Guides to common trucking equipment types — trailers, trucks, and specialty rigs. Dimensions, payload capacities, typical use cases.
A box truck is a Class 3–7 commercial vehicle with an enclosed cargo box mounted permanently on the same chassis as the cab — a single integrated unit, not a truck pulling a trailer.
The conestoga trailer — also called a rolling tarp system or curtainside trailer — pairs a standard flatbed or step-deck base with a retractable tarp system mounted on a bowed steel frame that rides on tracks along the trailer's top rails.
The double drop trailer (also known as a "lowboy" in some regional usage, though true lowboys are a distinct heavy-haul variant) is engineered to carry the tallest freight that can still move under its own height without an oversize permit.
The dry van trailer is the backbone of the North American trucking industry.
The flatbed trailer is an open-deck platform without sides, roof, or enclosure.
Hotshot trucking describes a Class 3–5 pickup truck — typically a Ford F-350/F-450/F-550, Ram 3500/4500/5500, or GM Silverado 3500/4500/5500 — towing a gooseneck or bumper-pull trailer to haul freight on an expedited basis.
The lowboy trailer is built around a single engineering goal: get the deck as close to the ground as possible.
A refrigerated trailer — universally called a "reefer" — is a dry van with a self-contained diesel-powered refrigeration unit (typically a Thermo King or Carrier brand unit) mounted on the nose.
The Removable Gooseneck trailer — universally known as an RGN — is the essential equipment for moving heavy, self-propelled construction and industrial equipment over the road.
The cargo van — commonly called a sprinter van after the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter that popularized the high-roof configuration — is the smallest purpose-built freight vehicle that operates over meaningful distances.
The step deck trailer — also called a drop deck — solves a specific problem: freight that is too tall for a standard flatbed but does not require the full well depth of a double drop or the roll-on access of an RGN.
A straight truck is any commercial truck where the cab and cargo body ride on a single chassis — no trailer involved.