For long-haul truck drivers, bumping and winding roads and highways can play havoc with a comfortable ride and a restful sleep when their partner is at the wheel. So International Truck and Engine Corp. said it relocated the cab suspension system outboard to deliver improved comfort and stability.
The new rear air bag cab-suspension system being installed on its International 9000 Series sleeper cabs helps give drivers better control and comfort and their driving partners a more peaceful sleep by reducing cab roll and sway, the company said.
The suspension system supports the weight of the truck and provides the driver and passengers a more comfortable ride. Its components include front-and-rear suspensions, springs, shock absorbers, torsion bars, axles, a strut system, and connecting linkages. Several changes enable the newly designed outboard suspension system to make driving less work and more enjoyable, the company said. They include:
• Locating the air bags and shock absorbers farther apart and outboard nearer the edge of the truck. This provides more stability, especially in cross winds, by limiting the pitch and yaw in the cabs, which makes the ride smoother.
• Boosting the number of bumpers to two, also to help with the yaw and further to provide more resting surface for the cabs when they’re stacked to reduce damage from bumps.
• Placing a cup around the bumpers to give them greater load characteristics, which allows them to flatten less than previously, limiting the sway of the cab.
• Centering the bumpers over the mating stop to allow the full face of the bumper to contact the stop, which improves ride performance.
Because a sleeper cab is longer, more surface area on its sides becomes exposed to the wind. When cross winds develop, drivers and anyone trying to nap in the sleeper feels the roll and swaying. But with the shock absorbers and air bags located farther apart, the ride becomes smoother and more stable, the company said.
For more information, visit http://www.internationaldelivers.com/.
