Vehicles, like humans, need a structural support so that the all the parts of the vehicle hold together and move in a functional way. The structural support in a vehicle is called the chassis. A person’s structural support, the skeleton, is also good for displaying all the nice exterior bits in the same way a car’s body work/coachwork can be displayed on the chassis. A vehicle’s body (sometimes referred to as “coachwork”), which is usually not necessary for integrity of the structure, is built on the chassis to complete the vehicle. The meaning of the word chassis, in automotive terms, defines the vehicles frame plus the “running gear”. The running gear is directly attached to the chassis and includes the vehicles engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential, and suspension.

A cab/chassis is obviously the chassis with a cab attached, and is most often a term used by commercial vehicle manufacturers who build the chassis up and then attach the cab to it. The cab/chassy is then usually bought and used by others as a base to build onto – their own specialized body. Motor homes, fire engines, ambulances, trucks, tractors etc, are all examples of a vehicle comprising of a cab fitted to the bare chassis frame, and then a specialised body fitted to it.

We hope that helps answer the question ‘What is What is a Cab/Chassis?’!

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