Freightliner and Praxair have devised a new technology, Roll Advisor & Control, to alert truck drivers to potentially dangerous driving behaviors and to automatically slow the vehicle to help prevent a rollover.

Warnings are communicated via the Freightliner Driver Message Center, a display located in the dash, directly in front of the driver. The highest level of alert will warn the driver with a flashing message of “high risk of rollover detected”. The system has two integrated components: Roll Stability Advisor and Roll Stability Control. Both use sensors integrated into the truck’s ABS system. Freightliner and Praxair are evaluating Roll Advisor & Control as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI), which aims to accelerate the development and commercialization of intelligent vehicle systems to improve traffic safety.

Hendrickson, Stemco partner for wheel-end package

Hendrickson has introduced the Value Package, a low-cost, extended service wheel-end configuration built around the Stemco Advantage System. By specifying the Value Package, fleets order a set of extended-service wheel-end options. The package matches a tough ductile iron hub assembly with Stemco’s Advantage System.

“The Advantage system provides the most advanced protection available for today’s wheel ends. It includes the Discover Seal, Stemco’s premium hub-installed, unitized design seal with a new high-temperature sealing element, Pro-Torq Advanced Axle Spindle Nuts with constant bearing settings for extended wheel seal and bearing life, and the Sentinel Hub Cap with a filtering system that eliminates contamination,” says Jim Reis, vice president of sales and marketing at Stemco.

Sterling opens corporate dealership in London, Ont.

Sterling Truck Corp.’s first corporately owned dealership in Canada has opened in London, Ontario.

Sterling of London, Ltd. is situated on seven acres at the intersection of Hwy. 401 and Wellington Road in metropolitan London. The dealership represents an investment of more than $5.5M by Sterling and its parent company Freightliner LLC.

Sterling of London will sell the full range of Sterling trucks, and the dealership will employ about 50 people at full operation. The service area includes eight drive-through service bays, a rapid-lube pit, a full frame alignment rack and specialized equipment such as a flywheel turner for re-machining engine flywheels.

Pete adds Eaton Fuller trannie for on-off highway uses

Peterbilt now has a new Eaton Fuller 11-speed transmission available on its Models 385, 379, 378 and 357 trucks.

The RTO14909ALL is designed specifically for on-off highway applications and is similar to the model it replaces, but has revised reverse gear ratios.

“We made the change because customers told us they didn’t need reverse ratios as slow as the forward ratios. With faster reverse ratios, a truck owner can be more productive,” says Eaton Fuller’s Robert Davoust.

The new 9ALL model includes a severe-duty rear bearing cover with a shield, offering additional protection for the output seal and vehicle/engine speed pickups. The 9ALL transmission is standard with an internal oil cooling pump, a high capacity auxiliary drive gear bearing and an oil level sight glass, allowing for simple visual verification of the transmission oil level.

Volvo invests in durablity, simpler installation with VHD

Volvo has updated its vocational lineup with the introduction of the VHD.

The new truck, which replaces the Volvo Autocar and WG, is designed for a variety of applications ranging from dump, mixer, block, rear-packer, container roll-off, crane, fire and rescue, general freight, logging and heavy haul.

Many of the VHD’s features were designed with body-builders in mind so that delivery of the completed vehicle will be faster. For example, to simplify body installation, the back of the cab and top of frame are free of components.The truck is included in Volvo’s quick-delivery program, which aims to deliver a work-ready truck to any North American customer in 21 days.

Volvo spent $95M (U.S.) to bring the VHD to market. It has put it through the equivalent of about a million miles of durability testing at its Greensboro, N.C. track and claims that it experienced “50 per cent fewer faults than the toughest competitor” during the first simulated year of operation.

The truck will be available at dealer lots in September.

Michelin’s wide base XTE2 invades Canadian market

Michelin’s XTE2 wide base tire is now available in Canada.

The XTE2 wide base tire offers several features: a computer-designed tread pattern which distributes uniform pressure across the contact patch, deep, wide channels for better water evacuation, a four-steel belt package, dual compound tread rubber to keep casing running cool, a Michelin-exclusive bead bundle, which stimulates a solid steel rod strapping the tire to the wheel, variable pitch wall angles to reduce stone retention, and large shoulders to resist slipping.

“Until now, operators of wide based equipment had a limited choice of severe on/off road tires. Michelin’s XTE2 is the answer for wide based equipment as it was developed for the specialized work they carry out,” says Ralph Beaveridge, marketing manager of truck tires for Michelin Canada.

Freightliner unveils truck with fuel cell auxiliary power

Freightliner LLC has introduced a concept heavy-duty truck that uses fuel cells to generate electrical power for on-board vehicle appliances.

“By using fuel cells to power the comfort and convenience accessories on a parked heavy-duty truck, we cut the need to idle the engine, thus reducing fuel consumption, emissions and noise. This technology has great potential for increasing the efficiency and comfort of commercial trucks, while reducing their environmental impact,” says Gary Rossow, director of government technical affairs for Freightliner LLC.

The system, developed by Freightliner and XCELLSIS, includes two fuel cell stacks operating in series as an auxiliary power unit. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are fed with hydrogen from a 52-gallon liquid tank on the left side of the truck. Within the fuel cell, hydrogen is split into positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons. The protons pass through the membrane, but the electrons cannot, and they build up a voltage in the fuel cell. The only by-product of this is pure liquid water.