Cool running Webb drum

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The brakes on trailers with side skirts are feeling the heat, but Webb Wheel has unveiled brake drums with Cool Running Technology vents to help keep operating temperatures under control.

The 66764 brake drum is designed for 20K trailer applications.

The challenge of higher heats has emerged because aerodynamic side skirts reduce the usual cooling flow of air by 41% in the direction of travel, and 30% across the width of the trailer, Webb tests have found. Temperatures were seen to hit 250 Fahrenheit. And those high heats can accelerate the wear of drums and linings.

The 99-pound drum manages heat 10% better than drums of a similar weight, the company adds.

“This is the number-one trailer application,” says Brad Begley, vice president sales – aftermarket business unit, referring to the 10 million trailers across North America that could use these drums.

The drums will be available for sale within 60 days.

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John G. Smith is Newcom Media's vice-president - editorial, and the editorial director of its trucking publications -- including Today's Trucking, trucknews.com, and Transport Routier. The award-winning journalist has covered the trucking industry since 1995.


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