American Reacts to Why European Trucks Have So Much MORE Power Than American Trucks

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[tweetdezweet]

My dad, who is a mechanic, always told me: when an American wants more power he builds a bigger engine, when a European wants more power he makes the engine more efficient...
Always seemed there was some merit to that statement 😊

[Maricavdven]

I'm a female truck driver in the Netherlands. The Netherlands are flat. But the only 'problem' I encounter is the small and very narrow rural roads I encounter on a daily basis. So narrow that my mirrors on both sides get struck by branches. Even the roads in cities can be very narrow because of parked cars. Sometimes there's 1cm space left between my truck and a mirror from a parked car.

[theworldaccordingtochris]

It's a standard of 40 tons across Europe on 5 axles yet it's 44 tons on 6 axles in The UK and 46 tons on 6 axles in The Republic of Ireland and you'll see 5 axle rigid "straight" trucks running at 50 tons in Holland but they are REALLY heavy duty. In the Nordic countries like Sweden and Finland they are running really big stuff of over 60 to 90 tons plus.

[eisikater]

Newtonmeters are very convenient because they fit perfectly into the metric system. Horsepowers don't and the official unit actually is kilowatts (1 hp = 0.745 kW). People still use hp because they're used to it.

[jutimatias]

Hi from Finland. I work in cv spare parts and I'd say the basic Scania is 16L 580hp or 630hp, but also a lot of the older 12L 400+hp and newer 13L with +/- 500hp, and the same with Volvo, 480/530 quite common, with some 700+ now and then.
About the weights, basic limit for full trailer combo is 76t (we have a lot less semitrailers) but can go up to 104t with special permission.
Our trailer combos are also longer, as we have a basic set up of a rigid truck with a cargo chassis of its own + full trailer (anywhere from 3 to 5 axles most commonly) and the combination length is over 25m, about 85ft. Even combinations of 11 axles is not rare these days, after the law changed some years ago. The truck itself is limited to 5 axles.
There, I just blurted this out of my system, hope I made some sense.

[jayzhead]

That video was full of errors. Apart from the weight restrictions that others have already corrected in other comments, the consolidation/ownership map of global manufacturers and their brands is really complex. From memory, it goes something like this-
* Daimler (Mercedes) owns: Mercedes Benz Trucks (Europe, Asia, Australia), Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks (Global), Freightliner Trucks, Detroit Diesel Engines (North America), Mercedes Trucks and Busses (Brazil), EvoBus (which includes MB busses and Setra busses, Global), Thomas Busses (USA) and a smattering of other smaller manufacturers that I'm forgetting right now. Up until recent unfortunate evens they also owned Kamaz in Russia, but that's pretty much over now...
* The Volvo group owns: Volvo Trucks, Renault Trucks (Europe, Asia, Australia), Volvo VNL (North America, formerly Volvo-White), Mack (USA), Volvo Busses (Global), Prevost Coaches (North America), NovaBus (North America) and probably a few smaller ones I'm forgetting.
* Paccar owns: DAF (Europe, Asia, Australia), Kenworth and Peterbilt (North America), Irisbus (which includes DAF, Carosa, Renault and Iveco busses, Europe and Asia).
* VW group owns VW Trucks (Brazil) and Navistar (North America), and also holds controlling stakes in MAN trucks and Busses and Scania Trucks and busses (Europe Asia and Australia), and up until recently they owned the Belorussian truck manufacturer MAZ.
Fiat used to have a heavy truck division - Iveco, but they sold it off to a Dutch holding company called Exor N.V. (hence the DAF+Iveco bus connection).
I do not think there is any engine sharing between Volvo and Scania, at least none that I'm aware of. If anything, MAN and Scania are the relatives, both being effectively owned by the Volkswagen group.

[stevegray]

My friend worked for Scania in Sweden. She custom painted trucks if the buyers wanted them to stand out.

[janis]

Yes, the limit in USA is 80, 000 pounds which is 36 tonnes.

[deank]

I’m a truck driver from Ireland. These power figures are for the top end truck the average truck in Ireland is between 450 hp to 500hp about the gross weights it depends on axle configuration the 6x2 with a mid lift axle with air suspension is usually 44 tonnes ! We need to go more in-depth to compare USA trucks to European trucks love the video s

[fabianweihe]

Fun fact: Detroit Diesel and Freightliner are owned by Daimler Truck (the Bus and Truck devision of Mercedes-Benz) they own the Thomas bus company as well, wich is the oldest still operational Bus Manufacturer in the US.

[mhh]

The newton meter is a measurement of torque. One newton meter is equal to approximately 0.738 pound-feet. For example, exerting a 1 N force on a door 1 m from the hinges would be a torque of 1 . One newton-metre is the torque resulting from a force of one newton applied perpendicularly to the end of a moment arm that is one metre long.

[Gazer]

Keep in mind the European Modular System in some countries which changes the limits and length.
For Norway this extends the length to 25.25m and weight to 60t on almost 5300km of the main roads, mostly eastern parts of Norway south of Trondheim.

[MyRegardsToTheDodo]

I think the differences in terrain also have to do with the density of the population in the US and in Europe. It's way easier to go around a hill or a mountain if the terrain isn't densely populated.

[atlasz...]

You need to try Euro Truck Simulator 2, if you try it you will see what kind of elevation changes the trucks need to overcome mostly on side roads.

[rogerrossman]

Things have changed a lot in the last 50 years. When I was in Germany in the early 70's there was a section of the Autobahn outside Stuttgart that the German trucks were so slow that even our Army 6X6 would pass them like they were standing still. I was told that they kept the HP to an absolute minimum because they were taxed on the HP rating.

[roelbrook]

I think one of the main reasons might be speed restrictions. In Europe, the speed of a truck is capped at 80 kph. In the US, they are not capped (or, at least higher). Hauling a 100 ton load at 100 kph is considerably more dangerous compared to hauling a 100 ton load at 80 kph.

[frogmaster]

Manufactures in Europe have always got high output from engines. My pickup is only 2.5L TD and 12 years old but produced when new, 190 bhp and over 400 ft-lbs of torque. Not bad for a old school diesel.

[JeroenBteE]

Volvo used to work on the US market with White. DAF with Paccar, Mercedes (Daimler Benz) with Freightliner and Western Star as Daimler truck. So those are as German as it gets 😄😂

[captainnutzlos]

Here in germany 40tons is the limit, with exemption its 44ton. Special heavy transports are only allowed from 10pm to 4 am with escort.

[diogomesquita]

I am a truck mechanic intern from Portugal and we currently have a man tgx 33.680 in our inventory, a truck with 680hp, 2212 ft lbs of torque and supposedly capable of towing up to 176.000 lbs . It is not that common but it sure is something else. Most common ones we have make between 460hp to 510hp and once in a while a few 580hp trucks come by. We normally work on Man trucks and buses. Greetings and I must say you sure have a great channel, keep up the good work!