New chassis from Sterling

ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO – Sterling Truck Corp. introduced a new chassis for its heavy-duty A-Line and L-Line products that is designed primarily to accommodate the needs of 2004 engines as well as provide other enhancements to customers. “The main issue driving chassis design today is to get more strength with less weight,” said Landon Grogan, program manager for the new HX chassis. “The 2004 engines weigh and cost more, so we made a lot of changes to the chassis to help minimize those impacts and also give customers more options.” The HX chassis boast a 10% cooling system increase to handle the higher heat generated by engines using exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology to reduce exhaust emissions, said Grogan. The chassis is also designed to handle catalytic converters used in the exhaust system of trucks equipped with Caterpillar’s advanced combustion emissions reduction technology (ACERT) engine system. Grogan also said the HX features other improvements, such as using frame rail inserts instead of the outserts on its previous chassis to provide a cleaner frame rail for mounting bodies. A new grid-by-grid pattern on the HX allows components such as fuel tanks and air dryers to share bolts and braces, increasing strength while reducing weight.“It assures a more consistent interface between external components on the frame rail,” said Grogan. “It’s just one of the advances on the HX we’re developed to give extra value to vocational customers.”