Dana Holding Corporation announces that TMC Transportation, the largest privately held flatbed carrier in the United States, has specified Spicer Pro-40 tandem axles on the company’s order of 1,500 Peterbilt 579 on-highway trucks.
Following a standard replacement schedule, TMC Transportation will purchase 1,500 new tractors over the next two years. The Spicer Pro-40 family of heavy-duty 40,000-pound tandem drive axles supplies a reliable, lightweight option for line haul, bulk, regional and city delivery fleets. It offers a dramatic weight reduction and improved power density, enabling customers to increase payload, improve fuel economy, and ultimately improve their bottom line. The axle is nearly 100 pounds lighter than the nearest competitive axle, with a new high-strength-steel thin-wall housing on select applications.
“We need to be able to haul as much as possible in order to stay competitive in today’s marketplace, and the Spicer Pro-40 axle brings major weight savings to our trucks, which matters most to us,” says Rod Simon, Executive Vice President of Maintenance at TMC Transportation. “As a highly data driven company, we’re not just looking at performance; we evaluate cost-to-weight ratios and resale values of our equipment.”
TMC Transportation has a successful, longstanding history with Dana products, having continually purchased PACCAR trucks with Spicer drive axles, steer axles, driveshafts and steering shafts, as well as Bendix foundation brakes as standard equipment on PACCAR’s Peterbilt and Kenworth Class 6, 7 and 8 commercial vehicles. Bendix foundation brakes are provided by Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake, a joint venture between Dana and Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC.
“We have a great track record with Spicer drive axles and front-end systems from Dana,” Simon says. “From a durability standpoint, they’ve held up extremely well since they’re built with longevity in mind.”
The company has also specified SPL 250 driveshafts and SPL 170 inter-axle shafts and LMS hubs on its trucks for the past 10 years, which have significantly reduced maintenance. TMC Transportation is also road-testing Dana’s new all-aluminum Spicer Diamond Series driveshaft.
“With a driveshaft, you don’t want to think about it all the time, you just want to maintain and inspect it at regular service intervals,” Simon says. “Since we switched to Spicer Life Series driveshafts, we’re able to spend less time on repairs and more time on the road.”
“We designed the Spicer Pro-40 axle for astute fleet owners who fully appreciate how the weight savings we provide will reduce their fuel costs without sacrificing performance and reliability,” says Pat D’Eramo, President of Dana Commercial Vehicle Driveline Technologies. “TMC Transportation is one of the top carriers in North America, and their commitment to the Spicer Pro-40 axle provides strong validation for our approach.”
