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Air-Ride Suspensions
June 7, 2007

In recent years air-ride suspensions have become widely accepted throughout the transportation and semi trailer rental and lease industry. It is easy to see why nearly all tractors and a majority of semi trailers manufactured today are equipped with air-ride tandems. They offer superior comfort, prevent vibration, and are generally easier to maintain than a spring ride suspension. These qualities not only benefit the cargo and the equipment itself, but the driver�s comfort as well. However even with all the advantages of an air-ride suspension and regardless of whether you are renting trailers or buying new or used trailers, spring ride suspension might still be the preferred choice for certain applications.

For a short-term rental trailer with a non-fragile load you may consider cutting costs by electing to rent a semi trailer equipped with a spring ride suspension. Whether you use a rental semi trailer with air-ride or a spring-ride should ultimately depend on its intended application. Since air ride semi trailers cost more than spring ride semi trailers, your ROI will be reduced during the life of the trailer if you cannot benefit from its features. While not being able to utilize the benefits of an air-ride suspension has a negative impact on your ROI during the semi trailers life, it can greatly increase the residual value of the equipment when you sell it.

Air-ride equipped rental trailers and/or new or used semi trailers are beneficial in a variety of applications. The obvious benefit is to minimize road shock causing potential damage to fragile goods in the load. For long hauls and heavy usage it may make more sense in the long term to invest the extra cost for an air-ride suspension. The main reason for this is to minimize wear and tear you get from vibration and road shock that you see with a spring-ride suspension. This is especially true in heavier units such as a semi trailer equipped with a refrigerated unit. The use of an air-ride suspension can extend the life of your used semi trailer.

Spring ride trailers rental cost less, weigh less and may be preferred in situations where mileage is low and the rental or purchased trailers spend most of their time sitting at a loading dock. When the decision to go with air verses spring is not clear, many users end up renting semi trailers instead of buying semi trailers. It may be a smart move to use both air ride rental trailers and spring ride rental trailers and conduct side by side comparisons before making a decision to long term lease semi trailers, or to buy new or used semi trailers.

Cost verses value should always be a prime consideration when purchasing new or used semi trailers or when renting or leasing tractor trailers. Whether you are looking for a rental trailer or a new or used semi trailer as a permanent addition to your tractor trailer fleet, consider that each type of suspension has its advantages depending on the application. The popularity of the air-ride suspension may have increased over the years but there will always be a market for its alternative: the more cost effective spring ride suspension.

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