Get FinancingMack Trucks Introduces S852 85,000-Pound Tandem Drive Axles
As Roy Horton, Mack Trucks director of product strategy, notes, Mack’s history of engineering and manufacturing its own powertrain components, including drive axles, is a “long and rich” one. The approach, he says, “fits with our philosophy that components designed to work together, simply work better.” As such, the company recently introduced its new S852 85,000-pound (38,555-kilogram) gross axle weight-rated tandem drive axles. The release coincides with Mack’s celebration this year of 120 years of drive axle design, engineering, and manufacturing.
Coming Soon To A Granite Near You
Now available for order, the S852 rating will expand the applications that Mack trucks are equipped to handle, Horton says. Mack indicates that customers in its export markets that require a heavier-duty axle expressed a desire for a new rating. In North America, customers can spec the S852 for specialized severe-duty or heavy-haul applications on Mack Granite models. The truck maker notes that for extreme loads transferred at slow speeds, the S852 tandem drive axles provide a 105,000-pound (47,627-kilogram) creep rating.
120 Years Of Development
Mack’s first drive axles were used in the original Mack bus model that the Mack Brothers Company built in 1900 to transport sightseers through Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York. In 1920, Mack made a major advancement in axle design with the introduction of its double-reduction architecture, which Mack says it still engineers into its modern proprietary drive axles. Other features of today’s axles include a top-mounted carrier design that’s less prone to main seal leaks but that provides 2-plus inches of extra ground clearance.
Today, Mack proprietary drive axles are available on Anthem, Pinnacle, Granite, TerraPro, and LR trucks in various weight ratings and can also be paired with such suspension options as Mack Twin-Y, mRIDE, and Camelback.
Source: Mack Trucks