First of all, let's compare the advantages and disadvantages of long-headed trucks and flat-headed trucks.
In terms of safety, there is no doubt that long-headed trucks are safer. There is a buffer zone of nearly two meters in front of the cockpit of a long-headed truck. Note that this area is not an energy-absorbing area like a car, but a real frame and girder. When a collision occurs, it will be directly stressed, which can effectively protect the cockpit from injury and protect the driver's safety to the greatest extent. Flat-headed trucks are terrible in this respect. As long as there is a collision, it will directly threaten the life safety of the driver. A serious collision will directly press the cockpit into a photo, and the driver basically has no possibility of survival. Therefore, in terms of safety, long-headed trucks have obvious advantages.
In terms of driving comfort, long trucks are also more comfortable. The cab of a long-headed truck is located between the front and rear axles, with a low center of gravity and far away from the engine, which can isolate the noise and heat of the engine from the cockpit. The driver is basically located in the middle of the vehicle, and the pitch and vibration of the vehicle have little influence on the driver, so the overall comfort is good. The cockpit of a flathead truck is located at the front of the vehicle and hung on the frame. The driver sits in a high position and the cab vibrates greatly. Even some models have strong vibration and the engine is below. The noise and heat of the engine are directly transferred to the cab, so the driving comfort is poor. Therefore, in terms of driving comfort, long-headed trucks are also better.
From the aspects of vehicle handling and driver's vision, flat-headed trucks should be better. There is a long nose in front of a long-headed truck, and the wheelbase of the car is longer, which will greatly affect the driver's vision, and the blind area of vision will be larger and more. In addition, the front of the truck also affects the driving control, and the turning radius of the vehicle is large, so it is difficult to turn and turn around in a narrow field. Flat-headed truck drivers have broad vision, few blind spots, short wheelbase, small turning radius and better vehicle flexibility. However, flat-headed trucks are easier to roll over than long-headed trucks, which is a difficult topic.
In terms of fuel consumption and economy, the two are not equal. Many people think that long-headed trucks have better streamlined shape, better aerodynamic characteristics and lower fuel consumption. Actually, it's not like this. Generally speaking, freight cars have low speed and are not particularly sensitive to air resistance, and it is impossible for freight cars to create a shape with very low wind resistance coefficient, so the total windward area will not change. So there is almost no difference in fuel consumption between long-headed trucks and flat-headed trucks.
From the convenience of maintenance, flat-headed trucks have more advantages. I read the online answers, and almost all of them said that long-headed cars are easier to maintain. I dare say such a person has never repaired a car. Anyone who has repaired a truck knows that after the front of a flat-headed truck is turned over, the engine and gearbox will be unobstructed, and the maintenance space is very large, and various maintenance operations are very convenient. The maintenance of long-headed cars is very inconvenient, and many parts are hidden in the engine compartment, so the maintenance operation space is very small. The gearbox is hidden under the cab, and even some models have to disassemble the cab first. Don't you find it troublesome? Almost all truck mechanics like to repair flat-headed trucks and stay away from long-headed trucks.
From the aspects of manufacturing process, cost and vehicle weight, the cab and hood of a long-headed car need more materials, the manufacturing process will be more complicated and the cost will be higher, so the vehicle weight will increase more. Flat-headed truck is a single cab, so the manufacturing process is relatively simple, the materials used are relatively less, the total mass is lower, and the total manufacturing cost is lower. In this respect, the advantages of flat-headed trucks are still obvious.
In terms of loading capacity, it is obvious that flat-headed trucks have obvious advantages. Because the long front of the long-headed truck is basically an invalid space, the loading area of the flat-headed truck is larger, and more goods can be loaded under the same length. In addition, the long-headed truck has a larger wheelbase, a larger cab and engine compartment, and a heavier vehicle. Therefore, in terms of truck load utilization index, flat-headed trucks are better.
Now let's sum up the advantages and disadvantages of the two: the advantages of long-headed trucks are good safety and driving comfort, but the disadvantages are heavy vehicles, high manufacturing costs, poor loading capacity and inconvenient maintenance; On the contrary, flathead trucks have the advantages of flathead trucks, and the disadvantages of flathead trucks are the advantages of flathead trucks.
Now let's analyze why American trucks are basically long-headed, while China trucks are basically flat-headed.
I don't know if you have found out that the advantages of long-headed trucks are beneficial to drivers, while the advantages of flat-headed trucks are beneficial to owners or shippers. From this perspective, you will find that the country's policy orientation and tilt direction are different.
The United States claims to be a country on wheels, and their main domestic cargo transportation depends on trucks, so trucks have an extremely important position in the United States. A long time ago, trucks in the United States were mostly flat-headed, and the total length and load capacity of trucks were limited by various aspects. However, since 1980s, in order to "Dora run fast", meet the rapid social demand and reduce the logistics cost, the restrictions on the total length and load capacity of trucks have been relaxed. For example, only the length of the freight car is calculated, not the length of the front, and the load is not included, so the weight of the front doesn't matter at all, which provides a huge development space for long-headed trucks.
At the same time, truck drivers have become scarce. In the United States, truck drivers are definitely high-income people and very difficult to find. Now many people in China go to the United States to drive trucks because American truck drivers are scarce. In this way, truck drivers will pay more attention to the safety and comfort of vehicles. At the same time, there is a powerful trade union in the United States-the truck drivers' union. They will lead truck drivers to fight with shippers and shippers to create a safer and more comfortable working environment for truck drivers. In this case, the advantages of long-headed trucks are highlighted. Most truck drivers like to drive long-headed trucks, while flat-headed trucks are gradually abandoned.
According to statistics, the United States began to gradually increase the number of long-headed trucks in the 1980s, and completely stopped production of flat-headed trucks in 2006. After that, almost all flat-headed trucks on American highways were replaced by long-headed trucks. It should be said that this result is the result of the joint action of national policy guidance and market choice. This phenomenon also happens in Australia, where almost all trucks have long heads. Besides, trucks in other parts of the world are almost flat-headed, such as Europe and Asia.
Let's look at China and other parts of the world. Almost all trucks in these areas are flat-headed. In these areas, truck freight plays an auxiliary role rather than a leading role. The leading freight force is the train, and the truck is just a supplement. In this case, the status of trucks is not high, and the development of trucks is still limited. For example, the length of a truck is to calculate the total length including the front, not just the cargo hold. In addition, there are very strict restrictions on the self-weight and load of trucks. As the saying goes, mother and son are expensive, and the status of truck drivers is not high. Therefore, in these areas, truck drivers are actually chosen by the owners and shippers. They have little choice but to adapt to the car instead of letting the car adapt to people. Therefore, in this case, the design of the truck is biased towards the owner and the owner, paying more attention to the load capacity of the truck, and the safety and comfort of the driver should give way to the load capacity.
So from this perspective, almost all trucks in the United States are long-headed, mainly paying more attention to the safety and comfort of drivers; Almost all domestic trucks are flat-headed, mainly focusing on the load capacity of the vehicle itself. There are national policy guidance and tendencies, as well as the result of market choice. It doesn't matter which is better, but the emphasis is different. We don't need to see the foreign moon. After all, there are few countries that use long-headed trucks, and flat-headed trucks account for the vast majority. Some people say that the United States has a vast territory, rich resources, and straight roads, and the flexibility of long-headed trucks is almost the same. Actually, I don't agree with this statement. Russia's territory is much larger than that of the United States, and their trucks are mainly flat-headed. Besides, no matter how good the road conditions are, there are also narrow places, right? It is impossible to park in the freight yard and unload in the warehouse.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.