Western Star 4900 Constellation: Review

At the southern-most tip of Australia, it was cold – bitterly cold – and spring rain drizzled down, soaking the already muddy track. Yet for logging operator Mark Pike and his 4900 Western Star, it's all part of the job, because that's just how it is in this neck of the woods.

Still, Mark wasn't thrilled with the weather – he'd spent most of the previous night washing and polishing his red Constellation for the photo shoot. He had just arrived at the port in Hobart with his first load for the day, with mud from the bush track sitting heavily in the polished alloy rims and dripping down the chassis.

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A little over half an hour after arriving at the port, Mark notched up the control on the heater and started stirring the stick, swapping cogs in the 18-speed transmission behind the finely tuned 620hp Cummins Signature engine under the hood.

This time of day the traffic heading south out of Hobart is relatively light, and a string of green lights made for straightforward work getting out of town. Even with the back trailer folded up on the front trailer, the steep climb on the southern outlet of the A6 highway out of Hobart makes the Signature earn its keep.

Way over to the south west, dark clouds swirled low around Mount Wellington. Further to the south a small break in the clouds revealed a hint of blue sky, teasing that there might be some relief to this bitterly cold wind and icy rain pounding the south-east coastline this morning.

Mark and his father Lindsay share the driving in this Constellation. Mark's been logging the south east of Tasmania for more than a decade, his father for over three. Time and experience in the game has revealed some enduring lessons of what sort of gear is required to get around the steep countryside at the southern-most tip of the continent.

Mark does one short trip from the bush to a log yard in Hobart then returns to the bush and collects a load for a log yard at the northern end of the state. His father then climbs into the cabin in the late afternoon and does a round trip back during the night.

"It's a good combination having a father-and-son team," Mark revealed.

"We work together well and both have the same philosophy on how we care and maintain the truck, so there are no arguments."

The 4900 Western Star is owned by logging contractor Richard Terry, yet the responsibility of its daily operation including maintenance rests solely with Mark and Lindsay.

"I look after all the servicing and maintenance," Mark explained.

"It's more or less like having my own truck. We use to have our own [trucks] a few years back, but they changed the tendering process and we didn't feel it was viable to simply operate the trucking side of it anymore. To be competitive you really need to have all the harvesting equipment as well. So, this really suits Dad and I, operating this Western Star for a boss who relies on and values our transport input and experience."

This is the second Western Star Mark's operated in logging and so far he can't fault its performance. Mark cites Western Star's ability to custom build the truck specifically for their needs, the rugged construction, the proven performance and strong resale value as all being major factors that attracted him to the brand.

He adds that the performance of the Cummins Signature isn't too bad either, but even so he admits he had some initial reservations.

"We're traditionally Caterpillar fans," Mark said.

"But this truck came with the Cummins; so far it has been okay but only time will tell if it proves it can match the Caterpillars for reliability. The old Caterpillar-powered Western Star we traded had over 800,000 kilometres on the clock and we didn't have one problem with it – we only ever changed the oil and filters; it was a really terrific engine.

At the time of writing, the Cummins had already notched up over 500,000 kilometres without missing a beat.

The number of other Western Stars operating in logging applications in the same area only reiterates Mark and owner Richard Terry's comments about the product's durability.

From Huonville to Geeveston, the highway follows the banks of the spectacular Huon River. Even through the misty rain, the view along the foreshore was spectacular and the hour or so that it took to reach Geeveston from Hobart passed quickly.

In the middle of town Mark eased off the throttle, dropped a few gears and flicked the indicator to the right. From here the road winds its way further inland up through fertile farming land, and not far out of town the bitumen gives way to a narrow dirt track that winds its way up through the coastal mountain range.

Mark picked up the UHF hand-piece and called his position, as he poked the Western Star's bonnet up the narrow dirt bush track. A reply came back from an outbound truck leaving the landing. Mark acknowledged the driver and made arrangements to pull off the track at a junction, a few corners up the track.

"It is essential for safety to call your position up here," Mark said, as he looked out the windscreen for his mate.

"There's not much room for error on these tracks."

There was the customary wave as the trucks passed and brief conversation about the weather before the radio signal faded.

A short time later, Mark backed into the landing and stretched out his trailers.

Outside the cabin, the wind howled and the air chilled through to the bone. Mark climbed into an excavator parked in front of the log stack and began loading the front trailer. This load of pulp was bound for the chip mill at Mark's home town of Triabunna. On average it takes around 40 minutes to load himself and chain up, and today was no different.

Mark reckons this is where you really get to see the Cummins engine work to its full potential.

"The engine braking on these Signatures is really magnificent," Mark said.

"That's pretty important in this country and it makes a considerable saving to the life of your service brakes.

"You only have to see how it holds the load on these steep declines."

Mark has no complaints with the Signature's power, but he admits the fuel economy is a little heavy. Then again, he also concedes that steep grades do eat up a lot of horsepower, and the only way to get the horsepower is to feed it fuel.

It would take Mark another three or so hours to get to the mill to unload, before he'd head home for the night.

"Typical," was Mark's response, as the weather report predicted finer conditions for the next day.

But rain, hail or shine, Mark and his Dad know they can count on this Western Star Constellation for its driveability, its smooth ride, its durable construction and the power of that Cummins under the hood, which combine to make this one very versatile and effective logging truck.

Western Star 4900 Constellation specifications
Make: Western Star
Model: 4900 Constellation
Odometer: 512,642km
Format: 6x4
Engine: Cummins Signature
Power: 620hp (462kW) at 1600rpm
Torque: 2050ft-lb (2780Nm) at 1100rpm
Transmission: Eaton RTLO22918B 18-speed Roadranger
Front axle: Meritor FG941
Front suspension: Taper leaf 7.258t
Steering: TWR TA85
Rear axles: Meritor RT461-60
Rear axle ratio: 4.356
Rear suspension: Airliner
Main driveline: Dana Spicer SPL250HD 'XL' with half round yokes
Interaxle driveline: Dana Spicer SPL170 'XL' with half round yokes
Turntable: Jost JSK37 fifth wheel
Brakes: WABCO ABS with traction control
Fuel tank: Alloy 2 x 473lt
Cabin: Steel conventional cab
Interior: Vinyl trim with diamond stitching on door and back panels
Seats: National 2000 high back
Bumper: Painted steel
Extras: CR Turbo 2000 air dryer with heater, Bendix Westinghouse DV-2 auto moisture ejector, straight exhaust stacks