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A terminal tractor, known in the United States as a shunt truck, spotter truck, spotting tractor, yard truck, yard shifter, yard dog, yard goat, yard horse, yard jockey, hostler, or mule, is a kind of semi-tractor intended to move 
A terminal tractor, known in the United States as a shunt truck, spotter truck, spotting tractor, yard truck, yard shifter, yard dog, yard goat, yard horse, yard jockey, hostler, or mule, is a kind of semi-tractor intended to move semi-trailer
A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to the combination of a truck and a semi-trailer; a tractor-trailer.
A large proportion of a semi-trailer's weight is supported by a trac ...
s within a cargo yard, warehouse facility, or intermodal facility, much like a switcher
A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inte ...
locomotive is used to position railcars. In the United Kingdom they are known as terminal lorries.
Characteristics
Distinctions between a terminal tractor and a regulartractor unit
A tractor unit (also known as a truck unit, power unit, prime mover, ten-wheeler, semi-tractor, tractor truck, semi-truck, tractor cab, truck cab, tractor rig, truck rig or big rig or simply a tractor, truck, semi or rig) is a characteristical ...
include:
*A single-person cab offset to the side of the engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
.
*A full-height, sliding rear door for easy access to trailer connections.
*A very short wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
, usually with a solidly mounted rear axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, beari ...
.
*A low-power diesel, alternative fuel
Alternative fuel, known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels like; '' fossil fuels'' (petroleum (oil), coal, and natural gas), as well as nuclear mater ...
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
, or electric motor
An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate forc ...
usually with an automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission (mechanics), transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gea ...
.
*A fifth-wheel coupling
The fifth-wheel coupling provides the link between a semi-trailer and the towing truck, tractor unit, leading trailer or dolly. The coupling consists of a kingpin, a vertical steel pin protruding from the bottom of the front of the semi-trai ...
with an integrated lifting mechanism allows the semi-trailer's legs to remain in the lowered position during movement. and of hydraulic
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...
lift is typical.
*A rear window to create a 360-degree view
Since off-road versions do not have to drive on roads at highway speeds, a typical top speed is just .
Electric terminal trucks
The global EV push has given rise to a large number of all-electric terminal truck manufacturers around the world. These trucks – used in both on-road and off-road fleet – claim to be zero-emission trucks. Some of the notable manufacturers includeRenault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
, Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, MAN, Orange EV, Motiv, and Tevva. Orange EV is one of the largest suppliers of zero-emission terminal trucks in the United States.
See also
* Gladhand connector * Sisu Terminal SystemsReferences
External links
{{Intermodal containers, state=collapsed Articulated vehicles Intermodal containers Trucks