Among the nearly two dozen products and services showcased by the members companies of Marmon Highway Technologies (MHT) last week during a special stop of its “Ideas in Motion” travelling trade show tour for the media, several were all-new products that had not been previously introduced.

“While other companies pulled back to try to wait out the latest cyclical downturn in the trucking industry, we’ve used our financial strength and stability to invest in the future for our customers,” said MHT president Kelly Dier, at the show, which was held under a tent at the Boyd Bros. Transportation terminal in Birmingham, AL.

Triangle Suspension Systems, Inc. announced the start of vehicle testing of its new, lightweight Mack camelback leaf spring. According to Triangle president Rick Kempski, the new unit is a lightweight replacement spring for the popular Mack camelback suspension. “This spring has been developed in our new Mount Olive, NC taper spring plant and allows weight-sensitive fleets to save over 225 lbs per vehicle without sacrificing performance. Initial results have been very positive and we expect the field-testing to continue through the summer months. We expect these new springs will be available later this year.”

Jack Griffin, Triangle’s director of engineering  pointed out that the new spring uses “specially alloyed materials and the latest manufacturing process to improve durability and reduce variation from spring to spring. Preliminary laboratory tests show that the predicted durability of the new spring is significantly higher than conventional springs. The new spring was also designed to mate with all existing components and only a shorter u-bolt is required.”

Kempski also announced that all leaf springs produced by Triangle will now include a label with the proper u-bolt torque specifications. “Properly torquing u-bolts is one of the most important and often overlooked activities associated with a leaf spring repairr,” he remarked. “Given the importance of this activity, we want everyone to know the proper torque specification when they are using a Triangle spring. We will also be adding this information to our packaged u-bolts in the near future.”

Griffin noted that “the initial torquing and the retorquing of u- bolts after a few hundred miles of service can eliminate most of the premature failures of leaf springs between the u-bolts. Most of the new springs that fail shortly after replacement, break in or near the center bolt-- which indicates a loose u-bolt and loss of the required clamp load. Following the recommended torque specifications can dramatically reduce failures.”