If you’ve ever driven a freight truck, chances are your ride has at least one part from Meritor. Based in Michigan, Meritor is one of the world’s leading brands of parts for heavy duty trucks, trailers, buses, and other types of commercial vehicles. The company has been in the industry for generations. It is recognized worldwide as the leader in the advanced drivetrain, mobility, braking, and aftermarket solutions for the commercial vehicle and industrial markets.

Over 100 Years of History

The modern Meritor brand was officially established in 2011, but it can trace its roots as far back as the early 20th century under the Rockwell Tools company. Founded by legendary engineer-businessman William Rockwell Sr., Rockwell Tools introduced a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919, which later led to more axle design innovations such as the nine 13-speed on-highway transmissions and permanently lubricated universal joints. Rockwell eventually spun off its automotive business into Meritor Automotive in 1997 and later acquired Volvo Trucks’ heavy vehicle manufacturing operations and Euclid Industries, a major manufacturer of heavy duty vehicles. The brand was later renamed to ArvinMeritor after its merging with Arvin Industries in 2000, but has since reverted back to the current Meritor brand.

Today, Meritor has become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aftermarket parts for the commercial and industrial vehicle sector. The company maintains a 500,000-ft. headquarters in Troy, Michigan, with 20 manufacturing and distribution centers across North America. It also operates a network of satellite manufacturing facilities, R&D, and sales offices in more than a dozen countries in Europe, South America, and the Asia/Pacific region. 

Key Technologies

With more than a century’s worth of knowledge and expertise, Meritor has pioneered many cutting-edge technologies for commercial vehicle applications. 

Meritor Tire Inflation System (MTIS)

One of the crowning achievements of Meritor is its proprietary automated tire inflation system. Also known as MTIS, the system ensures the tires are always inflated to optimum pressure. Pressurized air is stored in a tank where it is routed and filtered into a control box where the pressure is regulated to a preset tire psi. The regulated air then flows to a hollow axle tube called a thru tee to the rotary union, into the tire hoses, and finally into the tires. This entire process works in conjunction with the ThermALERT wheel-end heat sensors, which send an alert whenever the wheel ends start to overheat due to potential tire pressure loss.

Found in more than 1 million trailers around the world today, the Meritor Tire Inflation System has helped fleets save money on fuel, tire maintenance, and replacement costs. With MTIS, the time and effort spent on tire inspections are cut significantly while at the same time reducing the risk of tire blowouts. And because the tires are constantly maintained at the proper air pressure, MTIS also reduces uneven tire wear and improves fuel economy by up to 1.4 percent.

RideSentry Suspension

Meritor suspension systems use various technologies that provide fleet owners with many benefits, including reduced tire wear, shorter maintenance downtime, and improved durability in demanding applications. Among its flagship systems is the RideSentry suspension, the only suspension system for truck and trailer applications with a parallelogram design.

RideSentry’s unique geometry improves structural durability as the upper control arms serve as roll bars, absorbing torsional stress directed to the axle every time the trailer maneuvers. Its design also eliminates dock walk, excessive fore/aft movement, and the resulting backslap. Also, unlike in other trailer suspension systems, the RideSentry air springs are positioned directly over the axles, improving air ride by up to 100%. The system uses Meritor’s other proprietary technologies, such as the PinLoc™ angled pin slider system, patented rubber bushings, Meritor genuine axles,  and MTIS for better ride quality, longer part life, weight reduction, and optimized suspension performance overall.

Q+ Drum Brakes 

Meritor prides itself as a leading manufacturer of braking systems for trucks, trailers, buses, and coaches, thanks to innovative products such as the Q+ braking system. Engineered for vehicle manufacturers to meet new FMVSS-121 stopping distance requirements, Meritor Q+ drum brakes offer consistent performance, stopping distance, exceptional durability, and shorter downtime for truck/trailer, linehaul and vocational applications.

At the heart of the Q+ drum brake system is its unique lining geometry, which ensures uniform wear and consistent braking performance. This is combined with Meritor’s low-maintenance double anchor pin design, patented quick-change brake shoes, and advanced friction material that helps meet revised stopping distance regulations without the use of air brakes. PlatinumShield coating technology also provides premium protection against highly corrosive environments and rust-jacking. Owners can also make use of wider shoe packages for even greater stopping distances and the stamped steel Spider Q+ drum brake options for additional weight savings without sacrificing durability.

MTec6 Trailer Axles

Designed to replace conventional trailer axles, Meritor’s new line of MTec6 axles are designed to help save fuel, expand payload, and other structural advantages to improve overall fleet productivity. It has a precision-formed, single-piece axle tube design for a robust, lightweight axle with fewer stress points than conventional multi-piece axles with friction-welded spindles. Its six-inch and diameter weight-to-optimized wall thickness also makes the MTec6 stiffer compared to smaller axles, reducing axle deflection and enabling the tires a more uniform contact on the road. Other significant features include factory-installed suspension brackets, bolt-on S-cam bushings, and PlatinumShield coating for longer service life. These trailer axles are designed for use with Meritor’s air disc brakes and drum brakes for consistently exceptional braking performance and stability.

From brakes to drivetrains, Meritor has gained a reputation for manufacturing high-quality aftermarket parts for heavy duty trucks, trailers, buses, and more. Today, finding specific Meritor components for your vehicle is as easy as a click of a button, but if you want to get the best deal for your money FinditParts is the store to go. FinditParts offers an extensive of genuine Meritor parts for a wide range of heavy duty trucks and commercial vehicles at accessible price points. Whether you own a single truck or an entire fleet, you’ll certainly get the best value for Meritor parts from FinditParts.