Recent changes in the Australian trucking industry, such as the increase on width limits from 2.5 to 2.55 metres which came into effect in September 2023, influence how suspension has to be developed.
Hendrickson works with its customers as they begin to change the metrics of the heavy vehicles they can develop, building custom suspension for them.
“Changes and increases to truck sizes are mostly about customers understanding,” says Andrew Martin, Hendrickson’s Australia Pacific Vice President of International Operations.
“That’s where the simulation tools become really powerful. We can float an idea or they can, and they can think it’s crazy but we can say ‘let me show you’.
“Only a couple of weeks ago a customer had an idea, they thought it was innovative and highly productive, and our view was it can be, but it isn’t right now.
“They were convinced within seconds of seeing our data. When we walked them through the analytics and the report that summarised how it played out, it was like a switch flicked.
“It’s a great relationship to have and one that’s hopefully founded on trust and technical and commercial competence. It’s how we like to hold ourselves to our own standards.
“In that sense, our suspension design parameters around conventional and new energy are different. The amount of drive torque or breaking and regenerative torque have an impact on suspension and performance.
“We need that knowledge, awareness and understanding of those systems. From a purely engineering view, it’s not that complicated.
“But as the world and technology evolves we’re very active in keeping up with whatever those opportunities are.”
Removing weight from the HDrive waste truck design is one of the next steps in Hendrickson’s partnership with the company.
While they will continue to change the platform, it is up to Hendrickson to then create suspension solutions that will work to what the new designs need, addressing the business needs of the truck at the same time.
“One of the things we’re really passionate about and driven in is the constant reflection that this is a commercial vehicle and it needs to make someone money,” Andrew says.
With a new energy vehicle, tear weight is either more payload or more batteries or a hydrogen fuel system. The other way to look at it is less weight means less fuel burn which is better for the environment regardless.
“Constantly pushing that weight reduction is a huge piece of what we do. It’s a centrepiece you might say. We always look at the entire cost of ownership picture.
“That includes all the productivity, up time, maintenance cost and opportunity cost that wear and tear can drive.”
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