Those long trucks with many trailers. What happens when they come across an unexpected corner? Do the trailers have steerable wheels? If they do I could imagine it would be a few hours work just to get around a single obstacle. How do they unload their cargo? Do they just park the truck near where it needs to be and get a front loader or a forklift to come grab everything? I’d love to hear some stories if there’s anybody by chance reading this that’s driven trucks with more than 4 trailers.
In: 3
Road trains are generally only found in extremely flat, desolate areas like the Australian Outback or the American West. They’re not allowed to go anywhere where they might encounter unexpected corners or obstacles.
Steering them is possible, though unwieldy. You don’t need steerable wheels on the trailers in the back, any more than an actual train needs steerable wheels on every train car. You just turn the wheels at the front and the whole train turns – slowly.
For unloading, each trailer or semi-trailer can be unhitched from the train and treated just like any other trailer. They’re the same trailers as you see on normal 18-wheelers everywhere; there’s just more of them.
> What happens when they come across an unexpected corner?
They don’t come across an unexpected corner. These kind of trailer situations are basically only ever used on established routes, like freeways and never within city limits.
> Do the trailers have steerable wheels?
No, they are just trailers towing trailers.
> How do they unload their cargo?
They disconnect the trailers.
> Do they just park the truck near where it needs to be and get a front loader or a forklift to come grab everything?
Normally these kinds of things are more of a depot to depot kind of situation rather than an individual deliveries kind of situation. But if needed they would just disconnect the last trailer in line and leave it behind. Then someone else in a truck would come along and tow the individual trailer to where it needs to go.
Latest Answers