harkins (03/09/83)
(i hope this is not overly redundant); but to answer your questions: 1. semi: it refers to the trailer itself, ie, half a rig; a tractor-trailer is the same thing; in casual use, semi has come to refer to the whole rig 2. 1/2 vs. 3/4; the bed might be the same, but the springs and axles aren't; i've personally put a ton on my half, and a ton and a half on my 3/4, but the reason they are called what they are is to reduce licensing fees: the revenue people have lots of cute escalator clauses relative to GVW that would (that's gross vehicle weight, ie, vehicle plus load) make the garden variety pickups cost too much to register if the manufacturer were to say what they know full well to be the REAL payload capacity. in a related vein, the peewee pickups, can actually haul lots of weight, but in practice, the bulk of commonly hauled items precludes, say, hauling 3/4 ton of hay on a 3/4 ton toyota. ernie harkins