Chassis & Brakes

July 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Webb Wheel Releases Training and Tech Certification Videos

Webb Wheel has added a new training video along with an associated tech certification test to the Training Toolbox section of its website

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

May 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Keeping An Eye on  Axles and Suspensions

Shocks are a small components with big &#8232;performance implications. Look for oil residue on the shock tube, and check for bushing wear.

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

Although the maintenance-free tractor-trailer is still a few years off, there are really only two big maintenance items left when it comes to axles and suspensions: the shock absorbers and the air springs. Some historically large maintenance items today are designed to almost outlive the trucks

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

January 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Bendix Announces Schedule for 2012 Brake Training School

The schedule for Bendix's 2012 Brake Training School, a three-day course designed for both new and experienced technicians, includes 20 cities in the U.S. and Canada

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

September 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Better Stopping Performance Now Built Into Highway Tractors as New Rules Take Effect

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

Emerging from truck factories in the U.S. right now are road tractors that can stop in substantially shorter distances than those built last week. That's because new government stopping-distance requirements took effect August 1st

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

July 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Embracing the Age of the Air Disc Brake

By Commentary Rolf Lockwood, Editor at Large

A while ago I was sitting on a bench in downtown St. Louis with a grande bold coffee in my paw and a reflective mood infusing me with big thoughts. Or maybe just regular-sized thoughts, but definitely about big things

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

July 2010, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Friction In Focus: Trends in Brake Friction Manufacturing

There's always activity in developing new brake friction material. But new legislation and new players are forcing the pace. (Photo by Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake)

By Steve Sturgess, Executive Editor

Brake manufacturers are continually working with their friction material suppliers on new materials that satisfy the market's demand for noise, cost and wear with no compromise in performance. But there are also external pressures for change

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

May 2010, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

The Weight is Over: New Front-End Introductions

Trucks are getting heavier, especially on the front axle. But help is at hand with new weight-saving front-end introductions. (Photo by Jim Park)

By Steve Sturgess, Executive Editor

Fleets spec'ing new trucks are suffering several stages of sticker shock. For one, the price has just jumped another $10,000 for EPA 2010-compliant engines

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

December 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Suspension Maintenance

Keep everything pointing in the right direction: retorque your fasteners.

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

The key to keeping suspensions working for you rather than against you is to keep everything tight. When suspension components work themselves loose, tires wear badly, springs break, fuel economy suffers, and drivers complain

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

October 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Air Disc Brakes: You Can't Inspect What You Can't See

The caliper is nearly impossible to see without removing the wheel, leaving CVSA inspectors at a loss on how to determine brake functionality.

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

Imagine having a brand new truck sidelined during a roadside inspection because the inspector didn't understand what he was looking a

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

October 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Maintaining Air Disc Brakes

Air disc brake systems (pictured) don't look anything like drum brake systems. Inspection standards and procedures are not the same either.

By Steve Sturgess, Executive Editor

The new federal mandate requiring shorter stopping distances dictates more brake torque for the front axle of trucks and tractors. The regulation can be accommodated by bigger drums, but it may stimulate a faster acceptance of the air disc brake for steer axle brakes.

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

June 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Brake Maintenance

By Steve Sturgess, Executive Editor

Brake maintenance, particularly maintenance intervals for heavy duty trucks, depends more than anything else on the vehicle duty cycle. There is a world of difference between a refuse truck that experiences 200-300 heavy brake applications in a shif

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

June 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

ArvinMeritor Brake Experts Offer 10 Tips to Improve Brake Performance

ArvinMeritor offers 10 brake-related tips to help North American truck operators and maintenance professional

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

June 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

How to Recognize and Prevent Corrosion and Rust-Jacking on Heavy-Duty Brake Shoes

When rust creeps in between the brake lining and shoe table, it can cause the lining to fracture. Provided chunks of lings do not break off

Tags: Chassis & Brakes

May 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Performance-Based Brake Testing

By Tom Berg, Senior Equipment Editor

What if you could find out in 10 minutes or less precisely how each and every one of your tractor-trailer's brakes is working? You'd know how much force they're producing to stop the rig, individually and by axle.

Tags: Chassis & Brakes