| 摘要 |
A steerable lift axle/suspension system (10) for a heavy-duty vehicle such as a semi-trailer or a straight truck is disclosed. The system includes a pair of steering dampers (22) and a backup lock (23). The steering dampers (22) minimize shimmy of the steerable wheels during over-the-road operation of the vehicle, and straighten the wheels on such steerable axle/suspension systems having a lift feature (21) when the system is raised. The backup lock (23) secures the wheels in a straightened position when such liftable systems are raised and the vehicle is backing up, to minimize vehicle handling problems. The steering dampers (22) and backup lock (23) are mounted at a location off the axle tube (41) of the axle (14) and on the axle/suspension system beams (12), to eliminate stress on the axle (14) that would otherwise be caused by welded attachment of such components to the axle tube (41), thereby enabling use of a less robust, more lightweight axle tube (41).
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