Big Rigs
on the Move
Candice Ransom
To Bill, whos gonna make it home tonight
Copyright 2011 by Candice Ransom All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Lerner Publications Company A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A. p. cm. (Lightning bolt booksTM Vroom-vroom.) Includes index. (Lightning bolt booksTM Vroom-vroom.) Includes index.
ISBN 9780761339199 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) 1. Tractor trailer combinationsJuvenile literature. Title. Title.
TL230.15.R365 2011 629.224dc22 2009039738 Manufactured in the United States of America 1 BP 7/15/10
Contents
Big Rig Diagram page
Fun Facts
page
Big
Jobs
Its a new day. This big rig is already on the road.
Big rigs have many names. You might call them semitrailers, tractor-trailers, or eighteen-wheelers.
Can you guess what these trucks are hauling?
Big rigs carry cargo.
These big rigs carry cargo in their trailers.
Big rigs can carry horses. Big rigs can move barns.
No job is too small or too big for a big rig.
A big rig can move an entire house !
Big rigs can carry just about anything. Auto carriers haul cars. Tanker trucks carry liquids, such as milk or gas.
An auto carrier brings new cars to car dealerships.
Flatbed trucks haul extra big loads.
Big rigs can tow up to 60,000 pounds (27,215 kilograms).
Bigrigsevencarrynewrigs!
One big rig tows three more behind it.
The back of this big rig is
refrigerated. It keeps cargo
cold and fresh.
This refrigeration
unit keeps the trailer of this refrigerated truck cool.
Big Parts Big rigs have two parts.
A driver stands in front of his big rigs tractor.
The tractor pulls the trailer.
A driver stands in front of his big rigs tractor.
The tractor pulls the trailer.
Cargo is put in the trailer.
The trailer hooks to a metal plate on the tractor. The metal plate is called a fifth wheel.
This is the fifth wheel.
Trailers stand on legs called landing gear. The driver hooks the trailer to the tractor and cranks up the gear before driving away.
Built to Go
Big rigs go wherever there are roads. Big rigs rumble through forests.
A logging truck hauls tree trunks.
Big rigs cross bridges and climb mountains.
Snow and ice wont stop this truck. Big rigs are built to go.
On steep hills, trucks may go too fast.
To stop, drivers can steer onto sandy roads. These ramps slow down trucks.
This ramp is on a mountain in Colorado.
Rig Truckers
Truckers can call for help on a radio called a CB. They also call one another to talk. They have their own language. Ten-four means yes.
They use a lot.
They use a lot.
Drivers get more diesel at truck stops.
Truck stops are more than gas stations. They have restaurants and even showers!
Some truck stops have books that truckers can borrow.
Everything about a big rig is big! The steering wheel is bigger than an extra large pizza.
Most big rigs have eighteen wheels, nine on each side.
Thisrighastwenty - two
wheels!
The trailer's wheels come in sets of two on each side.