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Automotive News & Views Are automobiles a major cause of global warming?
6907 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 4:48 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Nov 16, 2008 2:14 pm)
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Replying to: kernick (Nov 17, 2008 5:33 am) Yes, I admit that this is, to some extent, simplistic and I'm sure we can all think of circumstances where you'd only survive a crash by being in a main battle tank or similar. However, I believe modern car design and materials have improved survivability rates in smaller vehicles tremendously. EU testing regimes certainly point to this. A question : What is the max permissable GVW, (i.e. fully laden weight), of standard American trucks ? Here in Europe it's 60 Tonne, (120,000lbs), but UK has deemed a national limit of 44 Tonne, (88,000lbs), to be appropriate for our islands roads and towns. From travels around USA I always regard your trucks as "huge" but that's mainly because mose seem to be of the "conventional" layout with all the mechanical gubbins under a bonnet, (sorry, hood), out front rather than the European norm of "cabover" style. This is all down to our strict overall-length limits which would preclude your long chassis tractor units from hauling anything but the shortest of trailers. Would be interested in seeing what the figure is.
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The following from Wikipedia: North America, For starters ..."The D.O.T. has established vehicle limits of: 102 inches wide, 13.5 feet in height, and 80,000 lbs gross weight. [2] These limits can be exceeded as individual states have the right to issue temporary oversize and/or overweight permits."... But wait: ..."The United States also allows 2-axle tractors to tow two 1-axle 28.5-foot (8.7 m) semi-trailers known officially as STAA doubles and colloquially as doubles, a set, or a set of joints on all highways that are part of the National Network. The second trailer in a set of doubles uses a converter gear, also known as a con-gear or dolly. This apparatus supports the front half of the second trailer. Individual states may further allow longer vehicles (known as "longer combination vehicles" or LCVs), and may allow them to operate on roads other than those part of the National Network. LCV types include: Triples: Three 28.5-foot (8.7 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 129,000 pounds (58.5 t). Turnpike Doubles: Two 48-foot (14.6 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 147,000 pounds (66.7 t) Rocky Mountain Doubles: One 40 (12.2 m) to 53 (16.2 m) foot trailer (thought usually no more than 48 feet) and one 28.5-foot (8.7 m) trailer (known as a "pup"); maximum weight up to 129,000 pounds (58.5 t) In Canada, a Turnpike Double is two 53-foot trailers and a Rocky Mountain Double is a 50-foot trailer with 24-foot "pup" Regulations on LCVs vary widely from state to state. No state allows more than three trailers without a special permit. Reasons for limiting the legal trailer configurations include both safety concerns and the impracticality of designing and constructing roads that can accommodate the larger wheelbase of these vehicles and the larger minimum turning radii associated with them. Most states restrict operation of larger tandem trailer setups such as triple units, the "Turnpike Double" (twin 48-53 ft units) or the "Rocky Mountain Double." (A full 48-53 ft unit and a shorter 28 ft unit) In general, these types of setups are restricted to tolled turnpikes such as I-80 through Ohio and Indiana, and select Western states. Tandem setups are not restricted to certain roads anymore than a single setup. The exception are the units listed above. They are also not restricted because of weather or "difficulty" of operation. The long-haul tractors used in interstate travel are often equipped with a "sleeper" behind the driver's cab, which can be anything from a small bunk to a rather elaborate miniature apartment. link title |
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Replying to: alltorque (Nov 17, 2008 8:16 am) Looks like the length varies between 53 and 57' feet and that rule is left to the states to decide.
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Replying to: steve_ (Nov 17, 2008 8:35 am)  
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Replying to: ruking1 (Nov 17, 2008 8:38 am)  I was wondering how they handled the doubles and triples. I saw one of those Euro rigs intentionally "jack knife" on itself last year. The rig was made for little roads and tight turns I guess - the cab was able to turn so sharply, the front tires could almost touch the trailer. |
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Replying to: ruking1 (Nov 16, 2008 10:00 am) |
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oil field fires lit by Sadaam.... We have rich college students !!! Student bonfire blamed for 1 of 3 Calif. wildfires By SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER, Associated Press link title Seems they missed Campfire 101. 
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Replying to: ruking1 (Nov 19, 2008 7:18 am) |
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It's 19F degrees here in upstate NY this morning. Would you people who are experiencing global warming please send a little of it up here? We could sure use it. Drive your SUVs up here and rev them up, my feet are cold. I'll even give you my turkey dinner. I won't need it as I have won a bet with a friend and he's buying me steak.
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