City turned in one of their worst performances of the season to lose to a Chippenham side who finished the match with nine men.
It was a third successive Calor League premier division defeat for a City side still not mathematically safe from the threat of relegation.
Chippenham needed the points themselves to boost their hopes of survival and produced a muscular performance which was too much for the home side who never really got going.
And City boss Steve Tully admitted his side had been out muscled by the visitors.
"We started poorly and it continued," he said.
"We struggled from start to finish."
"The chairman is disappointed, we are all disappointed, but if you are going to build a team you have to do it with the right people.
"You learn more about players when things are not going so well."
He will now be looking for a reaction at home to Weymouth on Tuesday evening (7.45pm).
In the end the visitors’ physical approach cost them red cards for Lee Phillips and Bryan Smith for off the ball incidents, but they went home with the points, leaving City a well beaten side.
Manager Steve Tully named an unchanged side but was forced to make a late change when Warren Daw was injured in the warm-up, with Olly Brokenshire coming in from the bench.
But Brokenshire lasted just 16 minutes when his hamstring problem flared up again, with Ben Watson taking his place.
It was the visitors, who came into the game on the back of four straight defeats, who started the better but it was Truro took the lead against the run of play.
A long ball forward by Shane White found skipper Paul Kendall in space on the left of the area and he volleyed home for his fifth goal of the season.
However, City could not keep their lead for more than two minutes as they allowed Alan Griffin to cross from the right for Phillips to score at the near post.
Truro were glad to get into half time on level terms, but within ten minutes of the restart found themselves 3-1 down.
First, Harley Purnell’s through ball gave Corey King a free run on goal as he finished with aplomb and then the tall Griffin out jumped Grant Fisher to head home a James Guthrie free-kick.
Even when Phillips saw red minutes for an off the ball incident involving Paul Kendall, City could not take advantage. City's skipper later had to go to hospital for stitches.
The closest the home side came to getting back into the match was when Dan Green was denied by Kent Kauppinen’s fine point blanks save.
But in the main, Chippenham saw the game out relatively easily, with Smith’s late red card, for another off the ball clash, coming too late to matter.
City: Fisher; Parcell, Kendall (capt) (Copp 69), Pugh, White; Lowry, Green, Brokenshire (Watson 16), Slateford (Eddy 67); Cooke, Afful.
Subs (not used): Berrow.
Chippenham Town: Kauppinen; Purnell, Monks, Smith, Beeden, Tindle, McClennan, King (Harris 88), Griffin (capt), Philips, Guthrie. Subs (not used: Leigh, John, Oakley, Simpson.
Yellow cards: King, Purnell.
Reds cards: Phillips (60), Smith (88).
Goals: Kendall (26) 1-0, Phillips (28) 1-1; King (50) 1-2, Griffin (56) 1-3.
Referee: Andrew Turner.
Crowd: 341.
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