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In 1926, Hendrickson introduced the first tandem truck suspension, which mounted the axles on each end of an equalizing beam. This unique "walking beam" design distributed the truck's load evenly between the two rear axles, which improved traction and greatly reduced the effects of bumps and potholes in the road. The walking beam soon gained widespread acceptance among the industry's new 6x4 "six wheeler" trucks, which allowed more payload.
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Modified at the USA by the “THORNTON TANDEM COMPANY of 5128 Braden Street. Detroit” using one of their commercial kits and converted to the so called “LHD chassis”. The conversion consisted in shortening the frame to 3010mm and adding a powered twin rear axle with reinforced suspension, thus converting it to 6?4 with a increased payload of 3 to 6 Tons.
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The Trado, named after the co-founder of DAF Hubertus van Doorne and captain engineer Piet van der Trappen (Trappen — Doorne), consisted of a leaf-springed bogie with two actuated road wheels that could be easily attached to, driven by and rotate on the back axis of any commercial truck, thus adding a "walking beam" to the vehicle that significantly improved its cross-country performance. The Trado III suspension system, an improved version, was a considerable commercial success and applied to many existing and new civilian and military truck types. The armoured vehicle projects had the designation Pantrado in common, a contraction of the Dutch word for "armoured car", Pantserwagen, and Trado.
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