Truck-man terms

Know what tread means?
Or what payload means? Or what grade ability means?
 Or what the difference is between a drum brake and a disc brake? No.

Personally, I didn't really know what they meant either, so I went off, researched and made some short explanatory lines that'll help you through. Whether you're planning to buy a truck or not, you SHOULD be literate enough to know what a word means when you're reading the brochure. So, here goes.

Tread: The tread is the section of the wheel that actually contacts the surface as a truck is rolling. The entire tire isn't skimming over the road. It's a small and usually has grooves. The amount of tread determines how long a tire will actually last, since it's the only part of the tire that is being eaten by friction.

Payload: The payload of a truck is the amount of weight that it can carry in it's cargo section. A one-tonne truck is NOT a truck that weighs a tonne, it's a truck that can carry a tonne. The same for two tonne trucks and three and so on.

Grade ability: The amount of steepness that a vehicle is capable of climbing.

A vehicle on an incline


The difference between a drum brake and a disc brake


A drum brake is simply a round drum that has a set of shoes inside of it, when the brake is applied, the shoes are forced against the sides of the drum and the wheel is slowed. 

A disc brake is a disc shaped metal rotor that spins within a wheel. Disc brakes are usually more expensive than drum brakes and they're safer too. For economic purposes car manufactures put disc brakes in the vehicles front and drum brakes at the rear.

That's it for today. We hope you learnt something. If not, well, another time then.