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What is the difference between a Lorry and a Truck?

#1: What is the difference between a Lorry and a Truck? Author: bsmart, Location: Central Maryland

Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:20 pm
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I am currently reading a History of 7th Armoured Division and it keeps mentioning Lorries and Trucks. There seems to be some difference between the two in the authors mind but I'm a little confused.

So to those of you who drive on the wrong side of the road Mr. Green

Is there a difference? Or rather was there a difference in the WWII era?

#2: Re: What is the difference between a Lorry and a Truck? Author: JimWeb, Location: The back of beyond

Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:40 pm
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I think the difference is that a Lorry is driven by a single axle and a truck is all-wheel-drive. Its a distinction that is no longer used..

#3: Re: What is the difference between a Lorry and a Truck? Author: Joe_D, Location: Razorback Country

Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:56 am
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That's my take on it,

And to go one further, I believe the term "lorries" were used for basically civilian models adopted for military service where as the term "Trucks" was used for military specific vehicles.

#4: Re: What is the difference between a Lorry and a Truck? Author: Jim_Coles,

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 10:30 pm
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(Not a Brit, so take this as not definitive.)

A "lorry" is a medium or heavy truck and a "truck" is a light truck. I'm not sure exactly where the division is, but probably somewhere around the 1-ton mark. For example, a pickup-sized vehicle would be called a truck rather than a lorry.

#5: Re: What is the difference between a Lorry and a Truck? Author: MarkHolloway, Location: Beatty, Nevada

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 11:02 pm
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Wikipedia says:

In the United States and Canada "truck" is usually reserved for commercial vehicles larger than normal cars, and for pickups and other vehicles having an open load bed.

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, lorry is used instead of truck, but only used for the medium and heavy types; i.e. a van, pickup or an off-road four-wheel drive vehicle such as a Jeep may rarely be called a truck in the United States, but would never be regarded as a lorry in the UK or Ireland.

#6: Re: What is the difference between a Lorry and a Truck? Author: bsmart, Location: Central Maryland

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:55 am
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to continue the confusion. A wargaming ruleset that I am currently learning which is based in New Zealand mentions certain British Army units (Motor Companies i.e motorized infantry) as being 'truck or lorry borne'.

I'll get more specific. The standard cargo carrier in the British Army (analogous to the American 2.5 ton 'Deuce and a half') is the 3 ton. Is it a lorry or a truck?

#7: Re: What is the difference between a Lorry and a Truck? Author: JG300-Ascout, Location: Cyberspace

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:17 am
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"Lorries" had anemic engines that turned up in Austin-Healys, but painted silver. "Trucks" had Chevy or Dodge engines that might well turn up blue or orange in a Bel-Air or who-knows-what-color in a Power Wagon. Laughing

#8: Re: What is the difference between a Lorry and a Truck? Author: Maple_Leaf_Eh,

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:22 am
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Just to throw a little more confusion into the question, I've routinely heard Canadian troops call their LAV III ("lav three") armoured cars as "cars".

In the recce squadron, we only only only used the term "call sign" to refer to our Jeeps. By the same logic, Lynxes were also called "call signs".

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