Reyco Granning introduced its new LiftMaster family of auxiliary lift-axle suspensions at the NTEA Work Truck Show— the ALAP-13 (PS) steerable and ALAP-13 (NS) non-steerable. The new suspensions are designed for the heavy-duty Class 7/8 market and are rated at 13,200 lb. capacity.

According to Drake Sarault, director of powered vehicles, the new models take the place of previous Reyco Granning models L132 (steerable) and L130 (non-steerable).  “These new suspensions are an outcome of our continuous improvement process,” he said. “We listen to customer feedback, analyze what our competitors are doing and challenge our engineers to create the best suspensions they know how.”

One of those was how to remove weight yet maintain strength and durability.  “Fleets are always looking for ways to increase payload and therefore more revenue, but they don’t want that at the expense of higher maintenance costs,” said John Hinz, chief engineer for powered vehicles.  “We were able to remove 75 lbs. in the steerable version and approximately 100 lbs. from the non-steerable version.  And we did it while still passing our most stringent tests for vertical, lateral and longitudinal forces.”

Customer feedback also played a role in the steering stabilizer design.  “Some self-steering auxiliary axles use a coil spring for stabilization,” said Hinz.  “But customers complain that the coils can become packed with mud or concrete and become inoperative.  Some other designs use a horizontal shock damper but the damper is under-sized and the fluid can cavitate and lose its effectiveness.”

Hinz said Reyco Granning solved the stabilizer issue with a large Bilstein gas-charged, monotube steer damper. “This eliminates heat build-up and cavitation and maintains constant control of the steering mechanism.”

Other LiftMaster standard features include an automatic lift function in reverse, eliminating the chance that a driver might forget to manually lift the axle, he noted.

The LiftMaster series is covered by a 36 month (300,000) mile parts only and a 12 month (100,000) mile labor warranty for the main structural components, including hangers, beams, clip plates and axle saddles, torque arms and bellow pads. 

The new lift axles are also covered by 12 month (100,000) parts only, and  6 month (12,000) mile labor, for other air spring lift axle suspension components, such as valves, fasteners, bushings, and components not stated specifically that are provided by Reyco Granning.