Easy-to-fit air axle
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• Dunlop has introduced its latest air suspension for drive axles of seven to 13 tonnes capacities, based on a simplified design for ease of installation.
Axle location is by means of wide-section (100x5Omm) quarter-elliptic leaf springs with diaphragm air bellows between the chassis and spring ends.
Without a panhard rod or Aframe, the vehicle relies on the clamping of the axle to the leaf springs for sideways loca
tion which makes the system compact and easier to fit.
The leaf springs (a 35mm thick secondary leaf is added to axles above nine tonnes) have a distinctive camber, bringing the eye-to-axle centre to 550mm and an overall 990mm to the centre of the air spring.
Dunlop uses a single levelling valve to maintain a standard 225mm ride height and will also offer an optional lift/lower device.
The Dunlop system, which
can be tuned to suit any type of semi-trailer air suspension, is said to have a roll angle of 2.50 at 0.3g lateral acceleration. Its laden ride frequency is Mcycles/min. Sturdy hydraulic dampers eliminate the need for check straps and help keep the weight of the assembly down to 358kg.
In kit form prices vary between 21,600 and £1,800 and the retail cost including fitting time (but excluding VAT) is around £2,500 depending on specification.