Dattebayo wrote:
SO, you are saying that this isn't true then?
in a single-piece body like a flatbed, the track for the rear axle is even wider.
yes and no. it's more complicated than that and it's different for every vehicle. Here are a few variables for you.
1. For what you call "single piece" or straight trucks, the axles are obviously fixed in one spot. But the axle positions and the length between the axles can vary greatly, even for the same make model size truck. Locating the rear axles all the way back (called a "west coast" setting") improves weight distribution, but that extra length between the front and rear axles means a wider turning radius (less of an issue with western roads which tend to be less tight than the old roads here in the northeast). Likewise, locating the rear axle further forward from the back (called an "east coast setting") does the opposite. The shorter distance between fron/rear axles tightens the turning radius (advantageous for tighter northeastern city streets).
2. Now factor in the overall length of the truck (there are different types/sizes), with various amounts of overhang both front and rear. Long nose twin screw conventional trucks with double sleepers with tandem axles typically require more space to turn than a flat nosed COE (as in "cab-over engine") design with a single rear axle.
3. Next, the steering rack. Surprise! they vary too. I assume you've driven more than one make/model car in your life. Did they all have the exact same turning radius? Of course not. Trucks are not identical either. FWIW, I've driven 30' Isuzu straight trucks (COE design) that had a tighter turning radius than my wife's old Altima. Hmmm. Perhaps TOTD should ban 2002 Altimas too.
4. Next, the driver's skill. This is more important. Naturally there is as huge a disparity in truck driver skills as there is for cars. There are truck drivers that don't handle turns or narrow roads well. TOTD has both. But an even sadder sidenote to this issue is that an enthusiastic teen male driver with a brand new license is many times more likely to have or cause a crash on TOTD than a 26K+ GVW truck piloted by a driver with a CDL without flaggers. that's a reason why teen male drivers are the single most expensive demographic to insure. Perhaps a more effective plan to reduce accidents on TOTD would be to ban teenaged boys instead of 30' + trucks.
To sum it up, since there are variables, there is no one single way to calculate the turning radius of a truck without testing each one.
