Meritor Inc. on Wednesday, March 21, unveiled the FueLite tandem axle, the first member of its SoloDrive Series axles which features 6Ă—2 tandem rear axles. Based on the Meritor 160 series drive axle, the FueLite tandem axle is designed to deliver nearly 400 pounds in weight savings and about a 2-percent increase in fuel efficiency when compared to a traditional 6Ă—4 configuration.
Features and benefits of the Meritor FueLite tandem axle include:
• Meritor’s 160 DualTrac housing that allows the option of running wide-based single tires or duals for enhanced efficiency and improved residual value;
• A 2.50 to 4.10 ratio range available to match the application; and
• A 12.7-millimeter wall housing compatible with all current 40,000-pound tandem air suspensions.
All SoloDrive Series axles will use the same rear-tag axle for simplified maintenance and are designed to function optimally with Meritor brakes and options. “We engineered the FueLite axle to accommodate all 40,000-pound linehaul suspensions, delivering an optimum solution that is lightweight yet heavy on performance,” said Charlie Allen, general manager, Rear Drive Axles, Meritor. “The Meritor SoloDrive Series is designed to provide lightweight axle solutions with greater efficiency by providing one driving axle in a tandem configuration.”
The Meritor axle warranty for linehaul applications is five years or 750,000 miles with parts and labor included, and every claim is supported by the company’s online warranty claim system. Meritor Advantage Plans offer extended coverage up to seven years in linehaul applications.
The company’s customer support through more than 6,000 North American distributor and dealer parts outlets is backed by Meritor DriveForce, the company’s North American sales and service organization, and the OnTrac technical support center, collectively staffed by more than 150 professionals to assist commercial vehicle customers with solutions before, during and after the sale.
Meritor DriveForce is the company’s newly branded field sales and service organization comprised of more than 110 experts with more than a quarter century of commercial vehicle experience and equipped with advanced tools such as the Meritor Mobile iPad application. With the new app, Meritor DriveForce has nearly 1,000 brochures, documents and service manuals available in seconds to share with customers. With a click of a button, up-to-date product material also can be e-mailed directly to customers.
Meritor DriveForce logs more than 80,000 in-person sales and service calls, 600,000 phone calls and 4 million road miles annually. “Meritor DriveForce delivers a unique experience because the team is devoted to building a trusted and personal relationship with each and every one of our customers,” said Matthew Stevenson, general manager, North American Field Operations and Marketing, Meritor.
