All-Inclusive Trailer Solutions Provide Greater Efficiency and Lower TCO

In the commercial vehicle and industrial markets, Meritor is best known as a leading global supplier of drivetrain, mobility, braking, aftermarket and electric powertrain solutions with more than a 110-year legacy of providing innovative products that offer superior performance, efficiency and reliability. But what is less commonly known is that Meritor not only serves the truck market, but trailer, off-highway, defense, specialty and aftermarket customers around the world.

In fact, Meritor has set the pace with comprehensive trailer solutions, with more than 10 million trailer axles on the road today, saving costs and increasing payloads. With ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certifications, Meritor's visionary trailer legacy has set an industry benchmark.

"Meritor's combination of trailer products works cohesively to increase efficiency and fleet uptime while decreasing maintenance costs and total cost of ownership," said Saad Malik, general manager for Meritor Trailer and Front Drivetrain. "We've produced a number of industry-leading products that when paired together, deliver incredible synergy for the best fleet results you could ask for."

Lightweight Trailer Suspension

The company's latest advancement, its MTA Tec6™ trailer suspension, is Meritor's lightest-weight trailer suspension. With structural design advantages and advanced features, the MTA Tec6 is engineered to deliver next-generation productivity. The MTA Tec6 offers expanded payload capacity while reducing total cost of ownership, and is backed by more than a century of Meritor's leadership in design, engineering and manufacturing across a broad range of vocational applications.

The MTA Tec6 is built with our MTec6™, 6-inch diameter axle, for increased stiffness and improved tire-to-road contact, compared to traditional 5-inch axles. When compared to Meritor's previous suspension offerings, the MTA Tec6 offers a top mount up to 61 pounds lighter and a low mount up to 114 pounds lighter, increasing efficiency and allowing for heavier payloads. Its robust voidless pivot bushing extends its life, and Meritor's proprietary bolt-on cam bushing design allows for camshaft service without removing the hub during service, saving an average of 30 minutes per wheel-end. A self-supported shock mount requires no welding or assembly to the trailer frame, and its narrow hanger footprint fits within existing trailer frames.

Axle

Meritor's MTec6 trailer axle was designed to help fleets save fuel and expand payload capacity for a lower cost of ownership. Designed to replace traditional 5-inch and 5.75-inch axle designs, the 6-inch diameter of MTec6 offers industry-leading weight savings and structural advantages to improve fleet productivity.

The MTec6 trailer axle is precision-formed, a single-piece axle tube design producing a lightweight, robust axle with better material consistency and fewer stress risers than multi-piece axles with friction-welded spindles. Its 6-inch diameter and weight-to-optimized wall thickness make the MTec6 stiffer than smaller-diameter axles, reducing axle deflection so that tires maintain a more uniform contact patch to roads.

Brakes

Meritor's EX+™ LS air disc brakes are specifically engineered for linehaul and trailer applications, light in weight while heavy in performance. Built on proven EX+ architecture and comprehensively tested to exceed customer needs, the EX+ LS air disc brakes advantages include:

• Large piston diameter minimizes taper wear to extend pad life, saving on maintenance costs and increasing fleet uptime
• Adjuster mechanism based on proven EX+ brake system for peak performance
• Standard with N-type friction, 2025 reduced copper-compliant brake pads
• Piston seal that is protected from heat exposure and debris for longer brake life
• Common pad and service items for truck and trailer operations, making maintenance quick and easy
• Meritor Tire Inflation System (MTIS™)

For more than 20 years, Meritor has reduced industry concerns regarding tire pressure loss. Equipped on more than 1.5 million trailers, the Meritor Tire Inflation System (MTIS) helps keep tires properly inflated to reduce wear and increase fuel economy. Standard ThermALERT wheel-end heat-sensing technology immediately alerts drivers to overheating wheel ends so that drivers can take preventive action to avoid damage. MTIS can be installed on all major trailer axle models in North America. It is available for new trailers and can also be retrofitted on trailers already in service.

How MTIS works:

• Pressurized air from the tanker air supply travels along the air supply line to a filter
• Air is filtered through a self-draining filter to remove any impurities
• Pressurized air flows into the control box, where the pressure is regulated to the pre-set tire PSI
• Regulated air flows from the control box through the hollow axle tube to the rotary union
• Air is transmitted as needed via the rotary union, through the tire hoses and into the tires

Tire underinflation results in increased and uneven wear, which drives up the frequency of tire replacement by maintaining tire pressure at all times, whereas MTIS extends tire life by up to 10%. MTIS also increases fuel economy by an average of 1.4%, according to a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) study. Tire manufacturers typically recommend checking tire pressure at least twice a month, but with MTIS, the time and effort spent on inspections decrease dramatically. MTIS reduces the risk of tire blowouts and the potentially costly and dangerous consequences that come with them.

"Many of our customers have begun to combine our suspension, air disc brakes, MTec6 axle and MTIS, and because each of these products provide higher levels of efficiency independently, when used together, fleets are reporting real differences," said Malik. "We look forward to continuing to see fleets utilize this cohesive system."

In addition to industry-leading products, Meritor provides unmatched customer support, backed by DriveForce, a service and support organization. Additionally, Meritor's OnTrac technical support center is ready to assist customers with solutions before, during and after sales.

Meritor has been dedicated to leading the charge in tractor and trailer products for more than 100 years and by engineering products in additional segments is making strides to help fleets grow. For more than 65 years, Meritor has engineered and manufactured groundbreaking components that have set the new benchmark for trailer suspensions, axles, brakes and safety systems. The company has produced more than 10 million trailer axles equipped with more than one million MTIS, as well as engineered drum and disc brakes that meet and exceed federal regulations, plus patented, unique suspension designs to anticipate customer and industry needs. MA9500 and MA704, for truck and trailer applications.