Western Star 4800: Review

Name: Western Star 4800: Review
Brand: Western Star

Pipes and lots of them are rolling quietly out of Townsville in far north Queensland by the trailer load, and getting them to their destinations is a job Neal Bros and their Western Stars have been doing for years

Neal Bros’ decision to focus on specialised transport and logistics is a gamble that’s paying off, although it has not been an easy road.

There is a considerable amount of hard work that goes into the preparation and co-ordination behind the scenes of each load. In many cases the destination for these lengths of pipe is often beside a trench carved through a lonely remote paddock with little more than set of tyre tracks guiding the way.

Meanwhile, Neal Bros’ latest Western Star 4800s are proving more than their worth with consistent reliability and flexibility within the fleet as they operate through a diverse range of applications. The back-up service they receive from the local Western Star dealer in Townsville is also first class and only adds to the efficiency and dependability of the new 4800s.

Drivers Neil Roberts (triple-road train) and Les Barraclough (extendable) have been in trucking throughout the north of the country for more years than either of them care to remember, and while they admit that the transport industry is a very good industry to be in, they both add it can be tough at times.

Today however, we’re here to see how their new Cummins ISX engines under the hood the 4800 Western Stars were performing.

Both 4800 Western Stars are rated at 90.5-tonnes, capable of hauling a triple road train with a modest load such as these pipes. They boast Cummins ISX engines rated at 550hp punching out 1850 pound-feet of torque coupled to an Eaton Fuller RTLO 20918B transmission. The rear suspension is an Airliner 46K with Eaton D46-170P final drive at 4.30:1 ratio.

“The engine braking on this ISX is really magnificent,” said Neil. “That’s pretty important in this country and it makes a considerable saving to the life of your service brakes,” he added.

The list of standard equipment on these trucks reads like an optional-extras brochure and includes such items as dual Hadley air horns, exterior sun visor, leather-wrapped steering wheel, chrome finish door handles, spring-mounted stainless steel tail lamp brackets and dual six-inch convex mirrors mounted below heated dual West Coast stainless steel door mounted mirrors, and more.

Functionally, there are pull-type drain valves on all tanks including the Bendix Westinghouse DV-2 auto moisture ejector on the wet tank, and a CR Turbo 2000 air dryer is standard for the tropical conditions of North Queensland.

From Townsville, the pair head west out the Flinders Highway, in what tourist brochures often refer to as the The Overlander’s Way which stretches from Townsville on the Pacific coast to Cloncurry where it changes its name to the Barkley Highway which goes on to meet the Stuart Highway at Three-Ways in the Northern Territory.

Today Neil was hauling his triple road train to a cattle station west of Mt Isa. These pipes are being used in the government’s ‘cap and pipe the bores’ program which is saving a reported 47,000 mega-litres of water from the Great Artesian Basin annually.

The Great Artesian Basin is one of the largest underground fresh-water resources in the world. It lies below 12 per cent of the country and supports a population of over 200,000 with an estimated 1400 bores tapping the basin.

Neil explained that he takes extra care with this type of load and that he has to stop every 100 kilometres or so to tighten the straps on the coils of pipe. Because of the nature of plastic, the coils actually change shape in the heat. He did add that: “Eventually, after several stops, they do settle down.”

Hard to fault

Neil reckons he can’t fault his 4800 Western Star, citing the ride, comfort and road handling as absolutely fabulous. He adds that the Air-Liner suspension delivers a great ride and gets the power to the ground smoothly.

He told us that even more surprising is the 4800’s turning circle: “It is exceptional for a bonneted truck. I can turn the 4800 in half the distance of the previous truck from a different stable and that’s important in our game,” He said.

Neil added that the power and reliability of the Cummins engine makes a huge difference as well.

Feeding the gas

Meantime, Les had left the Flinders Highway and was heading south, now well into his 2900 kilometre round trip, that would take him to the rich Coal Seam Gas fields near Roma in the Western Darling Downs before tracking back east to Brisbane to reload more pipes for the return leg to Townsville. It is a trip that takes him the best part of a week when everything runs smoothly.

These 630mm diameter pipes are 20 metres long and are used in the pipeline that will eventually feed the LNG export facility at Curtis Island in Gladstone Harbour.

Coal Seam Gas (CSG) is natural gas found in coal deposits. The coal and gas are formed from plant matter under pressure over many millions of years. Coal seam gas is used in the same way as any other form of natural gas for cooking and heating as well as in industrial processes and electricity generation.

In Australia, CSG is plentiful and we’re told provides 90 per cent of Queensland’s gas needs and 15 per cent of the state’s electricity generation. Coal seam gas is now about to form the basis of a major new liquid natural gas (LNG) export industry that will deliver substantial economic benefits to Queenslanders and create many thousands of jobs in the state, but more on LNG another time.

Les admits he prefers a load of these bigger pipes as they ride a lot better than the smaller diameter pipe such as Neil is hauling, primarily because they travel a lot better and don’t require constant tensioning.

“These 4800 Western Stars are a very user friendly truck,” Les said. “They’re extremely roomy in the cabin and the sleeper is terrific for these long hauls. I can stand up and get changed inside and there’s plenty of storage space as well.”

“Importantly, because of the more compact size of the 4800 it allows us greater flexibility to get the permits required to haul these long over-dimensional loads as well connect to either a B-double or road train,” Les added.

“They are extremely manoeuvrable which is vitally important in our game and they’re built tough enough to withstand the rugged conditions here in Western Queensland. Yet at the same time their tare weight is light enough to get a reasonable payload,” Les said. “Western Star has really found the balance with durability, performance and light tare weight with these 4800 models for our application,” Les concluded.

Western Star 4800 6x4 specifications:

Engine: Cummins ISX

Horsepower: 550hp (410kW) at1600rpm

Torque: 1850lb/ft (2508Nm) at 1100rpm

Gearbox: Eaton RTLO20918B 18-speed

Front Axle: Meritor MFS73 6.5T

Front Suspension: Taper leaf 7.258T

Steering: TWR TA85

Rear Axles: Dana D46-170P

Rear Axle Ratio: 4.30

Rear Suspension: Airliner

Main Driveline: Dana Spicer SPL250HD ‘XL’ with half-round yokes

Interaxle Driveline: Dana Spicer SPL170 ‘XL’ with half round yokes

Brakes: WABCO Antilock Braking System with traction control

Fuel Tank: Alloy 4 x 473 litres

Cabin: Steel conventional cab. E-coated

Interior: Vinyl Trim with diamond stitching on door and back panels

Seats: National 2000 high back

Extras: 40-inch Stratosphere ‘walk-through’ sleeper, CR Turbo 2000 air dryer with heater, Bendix Westinghouse DV-2 auto moisture ejector, Jost JSK37 fifth wheel, checkerplate chassis, dolly pull to rear of chassis, fresh water tank, Stiff Bar