Flatbed truck

A truck with a flat, open cargo platform instead of an enclosed body. Its unobstructed deck carries bulky, oversized, or unusually shaped loads secured with restraints.

Truck: A motor vehicle designed to transport cargo or equipment. A flatbed is a truck whose cargo body is an open platform.
Logging truck: A truck configured to transport logs, often using stakes or bunks to hold them in place. Its open cargo arrangement adapts the flatbed principle to long timber.
Center of gravity: The point at which an object’s mass can be treated as concentrated for analyzing its motion and balance. A high or off-center cargo mass can destabilize the truck.
Box truck: A truck with an enclosed, box-shaped cargo compartment mounted behind the cab. Its walls and roof protect cargo but limit the loading access of a flatbed.
Truck chassis: The structural frame and running gear that support a truck’s cab, body, engine, and load. Its frame and axles must support the flatbed and its cargo.
Step-deck trailer: A semitrailer with a raised front deck and a lower rear deck for taller cargo. Its lowered section carries taller loads than a conventional flatbed deck permits.
Friction: A force that resists relative motion between surfaces in contact. Friction between cargo and deck helps resist sliding but does not replace tie-downs.
Stake truck: A flatbed truck fitted with removable upright stakes along the sides of its cargo platform. Removable sides contain loose loads while retaining more access than an enclosed body.
Cargo bed: A vehicle’s cargo-carrying platform or compartment, mounted behind the cab. The flatbed is an open, level form of cargo bed.
Lowboy trailer: A low-deck semitrailer designed to transport tall or heavy equipment. Its very low platform better accommodates tall machinery than a standard flatbed.

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Semi-trailer truckBroader topic: Its open deck carries oversized or irregular freight that cannot fit in a van.