Uses of Articulated Lorry

An articulated lorry is a vehicle with a towing engine and a semi-trailer to carry freight. In the UK, articulated lorries are more popularly known as artic. Usually, an articulated lorry is permitted to carry a maximum gross weight of about 44 tons. That is why both the tractor and the semi-trailer are required to have at least three axles each. These vehicles usually have eight tyres on all three axles on the tractor.

At present, articulated lorries can act as a part of a domestic or international transport infrastructure that supports containerised cargo shipment. There are other types of rail flat bed train cars that have been modified to support the trailer or container with or without wheels which is then called "intermodal" or "piggy-back". This system allows the cargo to easily and conveniently switch from the highway to railway and vice versa through the use of gantry cranes.

There are various types of articulated lorries in the market today. There are box trucks, tanker, reefer, dry bulk, car hauler, lowboy and flat bed trucks. Box trucks are the ones that are used to transport small loads of goods usually from farm to local supermarkets or kiosks. Reefers are the insulated trucks that are used to deliver perishable goods like meat, dairy products and other frozen treats.

These articulated lorries are the backbone of the UK's commercial industry. This means that no manufacturing or shipping will ever happen without these massive lorries. One of the sectors that has greatly benefited from these vehicles is the construction industry. Flat bed articulated lorries are usually used to transport construction materials, heavy equipment, large boulders, prefabricated buildings, motorhomes, and the like. Without such trucks, the construction industry would not have expanded to what it is now.