Truck Coloring Pages

These free truck coloring pages cover the trucks you pass on the road every day. There's a pickup with a loaded bed, a dump truck tipping gravel, a garbage truck on its morning route and a long semi truck pulling a trailer down the highway. In the UK the same machines are called lorries, so if you came looking for lorry pages, you're in the right place.

Types of truck coloring pages

  • Pickup trucks: an open bed behind the cab for hauling tools, hay bales or a dirt bike.
  • Dump trucks: a hydraulic arm lifts the front of the box so the load slides out the back.
  • Semi trucks: a tractor unit that pulls one or more trailers. Most of what you see in stores rode on one.
  • Tow trucks: a boom and winch, or a flat tilting deck, for carrying cars that can't drive.
  • Garbage trucks: a hopper at the back or lifting arms at the side, plus a blade that crushes the trash so more fits in.
  • Tankers: a long round tank for milk, fuel or water. The round shape is strong and has no corners for liquid to get stuck in.
  • Box trucks: a cargo box with a roll-up door, used for deliveries and for moving house.

How a semi truck is put together

A semi truck is two vehicles joined together. The front part, called the tractor, holds the engine, the cab and the driver. The trailer behind it has wheels only at the back, which is where the name semi-trailer comes from. Its front end rests on a round plate on the tractor called the fifth wheel. A steel pin locks the two together and still lets them pivot in turns.

Count the wheels on a typical American big rig and you get 18: two at the front for steering, eight under the back of the tractor and eight under the trailer. Many long-haul tractors also have a sleeper, a small room behind the seats with a bed.

Coloring tip: big trucks carry a lot of chrome on the grille, the fuel tanks and the exhaust stacks. Leave a white streak down the middle of each chrome part and shade the edges with light gray or pale blue. Mud flaps and tires look better in dark gray than in solid black.

Frequently asked questions

Are these truck coloring pages free?

Yes. All truck coloring pages are free to download and print for personal and classroom use.

Do you have semi truck coloring pages?

Yes. Look for the big rigs: a tractor on its own, a tractor with a box trailer, a tanker, a logging truck and a car carrier. The side views marked Easy have big simple shapes, and the Detailed ones show the grille, lights and mud flaps.

What is the difference between a truck and a lorry?

Nothing but the name. Lorry is the everyday British word for a large goods truck, and truck is the American one. People in the UK usually still call a pickup a pickup.

Which truck pictures to color are best for preschoolers?

Pick the side views of a dump truck, a pickup or a garbage truck. They have thick lines, a few large shapes and round wheels that are satisfying to fill in.