A drive axle on a truck is one that provides motive power – it is one that is connected to the engine via the differential, driveshaft and gearbox and propels the truck forwards or backwards. A truck can have more than one drive axle, but it’s not always possible to tell how many drive axles a truck has, or which ones they are.
The more heavy-duty the requirements are for a truck, the more likely it is to have two drive axles. For example, these trucks would be used when driving on soft surfaces (e.g. forestry, mining, outback work, etc) or for heavy-duty hauling (e.g. oversized loads) whereas trucks with one drive axle are more likely to be urban or inter-urban trucks that pull general or chilled freight.
Trucks are either rigid or combination and you’ll see this on the truck licence classes (e.g. MR is medium rigid).
A rigid truck most commonly has one or two steering axles at the front and one or two drive axles at the rear. It might also have a tag or lift axle which isn’t a drive axle.
A combination truck is a prime mover or rigid truck that is pulling a trailer (either a semitrailer or dog trailer). A prime mover typically has one or two steering axles and one or two drive axles.
You can easily tell how many drive axles there are if you know the axle configuration which is expressed most commonly in this format: axle ends x driven axle ends. For example, the most common configurations are: 4×2, 4×4, 6×2, 6×4, 6×6, 8×4, 8×8, 10×4.
Let’s take 4×2 as the simplest example. Each axle has two axle ends (where the wheels are). Therefore 4 axle ends means two axles, just like a car. Two of these axle ends provide motive power, i.e. they are connected to the engine. Two axle ends is one driven axle. Therefore a 4×2 vehicle has two axles where one axle provides motive power.
At the other end of the scale, a 10×4 would mean five axles in total with two driven axles.
4×2: two axles, one driven axle, one steering axle – common for light freight
Small box truck with two axles 4×2 prime mover pulling a semitrailer4×4: two axles, two driven axles, one steering axle – also called 4WD, this is common on trucks that service power lines or have to do light off-roading work
4×4 truck with higher ground clearance, designed for servicing power lines with a crane and bucket on the back6×2: three axles, one driven axle, one steering axle – common for slightly heavier road freight
6×4: three axles, two driven axles, one steering axle – common for heavy road freight
6×2 truck pulling a tipper trailer collecting dredged sand6×6: three axles, three driven axles, one steering axle – this is uncommon – usually for military, fire or specialist off-road applications
6×6 fire truck on the runway of Santiago de Compostela airport with a private jet in the background8×2: four axles, one driven axle, one or two steering axles – sometimes this could be expressed as an 8×2-6, where two of the axles can be lifted for better fuel economy and less tyre wear when not needed.
8×4: four axles, two driven axles, one or two steering axles – common for very heavy road freight
8×4 rigid tipper8×6: four axles, three driven axles, one or two steering axles – used for road trains
It’s impossible to tell whether this is an 8×4 or 8×6, but it’s likely it’s an 8×6 given the weight it is pulling and that it’s likely to be travelling to fairly remote regions. Prime movers in this format are much harder to steer when they only have one steering axle – they tend to want to go straight ahead.8×8: four axles, four driven axles, one or two steering axles – usually for specialist, fire and military applications
Old military equipment in the Soviet Strategic Nuclear Forces Museum, Ukraine10×2: five axles, one driven axle, two steering axles – very uncommon. The truck would not have four axles at the rear as this would make it almost impossible to turn.
10×4: five axles, two driven axles, two steering axles – some truck-loader cranes and specialist flatbed applications.
10×4 crane truck with lift axle at the rear and two steering axles at the front10×6: five axles, three driven axles, two steering axles – used in mining and off-road applications.
There are configurations such as 12×6 and higher which are used on mobile cranes.
Choosing the right truck tires for your trucks might seem easy, but there’s a lot more to proper tire selection.
The determination of the specific application for tires is the key factor before selecting a set for your commercial trucks. Most fleets will need to choose between regional or long-haul commercial tires, and the two are far from comparable.
Understanding the differences between the two tyres will help you to make the best choices to keep your truck tyres last longer.