Medium trucks are wider and taller than light trucks. They are commonly used as commercial vehicles, such as parcel delivery trucks and beverage trucks. Parcel delivery trucks are designed so the driver can stand behind the steering wheel and easily step in and out of the cab. Beverage trucks have racks to carry bottled goods. Most medium trucks have diesel engines.
Medium-duty trucks have larger engines and frames than do light trucks and often have dual rear wheels or a second rear axle for carrying additional weight. Medium trucks are used primarily for local delivery work, for construction, and by municipal and utility fleets.
Dump trucks have large open beds for hauling loose material such as gravel or soil. To empty the bed's contents, a hydraulic lift inside the truck tilts the bed, dumping the contents behind the truck. Dump trucks are common at busy construction sites, where large amounts of building materials are frequently moved.
Garbage trucks have a large enclosed compartment and a hydraulic compressor for compacting and hauling refuse. There are four basic models of garbage truck: (1) Front loaders generally service commercial and industrial sites using dumpsters (US term for large wheelie bins). They have large prongs on the front which are carefully aligned with arms on the dumpster. (2) Rear loaders commonly service residential areas. They have an opening at the rear that a trash collector can throw garbage bags or empty the contents of trash cans into. (3) Side loaders are versions of either front or rear loaders that lift small trash containers or have openings on either side to deposit trash. (4) Pneumatic collection, almost a 24 ton vacuum cleaner. On the top it has a crane with a tube and a mouthpiece that fits in a hole, usually hidden under a plate under the sidewalk. From here it will suck up garbage from an underground installation.
Utility trucks with a hydraulic lifting system, with a boom and basket, nicknamed cherry pickers, have several uses. At the top is a bucket that the worker stands in. It lets the picker pick fruit high in the tree with relative ease. Cherry pickers are also used to service telephone, cable television and electrical equipment on utility poles. Also, some fire trucks have a cherry picker instead of a fire ladder, and some window cleaners also use them.
Fire engines often have a large internal water tank and pump for fighting fires. Some carry large ladders for reaching the upper floors on multistory buildings.
