of all, since the engine is directly below you, the sound insulation is weak and the vibration is at tremendous levels. While this is tolerated in large quantities on new trucks, it was a big problem with trucks in the past. In addition, because the engine was under you, your cabin space was small and the ceiling height was low. Considering the time the trucks were on the road, this became a big problem. The solution to this was hidden in long-nosed trucks, which we call standard cabins.
Now that we don’t have a problem with the length anymore, they must have thought why put the engine under the driver, because they added a nose to the truck and placed the engine in this nose. This gave manufacturers two advantages. First and foremost was the significant increase in cabin space and increased ceiling height.
The second is that the noise and vibrations that come with the engine moving away from the cabin have decreased and long journeys have become more bearable. Well, if long-nosed trucks have such important advantages, why aren’t they available in Europe?
The effects of road and city planning on the length of the trucks:
One of the main problems of being a truck driver is steering 18 or 21 meter vehicles in ports, parking lots and in the city. But the Americans are a little luckier in this regard. As a result of American geography and structuring, the cities are far apart, the roads are wide and straight, and the ports and parks are huge. This makes it somewhat easier to manage such long vehicles and makes the overall length of the vehicle not a critical issue.
Unfortunately, the situation in Europe is very different. Europe’s geographical structure and its very old urbanization structure; It causes narrow roads, short distances and less maneuvering areas. For this reason, every centimeter you can add to maneuverability turns into a huge advantage.
At the same time, if you have a little command of fluid dynamics, you can guess that a long-nosed truck will be more aerodynamic. This helps fuel economy considerably on long American highways traveling at high speeds and for long periods of time.
Contrary to what we mentioned above, however, journeys in Europe are relatively shorter and at lower speeds. At the same time, the engines are smaller and more efficient. That’s why aerodynamics doesn’t play as much of a role on European trucks as it does on American trucks.
For this reason, although the Americans preferred long-nosed trucks instead of straight noses, Europeans would most likely not prefer long-nosed trucks, even if the law allowed it.
Long driving hours and the design of the trucks contribute to these:
In fact, this subject, which will be a continuation of the previous title, is also related to travel times. If you think; The comfort, living space and similar features that the vehicle will provide are directly proportional to the travel times. Some of the trucks that can be the best example of this are construction site trucks.
A construction site truck does not need a cabin, as it will travel for a maximum of three to four hours a day and not every other day. But regardless of America or Europe, long-haul trucks have at least a cabin to hold a bed.
However, of course, our American and European trucks differ in this regard. First, let’s talk a little bit about travel times. It is an active truck in America, working an average of 14 hours a day, and 11 of these 14 hours are spent on the road. The remaining 3 hours go to extra work such as breaks and refueling. For the rest of the day, the driver sleeps in a truck park and continues the next day.
In Europe, however, the situation is very different. Although it is not possible to exceed the 9 hours limited by law, there is no situation that requires driving more than 9 hours in a day anyway. Because, as we mentioned above, distances are short and travel times are short. Therefore, European trucks can have smaller cabins than their American counterparts without disturbing the driver.
While American drivers own the trucks, Europeans are mostly rented or contract drivers.
One of the big differences between trucks in Europe and trucks in America, or rather truck drivers, is that most American drivers also own the truck. On the other hand, European truck drivers mostly use rental vehicles or work as contract drivers. Well, if you ask what effect this has on the design of the truck, let’s explain it right away.
American truck drivers usually spend all their time in their trucks, as they own the truck and trailer. After picking up a load and leaving it in another place, they fill the same trailer again and continue on their way. In this process, they do not get off their trucks for long periods of time. For this reason, a large living space and large storage areas are an important requirement.
However, for European truck drivers, the situation is the opposite. Since European drivers usually work with contract or rental trucks, they only have the hours they work in the truck. For the rest, there will be no need for them to be in the truck because they will never have any business with that truck or that trailer again.
European truck drivers, who we can call luckier in this regard, of course, do not need as much space and comfort as their American colleagues. When we consider the advantages of flat-nosed trucks in a region like Europe, it becomes clear that it is better not to have them.
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