Trucker Terms

Our friends at Trucker Path shared a complete list of their favorite trucker terms! Now for rookies and pros alike sometimes it can be easy to get the jargon mixed up. The trucking community has one of the most unique communication styles out of any industry. 

Being a trucker is not only a unique way of life, but it also comes with a unique way of communicating that only those in the trucking industry probably can decipher and understand. 

10-4 – acknowledging something

10-6 – busy right now

10-8 – en route

20 – location

4-Wheeler – automobile

APU – authorized pick-up

Backhaul – retuning load to home location

Bear Trap – speed radar trap

Bill of Lading – document that details information regarding the goods being hauled by a carrier from a shipper

Chicken Coop – Weigh Station

Chicken Lights – Added lights on and around a truck

Chocks –blocks placed in front and behind wheels to prevent truck from rolling

Consignee – person who receives the goods

Consignor – person who ships the goods

County Mounty – – county sheriff

Deadhead – miles driven with no load

Dry Van –standard enclosed truck trailer

ETA – estimated time of arrival

Freightshaker – Freightliner truck

GCW (Gross Combined Weight) – combined weight of tractor/trailer and load

Gear Jammer –speeding driver

Hammer Down – drive faster

Hopper – truck that empties load through bottom that opens

HOS –hours of service

Intermodal – shipping container freight

Jack-Knife –when the trailer is pushed to the side of the tractor

K-whopper – Kenworth truck

Kingpin – pin where the axle wheel pivots

LTL (Less Than Truckload) – load less than 10,000 lbs.

Motor Carrier – person or company that is responsible for transporting goods via a commercial motor vehicle

P&D Driver – pickup and delivery driver locally

Payload – weight of the load

Peddle Run – route with lots of deliveries

Pete – Peterbilt truck

RC (Rate Confirmation) – the rate shipper or broker agrees to pay carrier to haul a load

Reefer – refrigerated truck trailer

Shiny Side Up – top of the truck; don’t crash or rollover

Sliding Fifth Wheel – fifth wheel that can be slid back to redistribute weight on the axels

Trucking Authority –FMCSA approval to haul loads

Willy Weaver – drunk driver

We thank our friends at Trucker Path for sharing this guest blog today. Hopefully, you learned a few new terms to use on the road. If you have any trucking terms to add please mention them in the comment section below and visit TruckLogics.com for more trucking blogs. 

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