Western Star 5800 SS: Owner review

Noel Partridge or ‘Porridge’ as he is better known in Tassie has been delivering grain and fertiliser to the farms around the Northeast of the state for more years than he cares to remember.

“My first truck was an old petrol TK Bedford,” he smiled as he introduced himself. “With no engine brake, in fact, it had hardly any brakes at all.”

Over the years, he has come to know just about every pothole in every farm laneway and where to swing wide to miss gateposts in tight gateways around the district.

Yet mention the ‘good-old days’ and he is quick to retort that the best thing about the good old days is they’re gone.

“Look at the sort of trucks that we’re operating today, they’re comfortable for starters, I mean you can’t complain about the ride can you?” said Noel. “They’re so much more efficient; let’s face it, if you’re serious about your business and delivering quality service to your customers you need equipment like this Western Star 5800.”

Around the farms
Noel took delivery of this 5800 Western Star only a few months before and even though it’s early days, he’s more than happy with its performance, economy and especially the ride.

“I needed a truck with a set-back front axle and good visibility to manoeuvre around the farms,” Noel revealed. “On some of the smaller farms there is virtually no room to swing a big truck like this around.

“You have to remember that some of these smaller farms were built over 150 years ago and in some cases are better suited to the horse and dray. Then after world war two, most farmers merely covered the old dray wheel ruts with light sprinkling of gravel to allow the smaller trucks of that era access and not much has improved on those farms to this day. Thankfully however, the modern farms are much easier to get around,” he added.

“I was also chasing better fuel economy and I’d read a lot of good reports on the new Detroit DD13 when they were released,” he continued. That’s when Phil Salter from Westar Truck Centre Melbourne suggested the Western Star 5800 might suit my operation.”

Flexible solutions
“One of the biggest advantages Western Star has is the ability to select from a wide variety of engines, right from Detroit Diesel’s 12.8-litre DD13 through to their big-bore DD15 and Cummins ISX range,” Phil Salter explained.

"We have the flexibility to offer and economic solution based on our customer’s needs and application. We’re not in the business of convincing a customer that a particular vehicle is what they need because it is what we have to sell them. It is about specifying the best truck to suit them,” Phil continued.

“The DD13 and 15 engines form "bubbles" of power, torque and hauling ability which we can show to customers. It’s after that when we work with them to select what they feel is best for their applications and what they want their engines to do.”

“Take Noel’s case. He was primarily concerned with fuel economy, but also with reliability and durability because he is a single truck operator who keeps his trucks a little longer than a big fleet operation would,” Phil pointed out.

“On one hand, there are some bigger fleets that would typically get rid of their equipment after a million kilometres and believe the 15-litre Detroit will last that distance without major maintenance. They argue the 13-litre might go that distance but with a higher percentage of overhauls, before hitting the magic million kilometre mark.

“But displacement alone has not always been the key factor in longevity,” Phil added.

"A Detroit Series 60, initially, was an 11-litre engine and they ran a million miles regularly," Phil recalled. "It was a large engine with a lot of iron in its block and crank and other parts, even though it had limited displacement. There are still companies today running those older 12.7 and 14-litre Series 60, and they’re still going strong.”

Needless to say, there is an important place for 13-litre engines and that’s in the bulk-commodity sector, such as Noel’s application where lower tare weight is important.

At the same time Noel will be looking closely at his fuel economy, as he has done with all his engines. For historical comparison, the pre-EGR 12.7 Detroit Series 60s averaged 3.2 L/km. Noel’s latest engine using exhaust after-treatment seems to be equaling that, however as both Phil and Noel added: “It’s still early days.”

Manoeuvrability and vision were high on Noel’s criteria list and the Western Star 5800 Series with its 1270mm (50-inch) set-back front axle, combined with the sloping hood, fitted the bill just nicely.

The fact that the standard engine option is the Detroit Diesel DD13 EGR rated at 450hp was just what Noel was looking for, a light-weight fuel-efficient engine with plenty of power to climb the steep hills around Northeast Tasmania.

“When you look at the 5800 Western Star, it’s a very versatile specced truck in its standard trim that would suit any number of applications where you need light tare weight and good manoeuvrability,” Noel volunteered. “They’re really one truck you can just walk in and order and put it straight to work without any modifications.”

The front axle on the 5800 Western Star is Meritor’s MFS73 with 419mm x 127mm Q-Plus brakes and Haldex automatic slack adjusters. The tandem rear axles are also from Meritor, MT-40-14XGP R-Series rated at 40,000lb with Meritor 419mm x 178mm Q-Plus brakes with MGM chambers and Haldex automatic slack adjusters.

The driveline is Dana Spicer 1810HD main driveline with full round yokes. While the jack-shaft is Dana Spicer 1710HD again with full round yokes. The rear suspension is Daimler’s Airliner extra-duty rated at 40,000lb capacity

Meantime, up front under the hood is a 1700 square inch copper/brass radiator, which is the standard for the DD13.

Noel also pointed out the standard CR Turbo 2000 air dryer with heater and Bendix Westinghouse DV-2 auto drain valve that keep the air system clean.

“It comes standard with all that,” Noel added.

The only option Noel was adamant he got was to upgrade from the standard 13-speed transmission to an 18-speed, which he reckons is a must for his application.

“I got a few other little things like the windscreen stone guard, hydraulics of course and white guards to match the outfit but there was very little additions we had to make,” Noel said. “They are simply a very well thought out model.”

Specifications:
Model: Western Star 5800 SS 6x4
Engine:Detroit DD13
Power: 450hp (462kW) @ 1800rpm
Torque: 1650lb/ft (2779Nm) @ 1200rpm
Gearbox: Eaton RTLO18918B 18-speed
Front Axle: Meritor MFS73
Front Suspension: Taper leaf 1270mm
Rear Axles: Meritor MT-40-14XGP R-Series
Rear Axle Ratio: 4.56
Rear Suspension: Airliner 40,000lb
Main Driveline: Meritor MXL 18N with full round yokes
Inter-axle Driveline: Meritor MXL 17N with full round yokes
Brakes: WABCO Antilock Braking System with traction control
Fuel: Alloy 2 x 473-litre
Bumper: Polished alloy
Extras: 200-litre hydraulic tank, Chelsea PTO, White Red Dog rear guards