ABSTRACT

In the field of the larger commercial vehicles, unit construction is almost universally employed. In this system a given chassis can be fitted with a variety of body shells for specific purposes and loads, mainly of standard dimensions. The body can be changed at will, permitting one body to be loaded while the chassis is on the road with another body delivering goods elsewhere. While few vehicles have a measurable side overhang of the body beyond the wheel track, many have considerable overhang at front and rear. This is important at the front: the extra width beyond the wheel tracks described by the body is known as 'cut-out'. The path traversed by the rear wheels is different from that by the front wheels. In a commercial vehicle travelling at slow speed, the rear wheels follow a smaller are to the front wheels, the amount depending largely on the distance between the axles.