Electric vehicles tend to dominate the conversation around Teslas, trucks, and mass transit. But look a little closer—on farms, job sites, and construction yards—and you’ll see electrification showing up in less obvious places. Off-highway vehicles (OHVs), like loaders, combines, and compact construction equipment, are starting to ditch diesel in favor of battery power.
This shift is creating some ripple effects. One of the biggest? What it means for suspension systems.
Electric drivetrains bring new performance benefits—quieter operation, fewer emissions, instant torque—but they also bring extra weight, usually from large battery packs. And that weight isn't always in the same place as a traditional engine. For OEMs, this shift in mass distribution means rethinking everything from ground clearance to how stress moves through the frame.
That includes suspension.
Take a battery-powered mini excavator, for example. The battery may sit lower in the chassis for stability, but that changes how the vehicle flexes under load. It’s not just about adding stronger shock absorbers—it’s about recalibrating for a different kind of movement altogether.
According to McKinsey, we’re likely to see the 30–150 HP range of off-highway equipment go electric first, and it’s happening sooner than expected—between now and 2027 (McKinsey).
Another factor: noise. Electric machines are, well, really quiet. And that’s great—unless your suspension system is clunky or under-damped. In a diesel-powered loader, you might not hear a bit of feedback from the shocks. In an electric one, it’s all you hear.
That’s part of the challenge. It’s not just about managing performance under load—it’s about doing it quietly, without compromise. As OEM Off-Highway puts it, the move to electric isn’t just mechanical—it’s also about managing “acoustic optimization.”
That means better isolation, better materials, and more precise damping—things we’ve been leaning into at TBC for years.
The last big piece? Customization. There’s no universal answer to electrified OHV suspension. Every OEM is solving slightly different engineering challenges. And with electric vehicle architecture still evolving, that’s not going to change anytime soon.
A recent report from IDTechEx points out that as vehicle form factors change, component suppliers need to be more adaptable than ever. We’re already seeing that in the field—no two builds are the same, and the suspension has to match.
At The Brown Company, custom is the norm. We’ve built shock absorber bags for battery-powered mining trucks, rail service vehicles, even utility platforms. These systems can’t just survive the switch to electric—they need to perform better because of it.
Electrification in OHVs isn’t theoretical anymore. It’s happening. And while battery and drivetrain technology are getting most of the headlines, the success of these machines will depend on how well every supporting system adapts—including the suspension.
This is exactly where we like to operate: in the engineering gray areas, where real-world conditions meet smart design. If you’re working on something electric and off-road, we’d love to be in the conversation.