Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/102855
trucks | by Jack Roberts JRoberts@randallreilly.com Our test 4700SF was a brilliant pearl white with Western Star's blue and red Flare graphics package accentuating the front fenders. Other graphics packages you can spec include the Smoke, Torch and Flame accents. Rising star The 4700SF proves itself on a serious ascent from the desert floor W ith the high-rollers still sleeping off the previous night's excesses, navigating out of Las Vegas early on a Saturday morning isn't all that hard to do. So as the sun flickered between the hotels and casinos to my left, I headed down Interstate 15 South with the Mojave Desert and Death Valley square in my sights. I was behind the wheel of a brand new Western Star 4700SF dump truck and couldn't think of a better place to test it. Western Star built its legacy on the unlikely pairing of bare-knuckle toughness and champagne-sipping elegance. Their trucks are a bit like a pro wrestler dancing in a tutu: Built tough, and you find them working hard in some of the roughest places on the planet. Climb into the cab, and you're greeted with high-level trim packages, luxurious appointments and an attention to detail that would be right at home on a highend sports sedan. The demeanor of the truck pays obvious homage to the company's conventional roots, but the modern design cues provide a sleek-looking truck with visibility and functionality unforeseeable when the first Western Star hit the highway. Throw in Daimler's high-tech diesel and powertrain technology, smooth the whole thing out with an optimized suspension and make driver comfort a driving design factor, and you've got today's Western Star: really tough trucks that are a pleasure to drive. Their engineers never bought into the idea that drivers have to be miserable while their trucks work up a sweat. The real test for the 4700SF this early October morning will be pulling Baker Grade just over the border as I cross into California. The little town of Baker, California, sits at 930 feet above sea level, leaving more than 3,000 more feet to climb into the mountains that separate it from the Nevada border. There are long grades of 6 percent or more. The desert just outside the city is flat as a fritter, light lifting for the Detroit DD13. The cruise control levers are within easy reach at the left-hand side of the center dash – right next to the controls for the Detroit engine brake. Both systems will prove to be a blessing once I get into the mountains, but for now I set my speed with the push of a button and settle in while the Allison 4500 RDS automated manual transmission does the real work. It wasn't long ago that in order to enjoy the stereo in a dump truck, you'd need to ask The Who to play live just so you'd be able to hear EquipmentWorld.com | January 2013 47