A tractor unit (also known as a truck unit, power unit, prime mover, ten-wheeler, semi-tractor, tractor truck, semi-truck, tractor cab, truck cab, tractor rig, truck rig or big rig or simply a tractor, truck, semi or rig) is a characteristically heavy-duty towing engine that provides motive power for hauling a towed or trailered load. These fall into two categories: heavy- and medium-duty military and commercial rear-wheel-drive semi-tractors used for hauling semi-trailers, and very heavy-duty typically off-road-capable, often 6×6, military and commercial tractor units, including ballast tractors. Overview Tractor units typically have large displacement diesel engines for power, durability, and economy; several axles; and a multi-ratio transmission (10, 13, or 18 gears) for maximum flexibility in gearing. The tractor-trailer combination distributes a load across multiple axles while being more maneuverable than an equivalently sized rigid truck. The most common trailer attachment system is a fifth wheel coupling, allowing a rapid shift between trailers performing different functions, such as a bulk tipper and box trailer. Trailers containing differing cargos can be rapidly swapped between tractors, eliminating downtime while a trailer is unloaded or loaded. Drawbar couplings are also found, particularly in dedicated exceptionally heavy-duty ballast tractors and as a means to connect intermediate fifth-wheel dollies for pulling multiple semi-trailers. Configurations Cab There have been three common cab configurations used in tractors, two are still widely used. The conventional has an engine and hood over the front axle in front of the cab, as in most automobiles. This style is almost universal in North America. The cab over engine or cab forward has a flat nose cab with the driver sitting in front of the front axle. Widely used in the EU and Japan, this style has the advantages of good vision and maneuverability and shorter cab length, at the expense of driver safety in case of an accident. In North America, this type of cab can be useful in rigid trucks, but now has little advantage in tractors and is rarely used. A North American style cab over engine, now largely obsolete, had a flat nose cab located higher over the engine, with the driver sitting above the front axle. This allowed a sleeper compartment in a short tractor, and maximum wheelbase relative overall length, important for bridge formula weight restrictions. With the loosening of length restrictions in 1982 this style had limited applications, and is no longer manufactured for the U.S.