Air-Weigh has introduced a new AW5700 on-board scale product to serve customers specifying the Freightliner-marketed AIRTEK air suspension steer axle from Hendrickson.

Designed to serve both straight and combination vehicles, the new scale can be specified with a variety of sensor inputs to directly measure weight from any combination of steer, drive, lift, and dual leveling valve air suspension axles. Air Weigh says this new scale will also satisfy demand from expedited freight transporters and motor coach operators for a straight vehicle on-board weighing system.

"Now for the first time, weight-conscious operators can have direct steer axle weight data without welding or through-bolting load-cell or strain-gauge sensors to the steer axle," says Peter Powell, Air-Weigh VP Marketing. Since 1995, Air-Weigh has been able to measure weight transfer on and off the steer axle from the 5th wheel to provide accurate GVW and net payload weight information to customers. Powerll says, however, this technology did not provide a solution for straight vehicles on leaf spring steer axle suspensions.

Freightliner customers can now specify a more stabile and comfortable ride with AIRTEK plus add a full Air-Weigh scale system to increase driver productivity and equipment utilization. "When specified as part of new equipment purchase, the Air-Weigh system adds only about the cost of two commercial scale fees a month to the finance package," says Powell. "On-board weighing is particularly important to those segments of the transportation industry with very limited payload capacity, such as expedited freight where it is not unusual to have less than 10,000 lbs.available for freight. Positioning the freight to properly distribute the weight over the steer and drive axles is critical, as these operators do not have time to check-weigh, then re-work the load. It must be loaded right the first time," says Powell.

"The same can be said for the top-end motor coach industry where it is only just now that manufacturers are producing luxury coaches with any carrying capacity at all. Air-Weigh's on-board scale product for the RV industry will provide both weight and balance data to enhance stability," says Powell.

Air-Weigh, an innovative electronics manufacturer for the trucking and transportation industry, has customers throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. The new scale will also be marketed in Europe through Air-Weigh Europe, Ltd. where air-ride steer axles have been available for several years.