ArvinMeritor puts brakes on Volvo

ArvinMeritor's Commercial Vehicle Systems business has announced that Volvo Trucks North America Inc. will be offering the Meritor MX500 long-life brake package as optional equipment on VN series linehaul tractors beginning in August. The MX500 brake package consists of 15" x 5" front and 16.5" x 8" rear Meritor Q Plus cam brakes featuring fully-sealed camshaft housings and factory-installed automatic slack adjusters. It requires no lubrication or lining maintenance for three years or 500,000 miles and is covered by a full warranty. According to the company, the MX500 includes proprietary Meritor linings that use an advanced friction material mix to produce a significant increase in lining life at normal operating temperatures, providing longer intervals between relines. "The linings are specially-designed to meet the operating characteristics for properly balanced linehaul tractors," said Gary Ganaway, marketing director of ArvinMeritor's brake division. The MX500 is compatible with the Meritor SteelLite X30TM brake drum, also available on Volvo VN series models.