Dana Responds To Air Suspension Coverage
Responding to Tom Berg's recent article on air suspensions (Equipment Focus, November HDT), a Dana Corp. spokesman claims that while weight reductions are indeed important, they are not the cure-all for a first-rate suspension system.
Durability is just as important, says Mark Holley, a product manager for Dana, adding that an increasing number of fleets are expressing displeasure with unwanted, unexpected and costly downtime with many of today's air ride products.
"Too many of the lightweight air-ride suspensions that are out there today are simply not withstanding the day-to-day demands typically placed on a heavy-duty trailer," says Holley. "To remedy that, we've focused heavily on designing systems that are both weight efficient, as well as strong and reliable."
He cited Dana's use of high-strength low-alloy steel, larger diameter axles, robotic welding and proprietary software that "allows us to shape and position cross members, metal and necessary reinforcements where it is needed the most, while maintaining the same lightweight benefits inherent in the majority of today's air ride suspensions."
Holley acknowledges that Dana is a relative newcomer to the trailer suspension business, having made the commitment five years ago. But he sees that as an asset, in part, in that Dana's engineers started out with a clean screen, few predispositions and the willingness to explore new design and manufacturing techniques.
"Going into the suspensions business when we did also allowed us the opportunity to observe what was already out there," adds Holley. "We then identified what we saw as the strengths and weaknesses of those designs at the time, and utilized that information to our advantage."
That approach is beginning to pay off, Holley notes, "with more and more trailer OEMs and fleets now looking for new solutions to old problems – premature failures and downtime," says Holley. "We've been encouraged with our progress in providing a solution."
Dana's newest suspension system, the SmartRide RS Series, recently entered into full production, followed by the delivery of 100 new Wabash trailers equipped with the new sliders to Dart Transit Co. of Egan, Minn.
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