Why American and European Trucks Are So Different

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In Europe being a trucker is a job. In America being a trucker is a lifestyle

This is it in a nutshell. I've driven extensively in both America and Europe and I can tell you I wouldn't want to drive a truck made in America on a European road nor vice versa.

For some strange reason, the algorithm thought I was into trucks. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I'm not, but it gives me the opportunity to thank all truck drivers for making sure everything we need gets delivered. Every single one of you is a rock star!

North American truck designs prioritize comfort since their operators must travel longer distances on wide and straight highways and roads. Conversely, European trucks face size restrictions, narrow roads, and overall shorter hauls. Trucking industry is a major driver behind two of the world's biggest economies: Europe and the USA. Over the years, they depended on and regulated the said industry. However, there are still risks involved in starting a trucking company. As a twenty-year trucking veteran, and 2.5 million miles, I’ll say it right here——trucking is a cut-throat business. You’re chances of being lied to if you start a trucking company is nearly 100%. Shippers and trucking companies will tell you a million lies to get you through the door, but then once you start hauling for them, the reality is uncovered. Expect to make 70% as much as they told you you’d make. Also, expect to work 10 more hours per week than they promised. Too much government control and regulations. To make good money, you will need 3–4 trucks running. If you can’t afford this, the only other answer is to buy your own truck and go out on the road. Consider trucking to be like a college education. There are no books that will tell you how to do it, and other owner operators are hesitant to help you since you will be their competition. If you're looking into starting your own trucking company this 2023 then I will recommend you look into getting a Governmental business grant. I was approved and awarded $280k as startup capital. Today as a company owner, independent owner operator running under my own authority, 11 years running under my own authority. I do a 15 -16 day run. $25,000 in line haul is my goal. Every month is a 10+ day vacation. I run a reefer and only spend $16,000 to $21,000 a year in maintenance. After taxes, fuel and licensing I profit $190,000 in the bank. There is no short cut to success. Get your own authority and work open broker boards for trips. A good starting place as an o/o is to pull a reefer. Try to stay away from dry freight. There are too many green o/o’s in dry freight, and too many coming and going. The competition is fierce, so it is difficult to get high paying loads. Reefers pay more money. If you have some flatbed experience, you will get even better loads and better miles. In fact, o/o flatbed is probably the best route one can take. You will never see the big money off this industry as a COMPANY SLAVE. I wish everyone reading this comment a successful business week.

One thing you omitted is that in Europe, trucks are often loaded into ships, which means shorter cab will allow more space for cargo for the same price.

As a European, I always wondered why Optimus Prime was a European truck. Now I know why he has that old-style in the US. (the old cartoons)

3:22 a slight correction - in Europe the speed limit for cars is higher. It depends on the country but usually over 100 km/h. There are different limits for trucks, however.

First, thank you to all you truckers out there who get our stuff from here to there. Our economy doesn't function without the extremely important work that you do. Big respect for all of you! I love how many truckers in the US own their trucks and live in them, and they take obvious pride in these machines which you can tell by the way they customize them. Some of these big beasts are absolutely gorgeous. Just search something like "customized tractor trailers" and you'll see what I mean.

No one ever mentions ferries! Here in Europe huge amounts of trade happen across water; Channel, Irish Sea, North Sea etc. Snub nosed cabs mean you can get more trucks on each ferry.

A well designed machine is not one built for every environment, it is one built to excel in its environment.

While stationed in Germany while in the military, I HATED trying to drive our American 18-wheelers (specifically, the 915s and 920s) while maneuvering in German, Belgian and French towns. The streets of some of those villages were laid down a thousand years ago, and were completely incompatible with the wheelbase and long noses of our American semis. - Makes me break out in a sweat thinking about it.

My grandpa owned his own truck, was a trucker most his life. I would actually see that blue beast parked out in my grandparents big driveway sometimes. He was a gruff guy but loved his snacks, had plenty of storage to take them on the road haha. Died of skin cancer a few years back and I can say without a doubt it was from all the sun on his arms. Fellow truckers, please wear sunscreen when you can! <3

In Brazil most trucks are from the European breed and I finally understood why: we have really narrow roads and a lot of times trucks must drive inside small cities so it makes sense to have smaller trucks. If we had more room I bet American trucks would be more popular since Brazilian truckers usually live inside their trucks.

As an American who has spent a lot of time driving a lot in Portugal, Spain, and France I can say it took me a while to get used to mostly much narrower roads and this was in compact cars lol so if a large American truck was in Europe I can’t even imagine how often they’d basically get have to stop and navigate around a lot of different ways or at the very least feel constant anxiety of not being able to clear certain angles and turns.

We need more YouTube videos like this! They teach things, structured like an essay, but not as long as an hour long video essay! Great job!

I didn't know that in U.S.A. lenght limits are only for trailers but there aren't limitations for tractor's lenght. So now I understand the reason why some customized trucks has sleeper cabin long like two metro wagons..... It's really true that every day we can learn something new 👍

What’s interesting is that Australia have a mix of this trucks. Over long distance travel from one major city to another you would normally see American styles trucks. But in cities and towns you would normally see European style trucks. Each design fills its own niche and not one is better than the other. Edit: I see some people talking about train network in Australia. Yes even though we do have train networks across the coast and country. They are of different sizes and width. Meaning some railways aren’t compatible with one another. Mostly because Australia used to be seperate penal colonies. Which meant each colony developed different style railways. This is why we mainly rely on road trains. Hope this helps.

In the US, you can drive for 11 hours, not 12. You can be on duty for 14 hours, but you can only drive for 11. Once you have driven for 11 hours, you cannot drive again until you have been off duty for 10 hours.

Here in the Philippines, we have both. Though long nose trucks like the freightliner and kenworth do operate here, they're a rare sight to watch unlike the vast majority of cabovers which are more effectively used in tight roads , especially the big curves and mountain pass roads