What Is a Vocational Truck or Trailer?

Of course, everyone knows what semi trucks are and their functional capabilities, but what is a vocational truck or trailer? Semi trucks make transporting cargo such as products and large technical equipment easy, but what about vocational trucks and trailers? We’ll answer these questions and more as we describe what vocational trucking, vocational fleets, and vocational trailers are. Beyond the typical uses of semi trucks, vocational trucks and trailers have different purposes. They’re more tailored to specific purposes– so let’s get into what a vocational truck or trailer is.

Vocational Trucking

What is a vocational truck or trailer, and how does it differ from a semi truck? Vocational trucking includes garbage (waste/refuse) trucks, dump trucks, and tow trucks. Vocational trucks and vocational trailers do specific jobs, whereas the average semi truck can carry nonspecific cargo. Here are some other examples of vocational trucking:

• Concrete trucks
• Service trucks
• Cranes
• Food trucks
• Fire trucks

With all of these examples in mind, you can see how each truck has a specific purpose. Take a garbage truck for example. It picks up trash cans and can carry a large amount of waste. Think of a tow truck– it has the capacity and power to effectively attach to and tow vehicles. While a semi truck could carry waste or another vehicle, a garbage truck and tow truck does a better job because they’re specifically made for it. Another difference between semi trucks and vocational trucks is that semi trucks can go a long distance, whereas vocational trucks are meant to stay within a certain distance, like a city or town. Much like semi truck drivers, vocational truck drivers also need to get CDL certified because these trucks are large and usually driven for commercial purposes. But what is a vocational truck or trailer in terms of vocational fleets?

Vocational Fleets

Vocational trucks are often driven in vocational fleets, similar to how companies employ numerous semi trucks to carry their products. A company can own or lease a group of garbage trucks, dump trucks, and tow trucks to do a job throughout a town, city, or other municipality. There are many benefits of vocational fleets when you’re considering what a vocational truck or trailer is.

Career Choice

Much like owning a semi truck, you can use a vocational vehicle and vocational fleets for career pursuits and to make a steady income. You can decide to form your own waste management or towing company. You also don’t necessarily need to drive the trucks yourself. When you have a vocational truck or fleet, you can lease them out to an already existing company and make money that way. Having a lessee for your fleet provides steady income, much like a landlord earning an income by having tenants. 

Increased Efficiency

Regardless if you own a company or lease your fleet out, having more than one vocational truck increases efficiency. Instead of having one garbage truck for a whole town, it would be better to own four, five, or more, depending on the area your trucks work in. Companies that look to lease vocational vehicles prefer a whole fleet, rather than just one or two. Even in your own company, it’s easier to do business with more trucks available. 

Build Client List

Finally, among the benefits of owning a fleet is building your client and business associate list. As you do business across your town, you will establish professional relationships that will either help you keep business up or potentially find your next lessee. Your trucks can become widely known around town, especially if your trucks have your company’s brand on them. This is critical in building your client list and forming lasting business relationships.

Vocational Trailers

In our guide to what a vocational truck or trailer is, let’s now focus on vocational trailers. Much like how vocational trucks have specific purposes, so do vocational trailers. Vocational trailers are built to do certain jobs or carry certain products. Like with vocational trucks, you can also have a fleet that uses these types of trailers to carry these specialized products. Let’s go through a couple of examples of these types of trailers. 

Commercial Car Trailers

Commercial car trailers are usually used for transporting a large number of cars and SUVs to and from car dealerships. These trailers are built to carry the weight of ten or more vehicles, as well as secure them to the trailer for transport. 

Low Beds

Low beds are ideal for heavier and larger loads, like big construction equipment and vehicles, and even sheds and other structures. These beds evenly distribute the weight of the load during transport and provide the necessary support for the load.

Reefer Vans

Reefer vans are refrigerated vans made to carry products that require refrigeration. These vans are needed to transport refrigerated products like food or medication. Reefer vans require extra battery usage because they need to maintain certain temperatures to maintain the integrity of the refrigerated products. 

Tanks

Tanks are ideal to carry liquids or gases and are specially built to protect against leaks and movement of the liquid or gas throughout the container. Those that carry liquids have sectionals built into the interior to keep the movement of the liquid from affecting the momentum of the overall vehicle. Tanks that carry gases are often pressurized to keep the product stable.

In this guide explaining what a vocational truck or trailer is, we’ve detailed their definition and how you can build a career owning them. From becoming an owner-operator and running your own company to leasing out your fleet, vocational trucking is a stable career after you obtain the proper licensure. While semi truck operators often need to drive long distances and even cross the country, driving vocational vehicles allows you to travel yet be near home. Employing vocational trucks and trailers is a great way to keep a community running and thriving.