The aces of Base Air

Clever or crazy, trucking history is full of inventions of one sort or another. But every now and then, something genuinely good emerges and if all goes well, the ball starts rolling. Such is the story behind the Base Air suspension system, forging a new paradigm in truck and trailer stability according to some high profile and highly astute operators

Strange how things sometimes develop. Like the Brisbane Truck Show 2021 and a casual conversation with a good friend from trailer group MaxiTrans.

“Have you heard of an air suspension system called Base Air?” he asked.

“The name rings a bell but that’s all. Why?”

“Just curious. There seems to be a lot of interest in it. Wanna catch up for a beer tonight?”

Obvious answer, “For sure.”

Less than an hour later there’s an equally casual encounter with retired Boral engineer Merv Rowland. Merv’s a top man, respected far and wide, and what he doesn’t know about truck and trailer performance probably isn’t worth knowing, but out of the blue he mentions Base Air and its creator, a bloke named Matthew Vaughan. Long story short, Merv says he’s hearing nothing but good things about Vaughan and his air suspension system.

But this is the Brisbane Truck Show and busy as a check-out chick on Friday arvo, thoughts about Base Air and its boffins soon drift into the cerebral clouds.

Media legend Ray Martin pushing the case for Base Air at the 2022 Paccar Parts and Service conference. The Base Air kit is available through Paccar Parts but there’s no sign yet it will be offered as a production line option on Kenworth

So, fast forward a year or more, parked in a quiet, shady spot making notes about the truck I’ve been driving. The phone rings, and a distinctly familiar voice says, “Hi Steve, it’s Ray Martin.”

Thinking it’s a mate who has caught me before with his voice impressions, I’m tempted to say, ‘Yeah, and this is George Negus,’ but something stops me. Just as well, because it actually is legendary media man Ray Martin.

Now what would this national icon, a man who has interviewed some of the world’s most famous people, even Bradman, want with a truck journalist who’s been around almost as long as he has?

Yep, you guessed it. Base Air!

A long conversation starts and after unfurling a passionate appreciation for Australian initiative and ingenuity mixed with a surprisingly detailed understanding of trucking in general, he brings Base Air and its mastermind Matthew Vaughan into the chatter and it’s immediately apparent Ray Martin’s a fan. A big fan, and it’s not long before he’s not only asserting Base Air’s performance and safety attributes, and its acceptance by an increasing number of fleets and drivers, but questioning why it’s not yet a production line option with local truck makers, notably Kenworth.

Early morning at Martin’s Stock Haulage depot near Oakey. The Scone (NSW) based company runs 85 prime movers, around 260 trailers and Base Air is now a fundamental fitment because “it ticks all the boxes, and then some.”

By now though, cynical suspicions are starting to stir. What’s behind this level of enthusiasm and even excitement from an Australian media legend about an aftermarket suspension system for trucks and trailers? Is he angling an interview for 60 Minutes (I hope not, because I am certainly not a fan) or does he have a financial stake in the Base Air business? A harsh thing, cynicism!

Gratefully, neither is the case and the cynicism is unwarranted. As later discussions would disclose, Ray Martin met Base Air founder and director Matthew Vaughan in 2008 and became an ardent supporter of what’s best described as an air management system for heavy vehicle suspensions. So supportive, in fact, he has interviewed dozens of drivers about the system’s performance, spoken openly on Base Air’s benefits, done voice-overs to explain the system’s operation and in May 2020, joined the Advisory Board of controlling entity, Base Air Management Ltd.

Other than that, and the fact his son Luke Martin is employed in a marketing capacity with the company, that’s as far as the media luminary’s involvement goes.

Critical components. Base Air height control valves fitted under a T909 (above) and under a trailer (below)

Eventually, and with Merv Rowland’s comments from a year earlier bouncing around the brain box, the conversation ends with an agreement to talk with Matthew Vaughan and in a few months’ time, perhaps get behind the wheel for a comparison of trucks with and without the Base Air system.

That comparison took place at the end of last year but before that, it didn’t take much research to reveal other unrelated Martins in the Base Air story, namely Martin’s Stock Haulage forthright founder Gordon Martin and his son Jason. And others of similarly candid character, with far more at stake than any media celebrity. People like Blenners Transport principal Less Blennerhassett, Wickham Freight Lines director Graham Keogh, former Toll Group (now Team Global Express) executive general manager Ross Longmire, and critically, a bunch of drivers with definite opinions on what works and what doesn’t. They’re all there on YouTube, citing the benefits of Base Air and not pulling any punches in their enthusiasm and support for the system.

It’s worth noting though, these high-profile and highly successful companies are all committed and long-term users of Kenworth trucks, yet there is no indication from Paccar Australia that Base Air will become a production line option at the Bayswater (Vic) factory anytime soon. Sure, the Base Air kit is now available through Paccar Parts but so far, senior Paccar Australia people insist they have more than enough on their production plate without adding yet another option to the Kenworth book of bits.

Consequently, in the majority of cases where a new Kenworth is to be fitted with the Base Air system, the installation is done to Base Air’s direction by highly regarded Melbourne company, Australian Bus and Truck Modifications. But some, like Martin’s Stock Haulage, have been trained by Base Air to do their own installations.

Nonetheless, these fleet people are not walkovers when it comes to product promotion or endorsement. They call it the way they see it, whatever it is, so if they’re prepared to put their company and their name to a particular product, there must be something to it and more to the point, something beneficial for their business.

As Wickham’s Graham Keogh, a man well-known for not mincing words, succinctly says of Base Air, “I’ve got no reason to say it works if it doesn’t … all round it’s a really good experience for us.”

Reasons and results

As for the function of the system, the text of Ray Martin’s voice-over on YouTube probably explains it best, first describing Base Air as ‘a revolutionary air management system … designed for heavy vehicles’.

Simply, it is not a new air suspension. It is a system which allows an existing air suspension to more instantly react to dynamic forces. Or, as Base Air states, ‘It actively and mechanically increases control over the air suspension – in real time – in response to changing vehicle dynamic driving conditions such as offset loading, chassis roll, cambered roads etc.’

The driving force of the Base Air system, Matthew Vaughan

Furthermore, ‘When the vehicle is not in a chassis roll condition, Base Air actively equalises pressure in all air springs to ensure load share and reduce overloading on suspension components. This is accomplished without electronics and adjustment is never needed.’

It’s worth mentioning the small print though, ‘Base Air is not applicable on vehicles fitted with electronic height control valves’.

Anyway, as the explanation continues, ‘Traditional methods of pressure control for air suspension are often static systems. They use one air circuit for two sets of air springs.

‘The Base Air system uses a vehicle’s existing air supply, connected to a dual-pressure protection valve. It then runs two separate air lines of equal length and equal diameter, down to two bespoke height control valves. This creates a dual-circuit system.

‘Each valve operates independent of the other depending on road conditions. For example, when the vehicle enters a bend in the road, or the surface has become unstable, both circuits operate independently. Each set of springs responds to changes in loading, with the appropriate pressure for that side.

‘When the vehicle is once again on level ground, air pressure is equalised via unique cross-flow technology, which maintains perfect load sharing. This smarter control system reduces vibration for the driver, and for freight, along with more uniform loading, resulting in less tyre wear.’

Moreover, in a written response to our questions, Matthew Vaughan explained, ‘Separating a single-circuit air system into a dual-circuit system helps each lateral set of air springs maintain appropriate pressure for varying conditions.

‘This means what the driver feels is more consistent and predictable. Less steering correction is necessary to maintain the driver’s intended path, so the driver reaches the end of a journey less fatigued, with less tyre-wear and less movement that can damage freight.

‘Synchronising the two circuits via cross-flow once the vehicle has returned to steady conditions, ensures load share is always maintained.’

Emerald Carrying Company’s stunning ‘Super Triple’. The entire combination is fitted with the Base Air system

Again, Vaughan cites reduced driver fatigue, less component wear, reduced vibration and freight damage, and increased tyre life as the benefits reported by operators of the system.

Tyre life has been a particularly big gain for Wickham Freight Lines with Graham Keogh reporting a 20 to 30 per cent improvement. “If you’re saving on your tyres, you’re generally saving on fuel, which is the big one,” he remarks, while further stating, “Drivers are really impressed.”

Likewise, Martin’s Stock Haulage national operations manager Adam Ross reports similar improvements in tyre life along with a slight gain in average fuel consumption from 1.62 to 1.67km/litre. He’s also adamant, “Drivers get out of the truck fresher.”

Meantime, at Tully in Far North Queensland, Les Blennerhassett says the company’s first driver of a new combination fully fitted with Base Air was Graeme Lyon. Les admits he was keen for unfettered feedback, so Graeme wasn’t told of the Base Air fitment. However, just a few hours after leaving on the combination’s maiden run, Graeme rang to ask, “What’s different? This thing just stands up so much better.”

Another high profile fan of Base Air is Blenners Transport in Tully, North Queensland

Much the same sentiments came from former Toll Group executive Ross Longmire (now a general manager with Followmont Transport in Qld) who saw improvements in tyre wear as a direct result of trucks and trailers simply “… standing up better.” There are, he added, “Lots of positives.

“Driving is an onerous job and anything we can do as an organisation, as an industry, to improve that, we need to explore it. If someone asked me about Base Air I’d definitely recommend they go explore it,” he concluded.

All these accolades are, of course, music to the ears of the team at Base Air and its principal, Matthew Vaughan, whose first foray with a dual height control system for airbag suspensions dates back to a concept originally developed by a Gippsland (Vic) truck driver in 2005 and the subsequent formation of a company called Ride & Glide Pty Ltd.

Since then, and despite no formal engineering background, Vaughan has been the driving force in the technical evolution of the product and the creation of Base Air Management Ltd, an unlisted public company with around 500 shareholders.

As he explains, the technology of an air suspension system with dual height control valves was patented in the US, Mexico, Europe, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand in 2008 and by 2011, Ride & Glide had morphed into Base Suspension Pty Ltd. In case you’re wondering, ‘Base’ is an acronym of ‘Balance And Safety Enhancement.’

Trucks and technology have come a long way since Gordon Martin started business with one International and today, both he and son Jason are avid proponents of Base Air

In 2014, Matthew Vaughan relocated to the United States and it was here in 2017 that the key to Base Air’s future emerged with his development of ‘cross-flow technology’ to equalise air pressure in a dual-circuit, height control valve (HCV) system, effectively reinventing the original technology.

From this point on, producing and testing proprietary components with the necessary performance and quality were the prime goals. Ultimately, after extensive field trials of prototypes in the US and Australia in 2019, as well as laboratory tests by Camozzi Automation in Italy, production of height control valves and dual-pressure protection valves built to Base Air’s exact requirements commenced in 2020 in Brescia, Italy.

As Base Air’s product information details, the core components of the system are ‘proprietary precision-engineered HCVs with crossflow technology, dual-pressure protection valves, full-flow US Dept of Transport (DOT) approved air fittings, and high capacity, low resistance, equal length DOT approved air lines.’

Things moved fast from 2020, starting with the first installations and field trials in Queensland. There were minor hiccups but early results were hugely positive and by August 2021, the decision was made to relocate to Yatala on Brisbane’s outskirts to accommodate, as Matthew Vaughan put it, increases in staff and the supply of HCVs.

Martin’s Stock Haulage driver Nathan McLoughlin. A big fan of Base Air for reasons that go hand-in-hand. Safety and stability

In February last year, a supply agreement was reached with Paccar Parts Australia and little more than six months later, vital warranty approval was given by air suspension suppliers Hendrickson and SAF-Holland.

Operator acceptance appears to have come with even greater zeal. According to Matthew Vaughan, at the end of 2022 there were around 140 Base Air systems operating across Australia, with each standard system consisting of two HCVs and one dual-pressure protection valve.

Unquestionably, one of the most impressive combinations is the ‘Super Triple’ belonging to Queensland’s Emerald Carrying Company with all seven axle groups – from the steer and tri-drive of the T909 prime mover to the quad-axle trailer groups and tri-axle dollies – equipped with the Base Air system.

Meantime, one of the latest to join the growing list of high-profile companies adopting Base Air is Visy Industries, adding the system on an order for 10 new Vawdrey trailers.

‘It would,’ says Matthew Vaughan, ‘be safe to say the system has been run over 20 million kilometres.’

‘So far, we have had nothing but positive feedback on the system.’

Early one summer morning on the backroads beyond Oakey in southern Queensland, it didn’t take long to understand why.

Good to go

Base Air isn’t just for heavy trucks and trailers. It can be fitted to air-suspended buses, caravans and utes, like the gutsy Chevy Silverado punching hard through the bends on the long climb up Toowoomba Range by Base Air technician Tony Thurgar.

It’s well after dark and predictably, the conversation inside the cab is all about the workings and attributes of Base Air. The Chevy is cornering flat as a toad on tar but rather than ramble on about how good it is, Tony flicks a switch (fitted for demonstration purposes only) which cancels the Base Air system and immediately, the Silverado reverts to its standard sloppy self, rockin’ and rollin’ around the bends.

A short but impressive demonstration for sure, but according to Tony, nothing like the difference we’ll experience tomorrow morning when two Martin’s Stock Haulage B-double sets demonstrate why Base Air has become fundamental in a company which puts high stock – literally – in stability and safety.

Locked and loaded at the Kurrawong feedlot west of Toowoomba. With heavy cattle on top and bottom decks, the difference in stability between the B-double with Base Air and the combination with a standard air suspension was dramatic

The sun has just cracked over the hill at Martin’s Oakey depot and two drivers wait among a line of serious toilers, mostly T909s mixed with a few T610s. The two men seem a tad anxious at first, and fair enough. They are, after all, about to move into the passenger seat while a couple of journalists drive their T9s with double-deck cattle crates. Even empty crates, it’s a worry for drivers whose abilities and experience come from hard yards in a hard line of work where one mistake can quickly become one too many.

But over the rest of the morning an easy acceptance emerges, and Matt Lanagan and Nathan McLoughlin seem happy enough with a stranger who at least knows how to change gear and steer straight. Still, they’re much happier talking about Base Air and the huge stability benefit it produces in notoriously top-heavy cattle crates, loaded or empty.

The exercise is simple enough: Compare the ride and handling of two T909s hauling B-double crates, empty and loaded, one with Base Air controlling the standard air suspension of truck and trailers, the other without.

Understandably, Martin’s draws the line at inexperienced people driving a combination with a heavy load of cattle on board, so we only drive the trucks empty. Again, fair enough.

Besides, in reality there’s not a lot to be gained from short stints behind the wheel of either truck. The fact is, it’s the drivers who best know Base Air’s on-road attributes and as the day will define, the system’s merits become plainly evident from either side of the cab.

From Martin’s yard, it’s a steady run on typically rough-edged backroads to the Kurrawong feedlot where each outfit will take on board a full load of big Brahman-cross cattle headed for eternity at Kilcoy, about 140km away. And predictably, it’s on the loaded run where the Base system will show its strongest asset, physically and visually. Indeed, following each of the loaded trucks in a car later in the day, the ‘lean’ factor was almost imperceptible in the Base-equipped combination while the other unit had, well, a typical leaning one way or the other.

Matt Lanagan: The experienced livestock driver admits to being a Base Air sceptic at first but now, “I can’t fault it. It just stands up so well.”

Anyway, first up I climbed in with Matt Lanagan in the un-Based combination, a 2015 T909 with 1.1 million kilometres under its belt and truly, a credit to Kenworth’s build quality and critically, Martin’s maintenance standards.

We’re not going far, just 30km or so before swapping to the Base-equipped truck, but far enough for Matt to explain a few things while I steer. For instance, after many years chauffeuring cattle around the country, he’s something of a fill-in driver these days and admits to initially being “a bit sceptical” about Base Air but after driving a number of new trucks fitted with the system over the past year and more, the scepticism has been replaced by high regard. “I can’t fault it,” he says simply.

From behind the wheel, the aging T909 is a nice truck to drive yet altogether typical of a model built for this type work. It steers well, ride is a tad choppy and yes, even unloaded, the high centre-of-gravity is something to be aware of on sweeping bends.

A few hours later with 60 head of hefty cattle on board, Matt’s experience keeps the combination on an even keel but even so, it’s obvious a steady hand and keen sense are taking nothing for granted on roads that seem to change character and camber from one turn to the next.

“That’s what I like about the Base system,” he remarked quickly. “It’s the balance it provides. This is a good enough truck but you’re always working at it. Even standing still, it rocks around with the cattle moving.” Right then, it was easy to appreciate the comments by some operators and drivers that Base Air has been a boon for minimising driver fatigue.

“You’ll notice the difference in Nathan’s truck.” Matt declared. “It just stands up so well.”

The truck is a 2021 model with near enough to 291,000 on the clock and as Nathan McLoughlin explained, “I’ve been in it from new and it’s had Base Air on the truck and trailers from the start.”

Even standing still, the difference was remarkable. With Base Air, there was hardly any movement of truck or trailers as cattle shuffled and shoved each other. Without it, the rocking was constant

With Martin’s for the past nine years, he seems content enough to sit in the shotgun seat for the next half or so to the feedlot, and agrees that even empty, the combination sits noticeably more upright than the standard suspension. What’s more, the ride’s not as harsh on broken bits of road, bitumen or dirt.

“But you really notice it with cattle on, especially big cattle on both decks,” he adds. Indeed you do.

In fact, from the moment the loaded trucks pulled over for a passenger swap it was blatantly obvious that the Base-equipped unit was barely moving while the other combination rocked noticeably as cattle continued to shuffle and shove each other around.

“You should try sleeping when they’re moving around all night,” Matt Lanagan laughed.

Soon enough, Nathan had the Kenworth punching along sweeping country roads with an easy confidence, and much like Matt, a calm affinity with the metal and mass around him. It was good to just watch him work and there’s no question, this truck rides better.

“It’s definitely kinder on the cattle,” he says with absolute certainty, “but the big gain is stability.”

He has good cause for the comment. Some time back, he explains, a truck came his way on the wrong side of the road. The only option was to ‘go bush’, putting his fully loaded B-triple into a table drain and it’s a totally convinced Nathan McLoughlin who believes the only reason the trailers stayed upright was the Base Air system. “No doubt about it,” he says, “a standard unit would’ve been on its side.”

Yet for all the merits of the Base Air system expressed by the two Martin’s drivers, Nathan concedes, “I admit that if I had to drive the other (non-Base) truck right now, I’d need to do a quick mental recalibration.

“It’d be easy to come unstuck if you thought everything stood up this well,” he says earnestly. Earlier, Matt Lanagan had expressed much the same thought.

The last word

All too soon the day was done, leaving nothing but a hugely positive opinion of the Base Air system.

The final words, however, need to come from Gordon and Jason Martin, the principals of a company which runs 85 prime movers and around 260 trailers in an industry with little to no tolerance for the foolhardy or frivolous. It is, after all, Gordon and Jason who not only agreed to make their drivers, trucks and trailers available for this exercise but most importantly, are fully committed to a system which they bluntly affirm, delivers immense benefits on so many levels.

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According to Jason Martin, the story starts a few years back when “one of our trailer makers said check out this new Base Air system.

“I was sceptical, thought it too good to be true.”

There’s no sign of that scepticism now. Like his drivers, he says simply, the trailers just stand up better and the freight gets to the end in better condition.

With these attributes, company founder Gordon Martin was typically adamant about the decision to adopt Base Air. “Let’s just use it.”

And use it they are, on all new trucks and trailers and progressively retrofitting the system to existing equipment in their own workshop.

Jason doesn’t deny it’s a substantial investment “… but the impact it will have on our business will be massive.

“Our biggest costs are fuel, tyres and maintenance. Base ticks all the boxes and then some,” he insists.

For Gordon Martin, there’s an even higher priority. “The safety has just blown us away.

“The great thing is to send a bloke out on a job but the greater thing is to get him home.”

Indeed!