Features
Technical Information
No more spreadsheets! We combine sensible defaults with your inputs, to present complex technical calculations in a simple graphical way.
Calculate the distribution of mass over front and rear axles of the truck, trailer axles and trailer towbar. Calculated masses are compared to manufacturer ratings, state regulations, and user-defined limits. Issues are flagged by colour-coded indicators.
Calculate after-frame, front and rear overhang, overall length, width and height dimensions, cab to body clearance, frontal area and many more. Relevant dimensions are checked against state regulations and user-defined limits. Issues are flagged by colour-coded indicators. Know what will fit before you proceed with the build.
The amount of payload that can be legally carried on your truck is influenced by the chassis spec, body mass and position, as well as the placement of all of the ancillary equipment on the vehicle. Experiment with dimensions and placement of components to realise the full payload potential of the vehicle, while complying with axle mass limits, overall length, etc.
TruckScience calculates the complete three-dimensional centre of gravity (CG) of the vehicle — longitudinal (front-to-rear), lateral (side-to-side), and vertical.
The overall CG is determined by combining the weight and individual centre of gravity of the chassis, body, and each additional component of equipment and payload.
- Longitudinal (horizontal) CG is used to accurately calculate front-to-rear axle weight distribution.
- Lateral CG determines left-to-right weight distribution.
- Vertical CG is critical for calculating the Static Rollover Angle (SRA), commonly referred to as the Static Rollover Threshold (SRT). This represents the tilt angle at which the vehicle’s centre of gravity would align directly over the roll axis, indicating the theoretical point of rollover under static conditions.
Turning Circle, or Turning Radius, is a measurement of the smallest circle in which the truck can make a 360° turn. The wall-to-wall turning circle, as the name suggests, includes the space required for the vehicle front overhang, while the curb-to-curb turning circle assumes that the truck can overhang the curb to turn in a smaller circle. The Turning Ability of the chassis may be specified using Inner Steering Angle, Kerb to Kerb Radius or Wall to Wall Radius.
Wide Range of Combinations
From Class 1 right up to Class 8 trucks, with infinite possibilities for bodies and equipment, and pulling up to 2 trailers behind.
Choose to do a weight study for a chassis cab, or ‘straight truck’ – single or twin steer -, semi truck, pickup truck or van. The program supports trucks with up to 6 axles – 2 on the front and 4 on the rear, with available axle layouts including 4×2, 4×4, 6×2, 6×4, 6×6, 8×2, 8×4, 8×6, 10×4 and 12×4. with Both European-style ‘cab-over’ and US-style ‘conventional cab’ trucks are supported.
Add a body to carry payload. Choose from service bodies, box or van bodies, curtainsiders, table / tray tops, timber bodies, livestock carriers, tipper bodies, tilt slide trays, beavertail bodies, tankers, garbage compactors, hooklift bins, or import your own. The possibilities are infinite.
As with bodies, the program supports any and all types of equipment or accessory. Pre-defined categories include cranes, fridges, tail lifts, 5th wheels, towbars, hooklifts, bullbars, aerokits, aerial platforms, fairings, toolboxes, outriggers and rear bumpers. There is a catch-all ‘Other’ category into which you can import any equipment of your choice.
When a body has been added to the truck or trailer, the maximum water-level (or evenly-distributed) load that can be legally carried is automatically calculated. This can be overridden with a user-defined water-level load. Alternatively, multiple separate payload items may be positioned on the load deck. All technical information is re-calculated on the fly, as the load’s position, mass, volume or centre of gravity changes.
Adding axles increases the load-carrying capacity of a truck. You can add pusher or tag axles. Override the Chassis Mass, Manufacturer Rating and the Regulation limit for the auxiliary axle. The number of tyres on the axle is used to determine regulation limits against which the design will be verified.
Add up to 2 trailers, with up to 4 axles on each. Choose from Semi-trailer, Dog trailer, Pig trailer, and A-B trailer combinations. Axle masses are calculated for all axles or axle groups, as well as for the towbar, where applicable. 5th Wheel offset and Front Overhang are all configurable, and all technical information is re-calculated with each change.
Library of Product Specs
Save time searching for masses and dimensions, and use realistic graphics to bring your proposals to the next level.
TruckScience is backed by a library of product specs, which include general arrangement drawings, masses, dimensions, centre of gravity and ratings. Specs for trucks, bodies, equipment and payload are added to the library on request. OEMs may choose to distribute product information to all users, or to only approved dealers and distributors.
Generic templates are provided for all common chassis, bodies, equipment and payload items, which can be used to experiment with theoretical dimensions, weights and centre of gravity positions. These are useful if you have not yet settled on a particular product, but wish to determine the spec of a potential product for your configuration. These may also be used as substitutes when a product spec is not yet available in the product library.
Import drawings of bodies, equipment and payload items, to build up your library of product specs. Save these specs to your own Personal library, your Team library, your approved Distributor library, or publish them to all users.
Compliance Checks
Knowing that your configuration is safe, legal and efficient is not just about compliance. It’s about peace of mind.
State laws define maximum masses that a truck may carry, depending on number of axles, axle spacing, the tyre footprint of those axles, etc. In addition, there are limits to vehicle length, rear overhang, etc. Limits vary significantly from one jurisdiction to another. As you work, your configuration is being checked for compliance with the laws in your chosen state(s), and any issues are flagged. Subscribers to the Enterprise edition may choose to verify compliance with international regulations. For more information on the regulations we support click here.
Chassis manufacturers define Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) ratings, Gross Axle Mass ratings, and Gross Combination Mass (GCM) ratings for their trucks. These are the maximum allowable masses for the vehicle and its axles, as stipulated by the OEM. As you are adding or making changes to components, your configuration is automatically checked against these ratings.
You can define your organisation’s internal standards for mass distribution, dimensions and vehicle stability. For example, the minimum percentage of gross mass that must be carried on the front axles, the maximum rear overhang as a percentage of wheelbase, or the maximum height of the truck’s overall COG. These compliance checks are in addition to the checks against manufacturer ratings and state regulations.
Graphical PDF Reports
They say that a picture paints a thousand words. We say a picture catches misunderstandings early in the process, and helps get the sale.
Reports are customisable with your company logo. Presenting a professional proposal with your logo makes a strong and memorable impression, maintains brand integrity and fosters brand loyalty. Just another way to differentiate your organisation from the competition.
The reports include a sign-off area, for you and the customer. Obtaining sign-off ensures that all stakeholders are informed and in agreement about the proposed design, and helps to prevent misunderstandings that could cause problems down the line.
Users can add callouts, images, rubber stamps, custom notes and signatures to the reports. Notes can include a company-wide disclaimer, or job-specific notes, e.g. current lead time. In addition, certain ‘Favorite Measurements’ can be highlighted on reports, and these can be toggled on and off, depending on the intended audience. Callouts may be used to draw attention to features of the build, and images of customer logos enhance the buying experience.
Collaborate with
other users
Great things happen when clever people work together to come up with the best solution.
Share calculations with your entire team in one centralised folder. Access to the Team Folder can be controlled through customisable permissions, with individual users having ‘View only’, ‘Edit’ or no access to individual calculations. Whether you’re providing optimised truck layout templates for your Sales team, or collaborating on a proposal, the Team Folder helps keep your team organised, efficient, and always up to date.
When you add a body, or an item of equipment or payload, either by importing a drawing, or by using a generic template, you can save it to your Team library, so that your colleagues can reuse it in future.
Body and equipment manufacturers can make product specs available to approved distributors through a ‘Distributor Library’. Product specs are added to the library by uploading drawings in DXF format, and providing masses and dimensions for these products. Manufacturers control their own Distributor Library, including what is added to it, and who has access to the information.
Manufacturers can experiment with different vehicle configurations before releasing a vehicle to the market. This allows Product Managers to define a spec that is optimised for local conditions.
Define multiple teams on one subscription, each with their own logo, distinct custom text on reports, and separate Team Library.
Get detailed statistics on your company-wide usage, to ensure your organisation is getting value from your subscription. Usage reports include the most recent login and frequency of use for each of your users.
Intuitive Interface
Our design team are driven by the desire to give you an interface that is simple, intuitive and consistent.
To move bodies, equipment or payload around on the truck, simply drag & drop the components. As things are repositioned, all technical information is re-calculated, compliance is re-checked and maximum payload is re-calculated in real-time. Drag items around, to examine the point at which an axle becomes overloaded, or to watch the maximum payload rise or fall.
The drawing is interactive. Click the CA or Wheelbase dimension to extend the wheelbase, the truck chassis to edit the rear overhang, the body to edit the body weight, or the crane to edit the crane CG … No more searching around in menus to find where to change a value!
As you work, your configuration is checked against what we call the ‘3 pillars of compliance’ – Manufacturer Ratings, State Regulations and Organisation Standards. Compliance is confirmed by green color-coding. Overloading issues or problems with dimensions are flagged in red.
Toggle between the Metric or Imperial measurement system, or choose a hybrid of both. Being able to toggle between measurement systems is especially useful for engineers, salespeople, and fleet specialists who need to ensure clear communication across teams and borders.
The default view is simple and uncluttered. You can however examine detailed views of weight distribution for the truck, fuel and crew, or the trailer. You can review center of gravity points for individual components, and see overall center of gravity. You can examine detailed weight information for Bridge groups, or see a bird’s-eye view of the turning radius of your configuration. You can also switch between side and top views, to help with lateral positioning of equipment and payload.
System Integration
Our integration specialists work with your team to link applications, automating the flow of information between systems.
Automating the flow of information between your organisation’s systems and TruckScience eliminates the need for repetitive and manual data entry. Your Engineering and Sales teams will save time, energy and frustration, and will enjoy the seamless experience they expect in the modern age. You can expect the same principles of design simplicity, clear communication, collaborative cooperation and committed delivery when embarking on an integration project with TruckScience.
Help when you need it
We’ve got a team of real people, across multiple timezones, ready to assist you.
We pride ourselves on awesome support! If you need help, simply click the Chat icon and start chatting to one of our support consultants. If you need to see our screen, or would like us to see yours, we can invite you straight into a live screenshare. In addition to all of that, we make sure that all of our users get off to a successful start with a free live onboarding session.
We provide a series of short videos, to help users accomplish common tasks. These videos walk through the task, step by step, explaining the reason for performing that task, highlighting the relevant fields in the interface, and explaining inputs and outputs. Because the videos can be paused and watched over, they are ideal for self-paced learning.
