5 Trucking Lingo Terms You Struggle to Explain at Thanksgiving

Every industry has its own lingo. Sometimes, that lingo is pretty self-explanatory. At other times, it requires a little bit of an explanation. Trucking lingo can be particularly interesting. You know what the terms mean, but it’s easy to see why some people might get a little confused. Here are some trucking terms that you might have a hard time explaining. 

1. Peddle Run 

image description: three penguins in the snow

What it is: a route with many delivery stops 

What it sounds like: an adorably addictive game you’d download from the app store

A “peddle run” requires the driver to stop multiple times for deliveries. If you send out a lot of less-than-truckload (LTL) cargo, you’re probably familiar with the concept of a peddle run. When you do enough of these, you probably forget that it sounds like something you’d play on your phone. Can you picture it? We can. The main character is a penguin on a bicycle, and if you collect enough shiny rocks, you can customize your penguin with cool accessories. 

2. Reefer 

image description: a close-up image of ice cubes

What it is: a refrigerated truck, meant to keep produce and other refrigerated items cool for long periods of time

What it sounds like: You know exactly what it sounds like. 

Once you learn that “reefer” is short for “refrigerator,” it seems obvious, but that wasn’t your first thought when you originally heard the term, was it? We work with all kinds of carriers at Pearce, including carriers with reefer trucks. They’re vital when you need a carrier for frozen foods, certain medical supplies, and other things that have to stay cool. 

We also wrote about reefer trailers in one of our first blog posts here. Finding images for that post was a challenge. Try it. Do an image search for “reefer” and see what happens. And then tell Grandma that you send out reefer trailers for a living. It’s fine. She was around in the seventies. 

P.S. – We recently learned that “reefer” is also a term for aquarium enthusiasts. 

3. Sleeper 

image description: a grayscale image of a person holding a finger to their lips in a “shh” signal

What it is: a sleeping compartment in a truck

What it sounds like: a secret agent who’s going to spring into action as soon as you use the code word

Many owner-operators like to use a sleeper cab on the road. In fact, it was owner-operators who helped turn sleeper cabs into what they are today. They talked to truck manufacturers about building more comfortable sleeping compartments so they could get the most out of them. But when you just call it a “sleeper,” it does sound like a person who might commit a heist if you said “the purple duck flies over the man on the moon.” 

4. Sliding Fifth Wheel 

image description: a truck on a road

What it is: an adjustable extra wheel that lets trucks adjust to weight changes

What it sounds like: somebody who tags along on double dates, but only sometimes 

A sliding fifth wheel is actually a pretty cool invention. For one thing, it attaches the tractor to the trailer, which is always important. You can also slide it toward the front or back of the trailer, depending on which axles you want to carry the most weight. But it could also be a slang term for someone who crashes double dates. Maybe they only do it every once in a while, or maybe they only crash the first part of the date before they “slide” over to something else. Either way, they need to get a hobby. Or a significant other, but you’d feel sort of bad trying to foist them off on someone else. 

5. Tri-Axle 

image description: an ice skater mid-spin

What it is: A trailer with three combined axles in the rear

What it sounds like: an olympic-level ice skating move 

Tri-axles are great for heavy-haul shipping, since they help trucks carry the extra weight. And if we didn’t know any better, we might think it’s a term from the winter olympics. 

E.g., “Wow, Jerry, Natasha’s really struggling to land her tri-axles this round.” 

“Indeed, Trevor. There’s a rumor going around that she’s spending a little too much time on the reefer trailer, if you know what I mean.”