The main types of trucks in Bangladesh are grouped by body: pickups, open trucks, covered vans, refrigerated vans, dump trucks (tippers), tankers, and trailers pulled by prime movers. Pick the type by what you are carrying first, then the size by how much it weighs. A sofa set needs a covered body, a load of sand needs a tipper, and frozen fish needs a refrigerated van, whatever the weight.
Bangladesh had 214,445 registered trucks, covered vans and tankers in BRTA’s figures for May 2025, as reported by The Daily Star. Of those, 41,140 had passed their economic lifespan.
Types of truck in Bangladesh at a glance
| Truck type | What it carries | Common sizes | Bookable on Truck Lagbe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickup | Small loads, shop deliveries, single appliances, bachelor moves | 7 ft and 9 ft, 1 to 1.5 tons | Yes |
| Open truck | Bulk goods, construction material, farm produce | 12 ft to 23 ft, 2 to 25 tons | Yes |
| Covered van | Garments, furniture, electronics, packaged food | 9 ft to 23 ft | Yes |
| Refrigerated van | Fish, meat, dairy, frozen food, medicine | Varies by operator | Not listed |
| Dump truck (tipper) | Sand, stone chips, gravel, earth, debris | 2 to 20 ton payloads | Not listed |
| Tanker | Fuel, water, liquid chemicals | Varies by product | Not listed |
| Trailer (flat-bed or low-bed) | Containers, machinery, steel structures | Pulled by a prime mover | Yes |
“Not listed” means Truck Lagbe’s website does not show the type as a booking category. For exact payloads by length, see our guide to truck sizes in Bangladesh.
Pickup and pickup van
A pickup is the smallest goods vehicle, with a short open or covered deck behind the cab. Truck Lagbe lists a 7 ft pickup that carries about 1 ton and a 9 ft pickup that carries 1 to 1.5 tons. People also call them pickup vans or mini trucks.
Pickups do most of the short work in cities: carrying a fridge or washing machine, restocking shops, delivering hardware or vegetables, and moving a bachelor’s room or a small flat. They are also the easiest trucks to book for daytime trips in Dhaka: on Truck Lagbe, trucks longer than 12 ft can only be booked for Dhaka trips after 10:00 PM.
Pickups are the most common goods vehicle on Dhaka’s roads. In BRTA’s 2021 figures for Dhaka, the category it calls “van (double or single cabin)”, which covers pickups, had 104,097 registrations, more than trucks (78,014) or covered vans (32,760), as TBS reported.
Open truck
An open truck has a flat cargo deck with low sides and no roof. Many people call it a lorry (লরি). Drivers cover the load with a tarpaulin when it rains.
Truck Lagbe lists open trucks from 12 ft (2 tons) through 14 ft (3.5 tons), 16 ft (7.5 tons), 18 and 20 ft (15 tons) to 23 ft (25 tons). The smaller ones carry household goods, shop stock, and furniture. The larger ones move rice, potatoes and onions from farms to markets, and bricks, cement, rods and stone to building sites. The Truck Lagbe app also offers BRTC’s 18 ft and 20 ft trucks, according to its Google Play listing.
Open trucks are the cheaper choice when the load does not mind weather or dust, and they are easier to load from the side with a forklift or by hand. Their main risk is weight: dense goods such as rods and stone reach the payload limit long before they fill the deck, so overloading is easy to miss.
Covered van
A covered van has a fixed, enclosed box with lockable doors at the back. It keeps goods dry, clean and out of sight, which is why it is the standard choice for anything valuable or fragile.
Covered vans are the main road link for Bangladesh’s garment exports, from factories around Dhaka, Gazipur and Ashulia to Chattogram port, as The Daily Star has reported. In October 2026, Jugantor reported a covered van fare of about Tk 30,000 from Ashulia to Chattogram, after the September diesel price rise. Demand has been growing: 2,949 new covered vans were registered in 2024, up from 1,874 in 2023, according to The Daily Star.
On Truck Lagbe, you can book covered vans from 9 ft up to 23 ft. Choose one for house moves, office moves, electronics, packaged food, documents, and anything that could be damaged by rain. Our truck and pickup rental rates guide shows covered vans cost Tk 300 to Tk 500 more than open trucks at the top of each Dhaka fare range.
Refrigerated (reefer) truck
A refrigerated truck, or reefer, has an insulated box with a cooling unit that holds goods at a set temperature. It carries fish, meat, dairy, frozen food, fruit, and some medicines and vaccines.
Published data on refrigerated transport in Bangladesh is limited. The country has about 2.7 million tonnes of cold storage capacity across more than 300 facilities, according to the US Trade and Development Agency, which funded a cold storage feasibility study in 2024. Refrigerated trucks link those stores to markets, ports and supermarkets, but we found no published count of reefer trucks in the country.
Truck Lagbe does not list reefer trucks as a booking category. If you need one, ask the operator about the temperature range, how long the unit can hold it, and whether the van is pre-cooled before loading.
Dump truck (tipper)
A dump truck, also called a tipper, has an open bed that tilts back with a hydraulic ram so the load slides out. Some people search for it as a “drum truck”. Tippers carry sand, stone chips, gravel, earth and building debris, and they are a common sight on roads and construction projects.
Tata Motors Bangladesh sells tippers with payloads from 2 to 20 tons across light, medium and heavy models. The size you need depends on the volume of material and how often the site can unload.
Tippers are not listed on Truck Lagbe. For construction material that does not need to be tipped, a 16 ft or 18 ft open truck does the same job.
Tanker
A tanker carries liquids in a sealed cylindrical tank. In Bangladesh, the most common are fuel tankers, usually called tank lorries, along with water and chemical tankers.
More than 6,000 tank lorries owned by dealers and distributors carry fuel from Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation depots, according to the Logistics Cluster’s capacity assessment; this figure dates from around 2019. Truck Lagbe does not list tankers for booking; hire them through fuel dealers or tanker operators.
Trailers, prime movers and low-beds
A trailer has no engine of its own. A prime mover, the tractor unit, pulls it. Together they carry the heaviest and longest loads on Bangladesh’s roads.
Flat-bed trailers carry shipping containers and steel structures. Low-bed trailers sit close to the ground, so they can carry tall machinery such as excavators, cranes and transformers without breaking height limits. Truck Lagbe lists both flat-bed and low-bed trailers on its website.
Most container trailers work the route between Chattogram port and factories and depots around Dhaka. The port delivers at least 5,000 TEU of containers a day, TBS reported in September 2026. After the 21 September diesel price rise, the prime mover fare from Dhaka to Chattogram went from Tk 20,000 to Tk 22,000 to at least Tk 26,000 per trip, according to TBS.
Driving a prime mover and trailer needs a licence in the special-type vehicle category, separate from an ordinary heavy licence. Our guide to driving licence types in Bangladesh explains the categories.
Weight limits for every truck type
Whatever the body type, a loaded truck must stay within the legal gross weight for its number of axles. A 2016 office order of the Road Transport and Highways Division sets these limits, as reported by the Financial Express:
| Axles | Allowable gross weight (truck plus load) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 13, 16 or 22 tons, depending on wheel configuration |
| 3 | 30 tons |
| 4 | 40 tons |
| 5 | 47 tons |
| 6 | 49 tons |
| 7 | 52 tons |
Overloading is common. At the Sitakunda axle load station, 7.5% of Dhaka-bound and 8.4% of Chattogram-bound vehicles checked between March and May 2023 were over the limit, the same report found. Since June 2026, overloading also costs a driver two of the 12 demerit points on their licence.
Which truck type for which job?
| Job | Truck type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| House move inside Dhaka | Covered van or pickup | 12 ft or smaller can run in daytime |
| Office move | Covered van | Protects computers and files |
| Garment export to Chattogram | Large covered van | Enclosed body protects export cargo |
| Fish, meat or frozen food | Refrigerated van | Confirm the temperature range |
| Rice, potatoes, onions | Open truck or covered van | Covered in the rainy season |
| Cement, rods, bricks | Open truck | Watch the weight limit |
| Sand, stone, earth | Dump truck | Tips the load at the site |
| Fuel or water | Tanker | Hire through dealers or tanker operators |
| Containers or heavy machinery | Trailer with prime mover | Flat-bed or low-bed |
| Fragile electronics | Covered van | Pack and strap the load |
Book the right truck on Truck Lagbe
The Truck Lagbe app lets you book pickups, open trucks, covered vans and trailers across Bangladesh. You post your trip and verified truck owners send bids, so you can compare fares before you confirm. Our rental rates guide shows current Dhaka fares by size.
Businesses that ship every week can use Truck Lagbe for Business, and you can read how Sajib Corporation found trucks of every type when it needed them.
Download the Truck Lagbe app to see what is available on your route.
Frequently asked questions
What are the types of trucks in Bangladesh?
The main body types are pickups, open trucks, covered vans, refrigerated vans, dump trucks, tankers and trailers pulled by prime movers. Each type comes in several sizes.
What is a covered van?
A truck with a fixed, enclosed cargo box and lockable doors. It protects goods from rain, dust and theft and is the standard vehicle for garment exports and house moves.
What is the difference between a lorry and a truck?
In everyday use in Bangladesh, “lorry” usually means an open truck. Both terms describe a goods vehicle; “truck” is the broader word.
Which truck is best for fragile goods?
A covered van. It keeps goods out of the weather and lets you strap and stack them inside a closed box.
What is a dump truck used for?
Carrying loose material such as sand, stone chips, gravel and earth. The bed tilts to unload at the site, which saves time on construction projects.
Which truck types can I book on Truck Lagbe?
Pickups, open trucks, covered vans, and flat-bed and low-bed trailers. Truck Lagbe lists sizes from the 7 ft, 1 ton pickup to the 23 ft, 25 ton open truck, and the app also offers BRTC’s 18 ft and 20 ft trucks.
What is a prime mover?
The tractor unit that pulls a trailer. It has the engine and cab but no cargo space of its own, and it is used to haul containers and heavy machinery.
