Whether you’re a dedicated and experienced driver who has been on hundreds of cross country trips or you’re just a little interested in the truck industry, there are probably many things you don’t know about commercial trucks.
For those of you who may be looking for used commercial trucks for sale in Texas, consider these facts so you’re more knowledgeable when you make your purchase.
Have you ever wondered why trucks are called “semis?” It’s actually because of the trailer, which has no front wheels and needs to be connected to the rest of the truck. That spawned the word semi-trailer which has morphed into semi and semi truck.
If you want to live somewhere with tons of commercial trucks, try Texas, Florida, or California. One third of trucks operating in the United States are registered in one of the three.
Semi-trucks drive hundreds of billions of miles a year in the U.S. In fact, about 2/3 of the goods in the country are delivered by truck. The two most commonly hauled items by weight are agricultural and building materials.
The average semi will travel around 45,000 miles a year, but long-distance trucks might drive closer to 100,000. While semis only make up 15 percent of commercial trucks, they travel nearly a half of the miles of all those trucks.
The best-selling semi brand is Freightliner, which sells about a third of the new semis annually. Other popular brands are International, Peterbilt, and Mack.
Commercial trucks get an average of 6.5 miles per gallon when it comes to fuel efficiency, but it can range from 4 to 8. However, truck manufacturers are constantly working to move that number up.
An 18-wheeler in the U.S. can have no higher weight than 80,000 pounds. In Australia, some trucks have multiple trailers and weigh more than 300,000 pounds.
Since 1997, antilock brakes have been required. The reason? This drops the change of a jackknife crash way down. This kind of crash happens when the rear wheels lock up and the trailer swings around to an angle from the truck.
