How to Draw a Garbage Truck | 11 Simple Steps

In today’s lesson, we will be learning how to draw a garbage truck in just 11 simple steps. But first, let’s understand what a garbage truck is.

Garbage trucks are large vehicles used for collecting household refuse. They have a huge box on the back where the garbage collector tosses garbage. To be able to carry more waste, the garbage box is equipped with a hydraulic system that compresses the garbage. These vehicles have evolved over the years from simple trash-collecting wagons to modern-day sophisticated vehicles.

What You Will Need

• A pencil
• A drawing piece of paper
• An eraser
• A ruler
• Coloring supplies
• 30 minutes

How to Draw a Garbage Truck

While learning how to draw a garbage truck, you will learn quite a lot about these vehicles and get rid of the fear you might have had about these huge trucks. To help you better prepare for our lesson, take a look at the below image. It has the steps we will be taking. Studying the image will help you anticipate the steps we will be taking.

Step 1: Draw the Wheels

The first thing we will draw is the wheels. A truck cannot be able to transport garbage without good wheels. It is for this reason that the first thing we will be adding is the wheels.

Garbage trucks usually have six wheels; two in front and four in the back. However, due to the perspective of the truck we are drawing, we will not be able to see all the wheels. Our truck will look like it has two wheels because the others will be concealed.

Draw a circle close to the bottom of the drawing paper and close to the left margin. This circle will serve as the tire for the front wheel. To add the rim, add a smaller circle inside the first one. Try and make your circles as smooth as possible.

For the rear wheels, we will move towards the right margin and add another wheel that is the same size and at the same level as the first one.

• Draw the front wheel close to the bottom left corner of your paper
• Add the rear wheel close to the bottom right corner of the paper

Step 2: Draw the Cab

We are going to add the driver’s cabin now. This should sit above the wheel we added on the left side of our drawing paper.

Start by drawing a vertical rectangle that cuts through the front wheel in the middle. Next, we will add a diagonal line that starts from the top right corner, slants slightly downwards, and connects to the left side of the rectangle. Erase the part of the rectangle that sits above the diagonal line.

To create the front part of the cabin, we are going to add a diagonal line starting from the top and slanting towards the left. The line should stop almost halfway into the rectangle. Next, add a curved line to connect the new diagonal line to the left side of the rectangle. Erase the sections of the rectangle that sit to the left of the diagonal and curved lines.

You also need to erase the part of the driver’s cab that cuts through the wheel.

• Draw a vertical rectangle over the front wheel
• Make the top of the rectangle slant to the left
• Add a diagonal line to the left side of the rectangle to create the front of the cabin
• Erase the part of the rectangle that cuts through the front wheel

Step 3: Draw the Chassis

The chassis is the strong structure beneath a vehicle on which all the components are mounted. A garbage truck carries heavy loads, so it needs a very strong chassis.

To add the chassis, you need to use your ruler to draw an elongated rectangle that starts from the bottom right part of the cabin and extends to the right, cutting halfway through the rear wheel as shown in our illustration. Make sure you erase the sections of the chassis that cut through the rear wheel.

Step 4: Draw the Garbage Box Holder

The garbage box is the container on the back of the garbage truck that holds the collected garbage. If you have been keen when observing a garbage truck, you may have noticed that this part is elevated slightly from the base of the truck. This is because, in some trucks, the garbage box can be dismounted while in others it tips backward to allow garbage to be offloaded easily. For that reason, we will be adding the mounting for the garbage box next.

To draw the mounting for the garbage box, we simply need to add a rectangle on the chassis. The rectangle should not be too high. It should also not connect with the driver’s cab nor should it extend all the way to the back of the truck. It should look something like what we have below. Make sure you erase the sections of the mounting that cut through the rear wheel.

• Draw a flattened rectangle in the middle of the chassis
• Erase the part of the mounting that cuts through the rear wheel

Step 5: Draw the Garbage Box

There are three things we will do when adding the garbage box. The first is to draw a rectangle that sits on the mounting we added in the previous step. The rectangle should start close to the driver’s cabin and be the same length as the chassis on the back.

Next, we need to draw a diagonal line. The line should start from the bottom right corner and slant towards the left to connect slightly inside the top side of the rectangle. Erase the part of the rectangle that sits to the right of the diagonal line. Leave the top untouched.

The second thing we will do is add the tailgate. The tailgate is the door to the rear of the garbage box. We will start by adding a curved line that starts from the top right side of the rectangle we used for the rectangle. The line should start by slanting a bit to the right and then towards the left when it gets to the middle of the height of the garbage box. We will then connect the end to the truck using a horizontal line.

The third thing we will do is add the top doors, also known as the hopper covers. These doors sit on the roof of the garbage box. Draw two small rectangular shapes on the roof of the garbage box so that your drawing looks like what we have below.

• Draw a large rectangle over the mounting to form the garbage box
• Refine the garbage box by making the right side slanted
• Add a tailgate using curved lines
• Add two flattened rectangles on top to form the hopper covers

Step 6: Add the Recycle Logo

To indicate that this is a garbage truck, you need to add a recycle logo to the side of the garbage box. To do so, use your ruler to draw an equilateral triangle. This is a triangle with equal sides. Add another rectangle inside it, leaving a consistent space all around.

To turn the triangle into a recycle logo, we are going to erase a small part in the center of the sides. We will then complete the shapes with rounded sides as shown below.

• Draw an equilateral triangle on the side of the garbage box
• Add another triangle inside the first one
• Erase the middle part of the sides and connect them with a curved line

Step 7: Draw the Cabin Door and Window

We need to add the front door. To do so, draw a vertical line starting from the bottom of the cab and stopping slightly before the roof. Next, add a diagonal line starting from the top of the vertical line and slant it towards the front of the cab. We will then add a curved line that moves downwards and stops close to the front wheel then curves around the wheel and connects to the bottom of the vertical line we added earlier.

To add a window to the door, we will add a horizontal line cutting the new shape by half. The upper part will be the window. We will then add a small rectangle below the window to serve as the door handle.

• Use lines to draw the door on the cabin
• Cut the shape in half so that the top part is the window
• Add a door hangle below the window

Step 8: Add the Lights

Waste collectors start their day before sunrise. This means they need a garbage truck that has lights to help them see in the dark. We need to add lights to our truck.

Draw an oval shape on the left side of the driver’s cab, at an elevation that is above the wheel. This will serve as the headlights. For the rear lights, start by drawing a tiny rectangle below the tailgate, and attaching it to the chassis. Add another rectangle to the right of the first rectangle to form the rear lights.

Our garbage truck needs a front bumper to absorb low-speed impacts. For that, simply add a small vertical rectangle in the bottom left part of the driver’s cabin.

• Draw a vertical oval shape on the front to serve as the headlights
• Add tiny rectangles below the tailgate, on the chassis, to form the tail lights
• Add small vertical rectangles in the bottom left part of the driver’s cabin to form the front bumper

Step 9: Our Garbage Truck is Ready

Did you follow all our steps? If you did, your garbage truck should be ready. Don’t be frustrated if it doesn’t look perfect. You will do a better job on your second attempt.

Take the Drawing to the Next Level

While the goal of today’s lesson was to help you draw a realistic garbage truck, you should not leave it as it is. You need to add a few more details to take the drawing to the next level.

Add a Background

One important thing your garbage truck needs is a road. Draw a road below the wheels using an elongated rectangle. If you have time, you can add some trees in the background, electricity poles, or even some buildings. You can also add a name below the recycle logo. Show us how imaginative you really are.

• Add a road below the garbage truck

Color Your Drawing

To bring our drawing to life, we need to color it. Take out your coloring supplies and color your drawing. There are no rules on the colors you can use.

Conclusion

Drawing a garbage truck is not as difficult as you might have thought. To draw our truck, we started by adding the wheels and the driver’s cabin. We then added the garbage box, recycle logo, lights, and the front bumper. We advanced our drawing by adding a background and then coloring it. The process is that simple.

Hopefully, you had as much fun as we did drawing a garbage truck.

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