How to Choose the Right Axle for Your Commercial Vehicle

A truck axle performs several functions, including supporting the weight of the truck and its load, allowing the wheels to rotate, and, in some situations, transferring power from the engine to the wheels. In this article, we will discuss How to Choose the Right Axle for Your Commercial Vehicle.

When buying a new truck, choosing between rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive is vital, but axle configurations are also important. Selecting the correct axle configurations will help you to fulfil your specific needs. The axles are central shafts that connect to the wheels and are an important part of your vehicle.

Axles usually turn with the wheels. The axle ratio is the number of revolutions required by the driveshaft to spin the axle one full turn.

Truck axles are an important component of a vehicle's suspension system since they provide central support for the wheels and allow them to revolve. Axles in a truck play an important part in the overall performance, handling, and stability of the vehicle.

What Is an Axle?

A centre shaft for a revolving wheel or gear is referred to as an axle. On wheeled vehicles, the axle can be fixed to the wheels and rotate with them, or it can be fixed to the vehicle and rotate with the wheels. Bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting places where the axle is supported.

A bearing or bushing lies inside a central hole in the wheel in the latter scenario, allowing the wheel or gear to spin around the axle. The latter form of the axle is sometimes referred to as a spindle, particularly on bicycles.

How many Axles does a truck have?

Depending on the kind, purpose, load capacity, and regulatory restrictions, a conventional truck can have two to four axles or more. Light-duty trucks typically have two axles, although medium and heavy-duty trucks may have three or more.

Purpose of the Truck Axle

A truck axle performs several functions, including supporting the weight of the truck and its load, allowing the wheels to rotate, and, in some situations, transferring power from the engine to the wheels.

What Are the Main Parts of a Truck Axle?

A truck axle's key components are the axle housing, axle shaft, bearings and seals, and differential. These components work together to maintain the vehicle's weight while also allowing wheel movement and power transfer from the engine.

In this article, we will discuss How to Choose the Right Axle configuration for Your Commercial Vehicle.

Also Read: How to Choose the Right Engine for Your Commercial Vehicle

How to Choose the Right Axle for Your Commercial Vehicle.

Consider the following factors while choosing the axle ratio for your trucks.

GCW, Topography, and purpose of the truck

When Choosing the Right Axle for Your Commercial Vehicle, I believe that a good beginning point is to consider your vehicle's gross combined weight, the geography of the route, and the purpose of the truck. Consider how your axle selection may affect fuel consumption in addition to these three critical aspects.

As a general rule, the more torque required, the heavier the vehicle and the steeper the slopes along the route. The increased cargo necessitates a stronger and sturdy frame with more axles to distribute the additional weight.

Tire Size

When it comes to torque and axle ratio, tire size is a crucial factor to consider. When driving at highway speeds, if you have a lifted truck with larger tires, the engine may operate at a higher RPM. Because an automatic transmission will maintain the truck in a lower gear to compensate for the extra space on the tires. As a result, if you want to place wider tires on your truck, you may need to modify your axle ratio.

Axle ratio

If The axle ratio is high, you can boost torque. The axle ratio indicates how many spins the prop shaft must make in order to spin the wheels one turn. A 2.64 axle ratio, for example, means that the propshaft must turn 2.64 times for each wheel spin.

It also means that the truck can carry more weight and start on steeper hills easily. However, in order to spin the propshaft more, the engine revs must be higher as well. This means that as you use more energy, you'll pay a little more at the pump.

Also Read: How to Choose the Right Transmission for Your Commercial Vehicle

Traction

Traction is defined as the highest amount of force that a tire can exert against the ground or that the ground can apply against the tire. For better traction, you have to put more load on the tyres.

The coefficient of friction is a mathematical expression that relates the amount of friction force between two surfaces to the force holding the two surfaces together. It connects the degree of traction between the tires and the road to the weight lying on each tire. The coefficient of friction is mostly determined by the type of tires and surface it is driving.

Ground clearance

Another important factor to consider is how much ground clearance you require. The driven axle can contain a hub reduction to acquire the ground clearance required for tough terrains, such as in construction, mining, or military applications.

A hub reduction transfers driving power to each wheel via an additional reduction gear placed within the hub. The middle gear can be made smaller with this mechanism, increasing ground clearance and longevity while also resulting in a less jerky drive when beginning on soft ground.

The hub reduction is frequently combined with wider tyres to lift the truck even higher off the ground. However, occasionally the reverse is required: for example, you may be more concerned with limiting the height of the truck in order to go under certain bridges. In this instance, you may need to avoid hub reductions altogether, limit tyre size, choose a lower chassis height, and maximize loading weight.

The final axle configuration specifications for your vehicle will be determined by a number of parameters such as the gross combined weight, axle load, topography, road conditions, and application.

Conclusion

Understanding the axle ratio is critical if you want to get the most out of your truck. Whether you have a four-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive, or rear-wheel-drive axle, your truck must have the proper ratio for the jobs you are planning on doing with it.

Taking the effort to select the appropriate gearing for your needs when purchasing a truck will save you money at the petrol pump and ensure that you have adequate power when you need it. Along with satisfying your transportation needs, it is vital to consider fuel consumption, as axle specifications have a significant impact on fuel economy.