# Why aren't there trucks like these outside U.S, Canada & Mexico?



## HighSpeedTrain (Jul 6, 2005)

aatbloke said:


> Longer because of the snout on the cab - which was the original poster's main concern.
> 
> *Judging by the wording in that initial question, do you think the poster himself sounds any older than age 10?*



oh well 

maybe the answer is as simple as we are in NA and they arent so we have North American stuff, thats it. lol


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## Zaqattaq (Nov 17, 2004)

I'll take a lorry over a ******* American big rig anyday


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## nothingman (Jul 3, 2005)

zaqattaq said:


> I'll take a lorry over a ******* American big rig anyday


....or a 1986 white Ford Transit van.


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## Zaqattaq (Nov 17, 2004)

Heck yes


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## JayT (Sep 11, 2002)

KIWIKAAS said:


> Ah yes, Road Trains. The longest combinations in the world. The longest is 6 trailers.


Yes - AUSTRALIA would be King in the truck department. Or as they are called "Road Trains". They are pretty scary driving near them or trying to overtake them. Thankfully they are not allowed in the major cities or in areas where they will encounter lots of traffic. Some major towns and cities have big handling areas just outside city limits where freight can be moved and sorted into smaller lots before entering the city.


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## Accura4Matalan (Jan 7, 2004)

I prefer the Euro flat nose style. Look more modern and less thirsty.


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## Ringil (Jul 28, 2004)

american trucks  I'd rather say swedish trucks  
]


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## HighSpeedTrain (Jul 6, 2005)

i would like to see more aussie trucks


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## KIWIKAAS (May 13, 2003)

*Australian meat*


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## Mike (Sep 12, 2002)

Autralian road trains rock. But back to the question why you rarely see Freightliners or Macks in Europe: As far as I know US trucks don't have Diesel engines, that probably gives them a competetive disadvantage since fuel prices are higher in Europe and Diesel engines have lower consumption plus Diesel fuel is often cheaper.


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## Cloudship (Jun 8, 2005)

No, most of the really large trucks (the 18 wheelers) are diesel. There was a time when cab-overs where a lot more popular, but still they were different.

I don't know if anyone even sells cabovers still for large trucks in the US. There are two huge disadvatages - 1) they are harder to work on, and every time you access the engine you have to lift the whole cab. Which means engine inspections are difficult, too. 2) Long nose trucks put a lot more between you and the object you run into. So it's a safety issue. The US is much more concerned about head on and rear-end collisions than Europe is.

Also, as was pointed out before, there is not a whole lot of advantage in the Us to a shorter cab. They don't really apeal to American aesthetics, and are easier and cheaper to build.


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## Mike (Sep 12, 2002)

Cloudship said:


> They don't really apeal to American aesthetics, and are easier and cheaper to build.


I think you can safely rule out aesthetics, logistics companies don't care for aesthetics but for what is efficient. Also, historically trucks in Europe had the same long nose like those in the US still have. There must be some market pressure like i.e. the length restriction in Europe that some forumers already mentioned which led to the abolishment of the long nose and to the introduction fo the cab-over design in Europe.


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## Mike (Sep 12, 2002)

An important advantage of the cabover design seems to be the turn radius which certainly is much more an issue in Europe with its small historic streets in many city centers.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2005)

Nice aussie trucks might (=mate)


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2005)

*Central American trucks (Costa Rica):  *


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## andysimo123 (Jul 29, 2004)

A couple of the latest European Trucks.
Volvo FH16
Its not really a small engine like most people will think. Its got a big 16 liter 610bhp or 550bhp engine.








Mercedes Actros
V8 Turbo 537bhp








ERF
480bhp engine








Renault Megnum
480 bhp engine


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## HighSpeedTrain (Jul 6, 2005)

is funny how aussie trucks look american but have the controls at right like in the UK


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## demanjo (Dec 9, 2003)

Because we drive on the left hand side of the road, like the UK


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## edolen1 (Oct 12, 2004)

Eh, I wouldn't say flat-nose trucks are that much weaker than long-nose trucks (relative to the weight of the cargo), they may just look that way to some people..


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## aatbloke (Dec 29, 2004)

HighSpeedTrain said:


> is funny how aussie trucks look american but have the controls at right like in the UK


It's funny? Australia is just a RHD market, that's all. What's funny about it?


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## aatbloke (Dec 29, 2004)

edolen1 said:


> Eh, I wouldn't say flat-nose trucks are that much weaker than long-nose trucks (relative to the weight of the cargo), they may just look that way to some people..


Some comments on here literally defy belief...


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## invincible (Sep 13, 2002)

World's longest road train - 79 trailers, 1018m long - 1072 tonnes hauled 8km.


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## carfentanyl (May 14, 2003)

I drive the Dutch A16 pretty often which is the freeway between Rotterdam(Europe's largest port) and Antwerpen (Europe's 2nd largest port). These ports are only about a 100 km (60 miles) apart and it's imo by far the busiest freeway in Europe (and maybe even the world) when it comes to amount of trucks driving it. The most right lane is pretty much a continuous parade of trucks.

So I'm glad we don't have too many "big nose "trucks. They would not haul more cargo, only bring more traffic jams. They're just too inefficient in this crowded country.


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## Architorture (Sep 22, 2004)

alot has to do with transcontinental journeys...something that isn't as common or long when driving through europe...


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

KIWIKAAS said:


> Ah yes, Road Trains. The longest combinations in the world. The longest is 6 trailers.



I have to give credit to Australia, those road trains are awesome. I wish we could see those in the U.S.


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## HighSpeedTrain (Jul 6, 2005)

yes im amazed by Australia's system.


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## demanjo (Dec 9, 2003)

Well theres hardly any traffic on these long haul trips, especially when the route is inland. On some inland roads aswell, there are no speed limits, so that contributes aswell to their realisation.


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## sequoias (Dec 21, 2004)

demanjo said:


> Well theres hardly any traffic on these long haul trips, especially when the route is inland. On some inland roads aswell, there are no speed limits, so that contributes aswell to their realisation.


no speed limit? Hmmm, do those road trains go pretty fast? I wonder


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## mic of Orion (Feb 24, 2005)

OK I love this Trucks, they are US military trucks, they are way massive and powerful, one can easily transport 70tone tank or even 2, as you can ce on following picture, they are also very tall, about 3.75m at the top of the cab and ground clearance is 75cm or 30 inches, the bumper height is cool 85 centimetres, which means in crash accidents this truck is as safe as it gets... 


















http://www.oshkoshtruckcorporation.com/

Croatian Army truck - this one with MLRS system at the back, 12x256mm system - range 55km, just in case you wonder, lol... 









All these are road trucks with 6x6 wheal base or 8x8... :cheers:


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## Cloudship (Jun 8, 2005)

> I think you can safely rule out aesthetics, logistics companies don't care for aesthetics but for what is efficient. [\quote]
> 
> Actually, the logistics companies primarily are purchasers of the smaller 18 wheelers. Independant operators tend to be the ones buying the newer large rigs. And that tends to be a rougher, more conservative chrome loving crowd.
> 
> ...


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## aatbloke (Dec 29, 2004)

Cloudship said:


> > I think you can safely rule out aesthetics, logistics companies don't care for aesthetics but for what is efficient. [\quote]
> >
> > Actually, the logistics companies primarily are purchasers of the smaller 18 wheelers. Independant operators tend to be the ones buying the newer large rigs. And that tends to be a rougher, more conservative chrome loving crowd.
> >
> ...


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## invincible (Sep 13, 2002)

sequoias said:


> no speed limit? Hmmm, do those road trains go pretty fast? I wonder


Heavy vehicles are meant to be limited to 100km/h and I don't think that these would be capable of much faster than that.


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## edolen1 (Oct 12, 2004)

Cloudship said:


> It's not the strength per say, but the fact that if you were to run into something, the driver is going to be one of the first things to hit in a cab over, whereas in a conventional truck, there's the whole engine to go through first.


Yeah, but it's still the car driver that's gonna get the worst of it..


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## ryanr (Sep 11, 2002)

I like European trucks over American ones. Scania, MAN, Volvo, Mercedes and Renault trucks are better than International, Mack, etc trucks imo.


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## Ted Ward (Apr 16, 2005)

demanjo said:


> Well theres hardly any traffic on these long haul trips, especially when the route is inland. On some inland roads aswell, there are no speed limits, so that contributes aswell to their realisation.


re aussie road trains - another reason for them is the lack of a rail network accross australia. 

The cabs with the big snout are really a really impressive sight - it can be quite intimidating to have one of those in your rear view.


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## zonie (Aug 3, 2004)

Mike said:


> I think you can safely rule out aesthetics, logistics companies don't care for aesthetics but for what is efficient.


No, you can't discount aesthetics. Every business is marketing in some way, including logistics companies. Of course, this is a more important factor for manufacturers and other companies that ship their own goods.


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## zergcerebrates (Jan 23, 2004)

Well I live in America and I don't like those big rigs at all. Infact I like the European trucks more to me they look better. I don't know about other parts of the world but European and Asian roads are narrower and with these big rigs in those places its very hard for them to maneuver or park. Most Asian countries like, Japan, and China utilize train more.


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## zergcerebrates (Jan 23, 2004)

Sweet Machines:


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