If you don’t understand, just ask: Why are domestic long-head truck not favored?

Posted by bruce zhu on December 15th, 2020

Domestic long-head trucks do not affect the loading capacity

Let's talk about the length first. Let us take two sinotruk tractor truck as examples: the howo long head truck and the howo a7 flat head truck In the same 6X4 case,  the length of the long head car is 7.23 meters,  the length of the flathead car is 6.89 meters, and the length difference is only 0.345 meters, in terms of wheelbase, the long-headed truck is 3900 + 1350 mm, the flat head truck is 3300 + 1350mm, the difference is 0.6meter.

According to the new version of GB1589, the maximum length of a flat head tractor + semi-trailer is 17.1 meters,  and the maximum length of a long-head tractor + semi-trailer is 18.1 meters,  with a gap of 1 meter between the two. In fact,  the difference between the length and wheelbase of these two long-headed truck is no more than 1 meter as required by regulations,  so the actual size of the luggage compartment will not be affected.

In terms of deadweight,  since the national long-head truck are not as bulky and luxurious as the American long-head truck, their deadweight will not be excessive. As for the two truck mentioned above,  the 6X4 500 horsepower version of howo and howo a7 both weigh 8.8 tons.

Maybe different makes and models have different performance in terms of size and weight,  but at least technically speaking, long head cars and flatbed cars can basically be the same. In other words,  the problem of "light heavy duty trucks pulling goods" that everyone is concerned about is not so obvious.

Long-headed truck have more advantages

But after all, the new version of GB1589 has only been implemented for less than two years. The previous policy accustomed manufacturers and users to flatbed tractors. Therefore, nowadays, many people no longer think about long-headed trucks when buying a car. Besides the fact that long-headed cars aren't as open as flatbed truck, older drivers may experience some discomfort when parking or turning.

However,  due to its special structure,  the long head howo truck has a very powerful advantage over the flatbed truck in terms of safety. In addition, the smooth styling reduces the drag coefficient of the long-headed car, which also greatly promotes the reduction of fuel consumption. In the sedan industry, long-headed cars also have the natural advantage of being able to pull one more car. Therefore, in my opinion, the problems caused by "mismatch" are not worth mentioning in the face of this advantage: over time, the market share of long-headed cars will certainly increase.

What are the national long-headed truck?

The new version of GB1589 provided a relatively fair regulatory environment for both flat head and long head models. Sinotruk, which had always had products on long-headed cars before, is constantly introducing new ones. Howo and howo a7 were cast one after the other, along with the previous dragon card. Sinotruk now has a very strong advantage in the long-head truck market.