The new mechanical suspension on-board scale requires no welding or special tools and can typically be installed in one hour on tractors and trailers with walking beam, leaf-spring and other mechanical suspensions, the company says.
Targeted primarily for refuse, aggregate and logging vehicles, TruckWeight says the new product consists of a set of strain gauges or sensors, transmitters and a handheld receiver. With a range of 500 feet, the receiver displays axle group and gross vehicle weight readings in three-second intervals, essentially providing real-time truck weights.
According to TruckWeight, previous strain gauges needed to be mounted to a metal bar that had to be welded to the suspension. The upgraded gauge mounts directly to the suspension with a high-strength adhesive, which is said to result in better accuracy and reliability.
“Our new strain gauge mounts directly on the surface of a metal,” says Peter Panagapko, president of TruckWeight. “Previously, the strain gauges were attached to a bar that then needed to be welded to the axle or to a bracketing system.
“We moved away from that because the measurement was not exact from the axle itself. You had to correct the offset from time to time and the axle OEMs were reluctant to give official authorization for welding on their axles.”
Panagapko claims that gauges can last up to five years and are inexpensive to replace. He adds that TruckWeight’s scales are accurate to within one percent on level ground.
The company’s air suspension and mechanical suspensions scales are fully compatible to ensure accurate weights with tractor-trailer rigs with both systems, the company says. Both systems also use the same receiver, and may be integrated with existing telematics systems.
