SAF-Holland has introduced the new CBX40 AeroBeam sliding tandem axle air suspension. Designed for greater fleet efficiency, the SAF CBX40 AeroBeam Slider Suspension has a base weight of 1,267 lbs., 85 lbs. lighter overall than the previous generation CBX40 and 27 lbs. lighter than the nearest competitive slider suspension, the company said. Per Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Phase 2 legislation, the 85-lb. savings will reduce the GHG gas emission by 1,250 lbs. over 10 years.
The CBX40 AeroBeam boasts an 80 KSI steel sub-frame with four full-height cross members. According to the company, reinforcements were added improve resistance to damage caused by curb strikes, slider repositioning, and drag turns. The slider sub-frame is backed by a seven-year warranty.
“What we focused on as an engineering team was making sure that when we take an eye to reducing the weight that we don’t have any reduction in the durability and performance of the product,” said Roger Jansen, SAF-Holland’s product manager of trailer axles and suspensions for the Americas. “There is a significant amount of stress and a significant amount of load input that gets put onto trailer suspensions, so we sat down and looked at our long history of things that didn’t go well and things that didn’t work out in the long-term, and we’ve added reinforcements in critical areas to combat damage caused by this stress.”
Its 5.75-in. diameter friction-welded axles are 12% thicker than competitive axles, minimizing axle deflection to improve inside tire tread wear. Heat-treated cast alloy suspension beams achieve an optimum strength-to-weight ratio. The suspension and axle beam assembly is covered by a ten-year warranty.
Relocated shock absorbers provide more room on the sub-frame to install air tanks, brake valves, tire inflation systems, and ABS modules. Combined with the streamlined AeroBeam design, the new CBX40 AeroBeam facilitates under chassis airflow.
Like all SAF suspension systems, the CBX40 AeroBeam is coated with Black Armour, which provides hot dip galvanized level protection without the added weight or cost of HDG. Black Armour chemically bonds with metal to form a protective layer that is impervious to water and stands up against the harsh anti-icing agents used on roadways.
“We know that for our fleet customers a trailer is often a part that needs to be maintained but there’s never enough labor hours to work on it,” said Jansen. “So we always look at ways to reduce the amount of maintenance needed to keep equipment out on the road, such as our SwingAlign axle mechanism. The cost of tires isn’t coming down anytime soon, and the easiest way to maintain the service life of your tires is to maintain proper axle alignment.”
Options for the suspension include manual or air assisted slide pin release, dock walk solution, auto-sensing lift axles, P89 Series air disc brakes or drum brakes, parallel or taper spindles, and conventional or extended warranty wheel end packages.
