Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/835233
28 commercial carrier journal | june 2017 Price remains biggest hurdle to air disc adoption BY JASON CANNON A doption rates for air disc brakes have climbed more than 100 percent in the last five years and show no signs of slowing down. ADB penetration reached 10 percent in 2013 and is expected to close this year at about 21 percent. Driven mainly by large fleets moving toward disc brakes, adoption could hit upwards of 30 percent by 2020, said Paola Carmona, Meritor product manager. "e industry has already arrived at a point where air disc brakes are standard on certain truck models," said Bill Hicks, SAF-Holland's director of product planning for the Americas. "is trend will likely continue to expand as more OEMs respond to market demand." Keeping the beat While segments such as construction, logging and off-high- way – "anywhere there is a lot of dirt and debris," Carmona said – will help keep drum brakes viable, she expects that ADBs eventually will overtake the market. "We believe drum brakes will not go away," Carmona said. "ere are places they do make sense, and they are still the most cost-effective option." Hicks said that while trailer OEMs to-date have been more hesitant to add ADBs, he foresees new van and specialty models being brought to market with disc brakes as standard and drums as an option. "When you look at fleets and how long they keep tractors and how long they keep trailers, air disc brakes make just as much sense on the trailer side as they do on the tractor side," said Keith McComsey, Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake's director of mar- keting and customer solutions. Benefits overcoming cost e upfront cost remains ADBs' largest hurdle to wide penetration, but demands placed on equipment from re- duced stopping distances – added to a lower cost of main- tenance, resistance to brake fade and the elimination of rust-jacking – help offset the financial burden of the roughly $1,200-per-axle upcharge. Tractors are federally mandated to stop within a 250-foot distance at 60 mph, but most OEMs want to build trucks that stop at 225 feet, said Fred Andersky, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems' director of customer solutions for controls and director of government and industry affairs. "In a typical scenario, ADBs' stopping distance is up to 15 per- cent better than required," said Jon Morrison, Wabco's president for the Americas. Andersky said fleets have started to see the value proposition from a longer maintenance cycle – two drum changes for a sin- gle ADB change – and that ADBs can be changed much faster. "It takes about 15 minutes to change pads," he said. "On a 4-by-2, you can change all the pads versus the time it takes to change one drum." Difficult conversion While pad replacement is fast and simple, converting your trac- tor from drums to disc brakes is much more involved. A drum brake wheel end – including the hub, drum, brake, slack adjuster and brake chamber – would need to be replaced by an ADB with a brake chamber, hub and rotor axle. A torque plate enables the adaptation of the ADB to the installed drum brake axle. Carmona said this process isn't simple and in some cases may not be possible. "Not all suspensions are compatible with air disc brakes," she said. "ere is a financial hurdle in the aermarket. To do a conversion is a big ordeal." in focus: AIR DISC BRAKES A drum brake wheel end would need to be replaced by an air disc brake with a brake chamber, hub and rotor axle. While the upfront cost remains ADBs' largest hurdle to wide penetration, equipment demands are easing the financial burden.