January 4, 2006 Vol. 2, No. 1

My very first road test of a heavy truck was way back in the last century, actually
almost three decades ago, and it didn’t leave me with a favorable impression of air suspensions. You guessed it, the truck in question was a Ford CLT9000.

Not a bad truck at all, in fact, and I do like cabovers still, but the combination of
an air-ride suspension out back, an air-suspended cab, and an air seat made for
a somewhat wallowy jaunt down the highway. Kinda like trying to ride a 12-foot
marshmallow. Thankfully, I mostly rode shotgun.

Given that I was just learning to drive truck at the time, in either a White Road Boss or a Louisville, both sprung as hard as an anvil, the towering Ford in that configuration did not inspire confidence. I couldn’t wait to give the wheel back to my old road-test partner, Merv Orr. Not sure he wanted it, much as he liked the CLT9000 in every other respect.

Well, air suspensions have come an awfully long way since then, thank the gods of
engineering, and now we have them on the front end of things as well. I’ve only had
one try with Hendrickson’s AIRTEK front suspension, and it did feel different, but
there was none of that marshmallow thing going on.

And now buyers of International 9200i and 9400i trucks get to try it too, along with Hendrickson’s HTB 400LT lightweight rear air suspension. The combination can save you a fair bit of weight.

AIRTEK is an integrated front axle and air suspension system, and it helps
improve steer-tire life, Hendrickson says, while trimming your tare weight by up to 100 lb compared to a standard front axle and suspension. The axle-section and leaf-spring geometry are said to produce improvements
of up to 30% in ride and 64% in roll stability.

Its premium-rubber suspension bushings eliminate lubrication requirements, while the two-piece-knuckle steering design simplifies serviceability, so there are
maintenance gains too.

Hendrickson’s HTB 400LT rear air suspension weighs up to 250 lb less than typical 40,000-lb capacity suspensions, and by controlling suspension windup and frame rise, it helps minimize wear and tear on U-joints, pinion bearings and other driveline components. Its parallelogram design helps to maintain driveline angles throughout axle travel, which minimizes suspension-induced driveline vibration. The HTB 400LT is good for 120,000 lb GCW.

You won’t be carrying that much weight into the U.S., but with your
basic 80,000 pounder, you’ll be able to deal with U.S. Customs and its demand
for electronic manifesting through a new software solution from Tailwind
Management Systems of Vancouver. Tailwind has partnered with Oceanwide Inc.
to provide the new tool, linking its Carrier Management System to Oceanwide’s U.S. Customs-approved e-manifest technology. Users will save time by entering e-manifest data once only into the management system and Oceanwide’s software will edit the manifest data and then automatically transmit it to U.S. Customs, reducing paperwork and costly delays at the border.

On a completely different front, how about heated windshield wipers?
I’ve never tried them, but they seem to make such good sense that I thought I’d tell
you about the new and improved Everblades heated wiper blades. They’re
handled in Canada by Andrew Farago at Andor Sales & Equipment in Moncton.

Claimed to be better than booted winter wipers, the heated blades actually melt
ice and snow.

At $149.95 plus shipping, handling, and tax for a set, wiring and switch included,
they’re not cheap. But if you’ve ever battled with iced-up wipers, as every good
Canadian has, it may actually be a small price to pay.

And finally, though you won’t find it as a ‘product’ item at TodaysTrucking.com, I thought I should let you know that Bendix has published the 2006 schedule for its Air Brake and Foundation Brake Training Schools. This is the inaugural year for foundation brake training following the
creation of the Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake joint venture between Bendix and
Dana Corporation in 2005. The Air Brake Training School covers the fundamentals of compressed air, including troubleshooting, while the Foundation Brake curriculum covers the function of each wheel-end component as well as preventive maintenance and more besides.

The schools are offered in various locations across the U.S. and in Canada over the course of the year. Locations and times as well as registration information can be obtained at www.bendix.com or by calling 1-800-AIR-BRAKE
(1-800-247-2725) and selecting option 5. The cost for the Bendix Air Brake
Training School is $300 in Canadian funds, while the Bendix Spicer Foundation
Brake Training School costs $200 Canadian. Transportation and lodging are the
student’s responsibilities.

This newsletter is published every two weeks. It’s a heads-up notice about
what you can see at www.TodaysTrucking.com where you’ll find in-detail coverage of nearly everything that’s new. Plus interesting products that may not have had the ‘air play’ they deserved within the last few months. There’s more here than we could possibly fit into the magazine. Subscribe today!

If you have comments of whatever sort, please contact me at rlockwood@newcom.ca.

Rolf Lockwood, Editorial Director