Explanations of Terminology
Here are some brief explanations of Commercial Vehicle terminology, which you may not be familiar with.
| Wheelbase | The measured distance between the centre of the front axle and the centre of the rear axle. Wheelbase is usually simplified to two main categories: short wheelbase and long wheelbase, but medium and extra-long configurations are available on some makes and models. | |
| Standard, semi-high/medium and high roofs | This explains the height of a vehicles roof, again usually simplified to a three point specification. | |
The diagram below illustrates well, the differences in size
of wheelbase, roof height and body length. Vehicle shown is Ford New Transit. | ||
| Gnat's Knacker | Generally considered among mechanics as the tiniest unit of measurement. This term
is often used to describe something very small, or a fine tolerance.
At Maun Motors, however, we tend to defy convention and stick with the metric system! | |
| Hi-Cube | This term usually describes the largest capacity configuration of some models of van, i.e. Ford Transit, Iveco Daily. It suggests the vehicle has a high roof and either an extra-long wheelbase, or at least a longer body than a standard long wheelbase. | |
| Moffett (Mounty) | A Moffett, or Moffett Mounty as they're often known, is a forklift capable of being mounted and transported on the rear of a lorry; allowing the lorry driver to load and unload their
own vehicle without having to rely on a third party. | |
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| Durashift EST | Durashift is Ford's new transmission concept. The vehicle is fitted with a standard, 5 speed manual gearbox. Gear changing is controlled either automatically by the vehicle, or by the driver pressing the '+' or '-' buttons, located on the steering wheel. The system proves very economical and smooth, due to Ford's control system changing gear at optimum engine speeds, to suit the ever-changing driving conditions. Another advantage of Durashift is longer clutch life, because the clucth pedal is done away with, to allow automatic clutch operation by the vehicle. There are three driving modes on Durashift; Economy, Heavy Load and Winter mode; to cope even better with the actual driving conditions. | |
The pictures below show the Durashift control unit and steering
wheel gear change controls. | ||
| Tailgate | A tailgate is a rear door which hinges along the top join. It allows easy, wide access into the rear of the vehicle, but may restrict if you are loading the vehicle with a fork-lift. | |
| Tail lift | A tail lift is a hydraulically operated platform attached to the rear of a vehicle. It rises and lowers at the touch of a button, so helps with loading and unloading heavy or bulky items. | |
| 'Hyva'/'Rolonof' Hook loaders | These machines can carry a large skip body, which is demountable from the vehicle. A large hook is operated by a hydraulic system, which loads or unloads the skip onto the lorry. | |
| Box van | This term is used to describe a van or lorry, with a seperate box-shaped body fastened to the chassis, as a pose to a panel van which has a single-piece cab and body construction | |
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| Muckaway | A term describing the type of work a tipping truck fitted with a crane and clamshell bucket will usually do. It relates to the civil engineering and utilities industries, where large amounts of soils, aggregates, etc. need to be transported. | |
| Accessibility | Accessibility is a term used to describe vehicles which cater for people in wheelchairs, and people who have difficulty entering or leaving vehicles. A hydraulic ramp and wheelchair floor clamps are usually features of an accessibility vehicle | |
| Dropwell | A dropwell is designed with furniture removals and similar tasks in mind. The dropwell makes the first 3 feet at the rear of a luton box body lower than the rest of the body floor. This is to aid in the loading and unloading of heavy and awkward items | |
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| Payload | A vehicles payload is the amount of load weight it is able to carry safely. The payload is worked out by subtracting the unladen vehicle's kerb mass from it's plated GVW. | |
| Kerb Mass | Kerb mass is a calculation of the weight of the complete vehicle, including any fuel, water and equipment, but without driver, payload or crew. | |
| Auto-Clutch | A fully manual gearbox with an automatically operated clutch and no clutch pedal. | |
| Luton Body | A luton is a variant of a box body. It creates extra load space by extending over the cab roof, making it ideal for light, but bulky loads. | |
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Maun Motors - Specialists in wheelchair accessible and disabled access vehicles from minibuses to people carriers and MPVs