Smooth ride for pickups: Thunder Bay innovator introduces new truck suspension system.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: TRANSPORTATION

A Thunder Bay entrepreneur has developed an innovative new consumer product for the trailer towing market.

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Dereck Legros, president of LBC Contracting, a licensed heavy trailer refur-bisher in Thunder Bay, has taken some proven air bag technology used in highway semi trucks and transferred it for the recreational vehicle market.

His soon-to-be-patented Auto Flex Air Ride technology is designed to offer better highway handling for pickup truck owners, especially when hauling large campers or trailers under load.

Installing the Air Ride system involves a total replacement of the springs in a truck with his air bag suspension system.

"A spring is waiting for any excuse to relax," said Legros. "As soon as you hit the brakes, the back of the vehicle goes up and your nose dives with all of the weight on the front axle. Now your control is totally different because your vehicle feels like it's being launched."

His system eliminates the vehicle's need to squat when the brakes are applied.

"When you hit your brakes with Air Ride, everything doesn't nose dive, it stays level."

The all-steel system bolts on to the spring hangars of a truck frame that consumers can either have installed or do themselves in their driveway within a matter of hours. The cost of a kit is $3,400.

"It's the same as changing a spring," said Legros, "and you're running the airlines and electrical into the cab."

A toggle switch installed in the cab releases air to lower the vehicle for an easy trailer connection or to fully extend the Firestone air bags to 11 inches.

Legros said installing the system won't affect a vehicle's warranty because no alterations are being made to the truck frame's structural integrity by cutting, welding or drilling holes.

"We tap into exactly the same brackets as the spring but we don't touch the frame anywhere. We haven't changed the frame or the load distribution or load-carrying points."

The product also doesn't require any Ministry of Transportation or state transportation agency approvals because, again, it's not making major modifications to the vehicle.

The system uses the same leveling valve as on semi trucks, and the same type of air bags and air compressors, only scaled down, said Legros.

"It automatically starts up at 90 PSI and shuts off at 120. Everything is the same as the semi truck with larger air lines for less freezing problems in winter."

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