Spec'ing and Selling: Wheel Weights
Spec'ing
&selling
John G. Smith | Contributing Editor | info@wordsmithmedia.ca
Choices from wheel ends to fifth wheels offer some welcome weight savings in an era of heavy emissions controlling equipment.
eight-conscious truck buyers should be forgiven if they appear to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. After years of shedding a pound of metal here or finding a lighter component there, enhancements to support bigger payloads and improve fuel efficiency have been steadily eroded by weight gains from new technologies needed to meet emissions regulations. There is no question that exhaust gas recirculation systems (EGR) and diesel particulate filters have increased vehicle weight. And the latest exhaust-cleaning technologies such as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)--complete with their tanks of diesel exhaust fluid--are adding more than 300 pounds to the equation, according to the American Trucking Associations.
Weights
To compound matters, fleets and owner-operators alike are trying to find ways to reclaim some of the fuel economy lost through exhaust-friendly combustion processes. The regulation-based weight increases are not limited to the EPA, either. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's pending change in stopping distances is expected to lead to the widespread use of larger brakes, introducing some additional weight of their own. "There's no such thing as lightweight brake shoes," observes Ken Kelley, vice president of Webb Wheel Products, referring to the table and shoe that will tip the scales even further. Why does it matter? For bulk haulers, weight savings can lead to obvious gains in the form of addi-
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28 | SUCCESSFUL DEALER | April 2010