[Questions of European] Retarder & Trailer Brake Controls

[-Raiden-]

So about 37 metric tons of payload... that's quite a lot

So all in all, the overall weight of the truck ends up at about 60 metric tons, assuming that the tractor and trailer are about 10 metric tons each, right?

[Max]

nope, 80ooo lb is for whole vehicle.
its comparable to EU values.

[-Raiden-]

It's still less than I expected. I somehow thought they would even outweigh the heaviest regular trucks in Europe. It's a case of a misleading outer appearance

[...] relatively new for us because the US trucking industry is quite slow to spend money on upgrading their equipment.

Is that something that can be said for retarder gearboxes as well?

I mean, if those weren't available in real life, they wouldn't be available in the game, right?

[CAElite]

nope, 80ooo lb is for whole vehicle.
its comparable to EU values.

About 10-20% less 80kIb = 36.3kkg. Limit in most European countries is between 40-44kkg (lets just ignore the Scandinavians briefly ), This is the gross train weight, which is the weight of the tractor, trailer AND payload combined. Payloads tend to only be slightly less though as the American's tend to use lighter constructed trailers, but slightly heavier tractors.

There was talk of increasing the American weight limits to bring them in line roughly with European limits however American labour unions keep it from happening as they worry it will reduce the overall need for drivers.

Outward appearances aside European trucks have always been safer and more capable due to the very strict safety standards implemented, by comparison American trucks are relatively unregulated and as such it is only natural that they can carry less weight without being a danger on the roads.