The Physics
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Power of a Truck

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Result
Truck Driver. Personal Interview. December 1999. "My double trailer has a power of 600 horsepower" 450 kW
Edmund's Used Cars and Trucks 1999 ed. California: Edmund Publications, 1999. "Toyota Land Cruiser 93, output is up to 212" 160 kW
"Toyota T100 93, 150 horsepower V6" 110 kW
"Chevrolet S10 Pickup 95 with the 191 horsepower 4.3-liter v6" 140 kW
Isuzu CV: FVR - Specs. American Isuzu Commercial Vehicle Web site. "Engine, Horsepower 230 hp" 170 kW
Mack® Product Line - RD800 SERIES Chart. Mack Trucks. "RD800SX 6 × 4,
Engine HP (kW),
300 [224] to 500 [373]"
224โ€“373 kW
Mack® Product Line - MR SERIES Chart. Mack Trucks. "MR600P 4 × 2,
Engine HP (kW),
250 [186] to 350 [261],"
186โ€“261 kW
"MR600S 6 × 4,
Engine HP (kW),
250 [186] to 350 [261]"
186โ€“261 kW
Terex TR60. Terex Equipment Ltd. "Gross Power 650 hp" 490 kW
Terex TR100. Terex Equipment Ltd. "Gross Power 1,050 hp" 780 kW
Tech Tips for the Week of 7-19-99 by Jim Grant. Alldata LLC. "If you were driving on the interstate and the Terex Titan 33-19 decided to change lanes, you wouldn't argue with this dump truck. This Titan of a truck is powered by a 3,300 hp. 16 cylinder engine." 2500 kW

To find the power of a truck first you have to learn a simple equation: 1 horsepower = 746 watts. After you get this then all you have to do is find the horsepower of the truck, multiply it by 746 and then you will have the power of the truck in SI (International System) units. After this you might want to understand what horsepower is. A horsepower is a unit of power equal to 550 foot-pounds per second. It was developed by scientist James Watt. He found that a horse could lift a weight of 150 pounds, 4 feet in one second. I think that seems like a lot for a horse. In Watt's experiment the horse pulled coal out of a coal pit.

The larger the truck probably the more power. This is seen in my results. The pickup truck had 150 hp or 112 kW. A double tractor trailer (a tractor with two trailers) has an engine with a power of 600 hp or 450 kW. This truck needs so much power because when filled it can be as much as 40 tons or 36,287 kg! These trucks are so massive and hard to control that some localities ban them.

I also read about another massive truck called the Terex Titan 33-19. It is now in operation at the Westar Mine in British Columbia Canada. It has a 3,300 hp (2500 kW) 16 cylinder engine. When fully loaded it weighs 604.7 tons or 550,000 kg. It's even in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Alfredo Vitale -- 2000