Heavy Duty Truck & Equipment Guides
Practical identification guides for technicians and parts staff — how to read VINs, engine serial numbers, forklift model numbers, and liftgate models. Each guide pairs with a free decoder tool.
VIN
- How to Decode a Semi Truck VIN (Class 7-8)
Learn what each of the 17 characters in a heavy duty truck VIN means — WMI, check digit, model year code, plant code — and how to decode Freightliner, Peterbilt, Kenworth, International, Mack, and Volvo VINs.
- Truck GVWR Classes Explained (Class 1-8)
What GVWR means, how the 8 US truck weight classes are defined, and why Class 7-8 matters for CDL requirements, parts, and maintenance.
Engines
- Detroit Diesel Engine Serial Number Lookup
How to read a Detroit Diesel ESN: legacy two-stroke and Series 50/60 formats (06R, 12VF) and modern DD13/DD15/DD16 14-character serial numbers.
- Cummins and Caterpillar Engine Serial Numbers Explained
How Cummins 8-digit ESNs and Caterpillar 3-character prefix serial numbers work, with a table of common CAT prefixes (6NZ, BXS, S3C, 92U) and what they identify.
Forklifts
- Forklift Model Number Lookup: CAT, Toyota, Hyster-Yale, Crown, Komatsu
How to read forklift model numbers — what codes like GC25K, 8FGCU25, and H50FT encode about fuel type, capacity, and tire configuration.
Liftgates
- Liftgate Model Numbers Explained: Maxon, Anthony, Palfinger, Watco
How to identify a liftgate from its model number — what codes like GPTLR-44 and TE-25 encode about series, style, and lift capacity — and where to find the ID plate.