Heavy Duty Trucking, November 2018

HDT NOVEMBER 2018 92 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM f youre following the evolution of commercial vehicle active safety systems you know the main thrust of research and development has come from the power unit end of a tractor trailer But even though air disc brakes and other advances systems have been slower to penetrate the trailer space trend lines already exist showing trailers will very soon be shifting to more advanced braking systems As a general rule trailer adoption of advanced braking systems has lagged behind tractors in North America which stands to reason says Roger Jansen OEM account manager SAF Holland Most North American fleets tend to cycle through power units much faster than trailers Tractors also tend to log much higher miles than most fleet trailers he adds For those reasons fleets are inclined to spend more money on technology on tractors since thats where they see the biggest benefits They can test new technology more effectively on tractors and tend to get more back from their investment in terms of safety and productivity Looking at the North American Class 8 market Walter Frankiewicz president and senior vice president of North American sales for Haldex Brake Products says that air disc brakes which have emerged as the foundational technology platform and enabler for future braking technology see our October issue now comprise about 25 of all new Class 8 tractor sales In comparison the take rate for new trailers is approximately 15 But he adds we are starting to see more air disc brakes being specd on both tractors and trailers today as fleet managers realize their performance benefits total cost of ownership numbers continue to improve and pricing continues to decrease in terms of acquisition costs as well as maintenance costs when compared to drum brakes Looking ahead Hollands Jansen says its not hard to see that the current technology push on tractors will eventually drive air disc adoption of trailer brakes Drum brakes simply arent in tune with automated systems on vehicles he explains When you start looking at advanced systems platooning is a great example where the driver is not actually accelerating or decelerating the vehicle it is absolutely critical for the onboard computer to know when it takes over the brake system how that system will respond and if it will do so consistently in a repeatable fashion As people begin to accept higher levels of automation in commercial vehicles and as advanced safety systems become more critical for fleets Jansen thinks the ability for air discs on trailers to perform in this consistent fashion will become critical Air disc brakes do not fade as they heat up he notes And that is the critical differentiating factor in the two brakes performance Another factor is that air disc drum combinations create maintenance and safety factors for fleets says Joey Campbell air disc brake product manager for Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake One of the things Bendix continues to make fleets and drivers aware of is how that fading affects the brake balance on a vehicle particularly tractor trailer combos Campbell says Different vehicle configurations and operating conditions including how the truck is used will push the workload to different axles which makes a difference not just to the driver but in maintenance planning and determining total cost of ownership Trailer brakes are catching up Brake suppliers expect that the wider use of air disc brakes on tractors will drive their adoption on trailers especially as disc brakes are more in tune with automated driving systems I TRAILERS BODIES Trailers will very soon be shifting to more advanced braking systems By Jack Roberts Senior Editor jroberts@ truckinginfo com PHOTO ISTOCKPHOTO COM VITPHO