Western Star 4700 SB Agitator Review

In recent times Bundaberg has endured its fair share of natural disasters, back in December 2010, Bundaberg experienced its worst floods in 60 years with floodwaters from the Burnett River inundating hundreds of homes.

Then just two years later, in January 2013, Bundaberg experienced its worst flooding in recorded history, with floodwaters from the Burnett peaking at 9.3 meters.

"During that time more than 2000 properties were affected by floodwaters, which moved in excess of 70km/h," says Glenn Pratt, Manager of Mansell Premix, Bundaberg.

"The floodwaters were so ferocious that two defence force Blackhawk helicopters were brought in from Townsville as part of the evacuation operation, which involved a further 14 aircraft."

"The town is well and truly getting back on its feet again and the floods this year thankfully were mild," Pratt adds.

"Bundaberg Distilling Company which has been part of the community for over 125 years really gave the town a boost in 2013, with a limited edition rum, called the 'Roads to Recovery Rum' that bears the names of those affected streets and names across the region. They went on sale for $60 per bottle with all proceeds going to flood recovery. Today those bottles are being sold on eBay for over $500 each."

"I wouldn’t say that there is a construction boom on at the moment, but we are very busy with minor flood repair work as well as new development jobs," Pratt explains. "Not only are there houses and buildings that need repair but much of the surrounding infrastructure such as bridges need repairing too, some were damaged so severely they are being completely reconstructed.

"Needless to say the arrival of the new Western Star 4700 8x4 with is 7.5 metre barrel was truly timely."

Experienced operator

When it comes to trucks and specifying them to operate in rugged conditions you’d go a long way to find someone who knows more about it than Pratt. He spent almost a decade managing the transport operation at the Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea.

"Neil Mansell Concrete joined the Neil Mansell Group in 2005 with the purchase of an independent premix concrete company with two fixed concrete plants in Mackay and Moranbah, one mobile concrete plant, a sand extraction facility and cement importing warehouse," Pratt reveals.

"Since then, Neil Mansell Concrete has purchased a concrete batching plant in Bowen, Tin Can Bay, Gympie, Toowoomba and ours here in Bundaberg and is looking to establish a plant in the Maroochydore area in the near future.”

“We’ve been involved in some very large concrete pours, that include supplying 16,000 cubic metres for the Wivenhoe Dam upgrade, 25,000 cubic metres for the Burdekin to Moranbah Pipeline and over 38,000 for the Darling Downs Power Station.”

Cummins Power

This Western Star 4700 is equipped with the Cummins ISLe5 400hp, an Alison MD3000 RDS automatic transmission and Chelsea PTO. Rear axle is DSH44, which boasts both inter-axle and cross locks with a 6.17:1 final-drive ratio all mounted on the Airliner rear suspension. This eight-wheeler is fitted with the larger 150-litre fuel tank and 70-litre AdBlue tank.

However, the Western Star 4700 boasts a wide variety of transmissions on offer to meet application demands, including Eaton Fuller manuals and the UltraShift automated box, plus Allison 3000 and 3500 Series six-speed autos.

Coupled with this are a variety of Meritor or Dana Spicer drive axles and various suspensions to suit the application. The 4700 also comes in 6x4 or 8x4 with the option of a 10x4 fitted with a pusher axle variants.

Inside the cab

The cab is 110 inches (2.7m) BBC of all steel construction and the one-piece grille is mounted to the frame rails and fitted with a screen behind to protect the radiator. The air cleaner is mounted under the fibreglass bonnet and after tilting the hood, there is ample room for service personnel to access all parts of the engine.

The cab interior has been well designed to offer drivers plenty of head and legroom. Instrument panel and switches are easily accessed and large mirrors, including one above the left hand front guard give a good view of the surroundings.

Vision is one of the 4700’s strong points. Large windows and a sloping bonnet, coupled with the mirror configuration, offer a view from the driver’s seat that’s up there with the best in its class.

Western Star has played particular attention to operator requirements across all areas of design and engineering and the new model will easily find a place across a wide variety of applications.

Cesco agitator

Particular attention has been paid to bodybuilder requirements to mount all bodies. Cesco Australia Limited who supplied the eight-cubic-metre barrel agree that the new 4700 Western Star is one of the easier installations they’ve performed. The barrel is made from 5mm high tensile steel and includes an 8mm high tensile steel dished end with an inner wear plate.

Additional features of the Cesco agitator include a 200-litre pressurised water system with both slump and water meters and double-acting remote chute jack. The barrel’s operation can be controlled either from the cabin via the centre console-mounted controls, the rear of the truck, or additionally the remote control unit outside the truck.

"One thing that attracted us to the Western Star 4700 is that unlike other truck cabs in the market segment, which are built using lightweight aluminium, the 4700’s cab is all made of steel," Pratt reveals.

Western Star claims that despite the fact that the steel cabins are significantly heavier than the aluminium units, the company chooses this material because it’s tougher and more resistant to the bumps and knocks that are prevalent in the construction vocation.

Moreover, in order to be corrosion resistant the, steel-cabs have been galvan-nealed. The extra gussets and reinforcements are bonded, welded, dipped and then protected with a 17-stage e-coat process for long-lasting corrosion resistance and a superior paint finish.

Happy driver

Driver Brendon Noakes is more than happy with the plush interior of the 4700 Western Star. The 72-inch wide cab offers great flexibility and plenty of head- and leg-room, even for a big bloke like Noakes.

Combine that with a high driving position and an excellent vision, and you have one of the best working places on wheels available in today’s market. Western Star has also fitted this model with plenty of useful storage spaces.

Starting with the generous door pockets, continuing to the big storage box mounted between the seats and finishing with the big compartments fitted into the dash, everything is well-placed and comfortable to use.

The 4700 also features a pretty smart wiring loom. Western Star puts the body builder interface connectors and transmission control unit in the cab to protect them from the elements. There is also a convenient bolt-in pass-through plate in the cab floor available, to eliminate unnecessary drilling, and a dedicated floor channel with an easy-to-remove top for easy access to the wires.

The Cummins ISLe Euro5 offers significant benefits for payload-critical operations such ready-mix concrete due in part to a weight reduction that is up to 150kg lighter than competitive engines. Cummins claims that operators benefit from high performance, strong acceleration and lower operating costs.

Lower maintenance costs are achievable, thanks to a combination of long service intervals and a simpler design of the ISLe. Minimal maintenance intervention is required too, valve set checks are way beyond industry standard intervals, while fuel injectors require no scheduled inspection and the auto-tensioning fan drive belt requires only visual inspection.

"The gear ratios of the Allison 3000R fully-automatic transmission are spot-on for our work; they handle the change in load as the truck is emptied and provide easy starts and smooth gear changes," Noakes explains.

"Mansell’s chose this spec because it is more powerful than the other trucks we have been using, and Allison is the best transmission for the task. With this truck we are often called on to assist at our other plants which can be up to 700 kilometres away so we need efficient highway driving.

"The Allison 3000R fully-automatic transmission is tremendous for both highway and suburban driving because it easily accelerates to and maintains cruising speeds, but doesn’t allow the engine to rev too high, so fuel consumption is kept to a minimum, especially when compared to my older truck," he adds.

Reliability and long service intervals are significant factors in Mansell’s longstanding loyalty to Allison transmissions.

"Concrete delivery is often time critical as it can sometimes have additives which promote fast curing processes. We need to deliver concrete promptly at the time the clients specify, and we have never been let down by Allison," Glenn Pratt says.

"We’ve had no problems with Allison automatics in all the years we’ve been using them. We know we can trust them. In fact, they’re getting even better, with longer services intervals and higher efficiency," he concludes.

The verdict

It would be hard to find a truck in this class that is better built than the Western Star 4700. Its build quality is at the bullet-proof level and its rugged design capable of handling even the most arduous missions.

The cabin is also well designed and appointed and is also easy to enter and exit. The Cummins engine has already proven its value in other models and the tight wheel cut helps the Western Star 4700 be nimble to manoeuvre even on the narrowest laneways.

Specifications:

Make: Western Star
Model: 4700SB 8x4
Engine: Cummins ISLe5
Horsepower: 400hp (298kW) @1600rpm
Torque: 1300lb/ft (1760Nm) @ 1100rpm
Gearbox: Alison MD3000 RDS
PTO: Chelsea
Front Axle: Meritor MFS-14-143A 13.4T
Front Suspension: Taper leaf 13.2 (dual steer)
Rear Axles: DSH44 with diff locks to both axles
Rear Axle Ratio: 6.17:1
Rear Suspension: AirLiner 20.9T
Brakes: WABCO 4S/4M Antilock Braking System with traction control
Fuel Tank: Brushed Alloy 150 litre
Ad Blue Tank: 70 litre
Cabin: Steel conventional cab E-coated