Record-Breaking Trucks

What do you think about when you hear the words “trucks” and “HGV’s”? Is it about vehicles on our roads from brands like Dentressangles and Strobarts? We know what a truck does- moving from one point to other carrying goods.

Trucks That Broke World Records

But do you know that some extraordinary trucks have broken world records by breaking from the norm? One example is the Truck Jumping a Lotus. This is just an example but not the only one. Some trucks have been used as objects to leap. Evel Knievel used to leap lorries and buses. In 2014, Mike Ryan, known for doing unusual things set a Guinness World Record for the longest ramp jump by a truck and a trailer by launching a truck over a Lotus F1 car.

How About A Truck Setting a World Record By Reversing?

But that is not the only unusual thing that trucks did in the past. In September 2008, German driver Marco Hellgrewe decided to try and see how far he could reverse an HGV. He drove an HGV around a training forces track in Bergen, Germany for 5 hours and 21 minutes backing the truck for 39.7 miles. I wonder how he did not go mad from the beeping sound of the HGV driver training reverse gear.

More Extraordinary Things Trucks Have Done

In 2004, in the Wels Airport, Austria, Johann Reddle steered his 7420 kg Steyr 891 truck more than ten miles on 2 wheels. Has this impressed you? However, I am sure that it is not as impressive as James Bond pulling a truck wheelie through fire and avoiding bazooka blasts by driving a tanker on its sides. Just imagine that!

All aboard the road train

Australia is a big country with a lot of not much in the middle. Very nice not much, but not much nonetheless. Australia is a good country for a road trip with the scale and barrenness of the land here playing a factor in the truck driving culture of the country. This is the major factor that has contributed to the rise of road trains (a very long truck).

Road trains, have many trailers and are also used from time to time in countries like Canada, Argentina and the USA. These trucks travel along the fairly empty and open roads in Australia delivering goods across this big country. And I am very sure that you really do not want to be stuck behind one. The longest road trains/ longest trucks have more than 100 trailers and over 140 wheels measuring more than a mile long.

Just try to imagine how long these trucks are! So, next time you hear the words “HGV” and “trucks”, do not only think about the ordinary vehicles you see on our roads delivering freight. Also, think about the extraordinary ones that have set world records by doing impressive things. I think that in future, we may have trucks doing even more extraordinary things that will set even more impressive world records.