According to Phillips Industries, sliding tender springs are made of three basic components: the clip or ring that attaches the kit to the sliding tracker bar; the spring that stretches to accommodate for the movement of the cables as the truck turns and pivots; and the clamp or hose holder that grips the cables to the spring. The company says that while all of these components are valuable to keeping cables safely in place between a tractor and trailer, “a sliding tender spring is only as good as its spring, making the spring the most important element of the cable support system.”
Fitted with a good quality spring, the company says the life and performance of a tracker spring kit can be extended significantly. Phillips says a quality spring is made with a pre-galvanized thicker gauge wire. The pre-galvanized wire is valuable because it indicates that the wire was galvanized before the spring was fabricated to ensure the entire surface of the spring wiring is coated, the company says. The thicker wire is important for durability. “If the gauge of the spring’s wire is thin, the spring will wear out quickly, losing its elasticity and the ability to recoil properly,” the company says.
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