Why Truck Rear Wheels Are Concave, While Truck Front Wheels Are Convex?

The mechanical making of a truck has always been a topic of amusement. One of such strange things you will find, reflects in the different shapes of the front and the back wheels. While you may find the truck rear wheels are concave, the front wheels are found to be convex. Let’s clear up the mystery as below.

Concave Truck Rear Wheels Vs. Convex Truck Front Wheels

How come is it possible that the shape of the front wheels is different from that of the back wheels? This may sound strange, but every design and shape has a technical purpose behind it. Yes, the wheels arrangement is different but why is that so, let’s find out.

1. Rear Wheels Carry The Weight

The rear wheels carry most of the truck’s weight. The rear wheels are known to be single bearing hubs, unlike the front wheel that is mounted on double bearing hubs. One should also know that rear wheels usually have four wheels with two of them attached to one axle.

Further, the pair of wheels needs to be supported on the same hub. To do so, the rims are made to overlap one another in order to accommodate the wheels on the same hub. Now this explains the reason behind truck rear wheels being concave.

truck rear wheel
Truck rear wheels are weight bearers (Photo Source: wallpaperup)

         SEE MORE:

2. The Front Wheels Need To Be Steered

Certain components help steering the front wheels. These components need some space to make way for the desired motions of the pickup truck. For your information, the braking disc and the drum are situated a bit outwards from the steering components, thus taking some space away from the steering axis.

In order for the steering components and brakes to be distantly placed, the wheel needs to bulge out outwards. This, in turn, explains the reason behind truck front wheels being convex.

3. Combining The Two Facts

On the front wheels, hub to hub width needs to maintain a sufficient distance. To facilitate the scenario, the wheels are mount in the convex position. In case, the front wheels are in the shape of a concave; a significant external offset is witnessed. Such a condition further results in over sensitiveness while steering.

Whereas, the two wheels on the rear side are mounted to a common mounting point while maintaining enough space between the two tires. To tackle the problem of gap between the tires, the rear wheels are concave shaped. In this way, even the weight carried by the rear wheels gets distributed equally. You could also refer to our maintenance tips for tips for avoiding truck overheating.

Why truck rear wheels are concave
Truck rear wheels are concave due to several reasons (Photo Source: trucktrend)

>> We have used Japanese trucks for sale, click here!!!<<

Wrapping Up

This is the simple and clear reasons behind the concave truck rear wheel while the truck front wheels are convex. Lastly, remember everything is there for a purpose. Whether the wheels are concave or convex; the distribution is balanced for a safe ride down the roads. Reliable stability while driving along with effective weight distribution are two benefits of the respective shapes of the front and the rear wheels.