A flatbed truck is a type of truck

Truck

A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...

 which can be either articulated

Semi-trailer truck

A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...

 or rigid. As the name suggests, it has an entirely flat, level 'bed' body with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy loading of goods, and consequently they are used to transport heavy loads that are not delicate or vulnerable to precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

, such as construction equipment, and also for abnormal loads that require more space than is available on a closed body.

Railway flatbeds

Railways also employ flatbed trucks in engineering trains and freight trains. In Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and the Commonwealth the term Bogie Flat is often applied to a bogie

Bogie

A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...

 flatbed truck. Although less common, flatbed railway trucks on rigid frames and axles are sometimes used, with both 4-wheel and 6-wheel versions being extant. In British English, the term 'truck' most commonly relates to railway vehicles, with the word 'lorry' more commonly applied to road vehicles.

See also

• Box truck
  Box truck
  A box truck, also known as a cube truck, cube van, bob truck, box van, or straight truck, is a truck with a cuboid-shaped cargo area.-Road vehicles:...
  
  
• Flatcar
  Flatcar
  A flatcar is a piece of railroad or railway rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck on four or six wheels or a pair of trucks or bogies . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads...
  
  
• Lowboy (trailer)
  Lowboy (trailer)
  A lowboy or dolly in Australia is a semi-trailer with two drops in deck height: one right after the gooseneck and one right before the wheels. This allows the deck to be extremely low compared with other trailers...