If you look at a photo of an American mainline tractor, and then look at a photo of a car of the same class, but used on territory of Russia, then one curious detail that in all other cases most people tend to overlook from mind. Of course, we are talking about the presence of an elongated hood in American cars and the absence of one in domestic ones. I wonder what caused such a difference in design?
Look at the photographs of American long-haul tractors - it will be quite problematic to find a picture of a car without a long hood. Of course, these are also found in the United States. Moreover, there are very popular and well-known "purely" American tractors with a "flat" hood. However, most of the cars of this class overseas still have a characteristic elongated nose. It is all the more curious that it is unlikely that it will be possible to find a truck with such a design in the vastness of Russia. So what's the difference?
First of all, it should be noted that tractors with an extended hood cannot be found not only in the vastness of the former Soviet Union, but also in European countries. The design features of the tractors' bodies are dictated by their layout. So, on machines used in the "Old World", the power unit is always installed under the cab. In America, two types of layout are used: the first is "European", when the tractor engine is located under the cab and the second - when the engine is located in front of the cab, as in most passenger cars cars.
Each of these layouts has its own pros and cons. The classic version with a long hood is considered to be safer for the driver in the event of an accident, such a tractor is much simpler and more convenient service, and most importantly, such an arrangement of the power unit allows you to make a really large and spacious cabin with a representative residential module. Of course, the "classics" have their drawbacks. Among them are poor visibility, a large mass of cars, higher fuel consumption, and most importantly, the difficulty in driving.
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Accordingly, trucks without the usual hood are considered less safe for the driver, they are more difficult serve, and the living units attached to their cabins usually cannot boast of a large size and convenience. At the same time, "cabover" tractors weigh less, consume significantly less fuel, and most importantly, they are much easier to drive. The latter makes such trucks even safer for others.
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With this, everything should be clear. But the main question remained unanswered: why are "bonnet" tractors not used in Russia and Europe? The answer is actually extremely simple. European roads simply do not allow the cars that are so popular in the United States. Because of their gigantic size, bonneted tractors feel extremely uncomfortable in the cities of the "Old World", as well as on numerous winding roads. In Europe, there are more complex, narrow, winding roads. Therefore, freight carriers are forced to use exclusively cabover cars, which take up trite less space on the highway.
If you want to know even more interesting things about cars, then you should read about what kind of mysterious things are wearing on tractor wheels in Latin America.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/090720/55233/