High Style

It’s a time for frugality. Caution. Austerity. Yet nothing, it seems, can take the shine off a sweet ride.

Exhibit A: Western Star’s new 82-inch Stratosphere Light Sleeper, a roomy, stand-up bunk and work area designed for the company’s 4900 EX, FA, and SA models (www.western
startrucks.com). Standard are a single lower 42-inch bunk with a restraining net, cabinets for your fridge, two drawers with a slide-out work surface, and a 12-volt power outlet. Options include fridge DC, as well as a wide range of shore power systems including 110-volt AC hook-up, cable, and phone jacks.

Four different bunk configurations are available, including a dinette package–two seats and a table, turning the sleeper compartment into a comfortable area for eating, reading, or doing paperwork.

A flat floor and ample headroom throughout the interior add to the spacious feeling, which you can enhance by adding glass panels on either side.

These are features you’d expect to see in an integrated sleeper-cab. But unlike integrals, the Stratosphere can be easily converted into a day cab–a bright idea, since day cabs tend to fetch higher resale prices.

Peterbilt (www.peterbilt .com) unveiled a high-style trim package for its 379 model–the 379X. Showcased at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., in March, the 379X is a lot of flash–polished aluminum fenders and hood accent, brushed aluminum dash and sleeper trim, seven-inch chromed stacks, LED lighting for the cab, sleeper, air cleaner, and rear light-bar assembly…
It’s built to turn heads.
The 379X is equipped with a 70-inch Unibilt UltraCab that’s deluxe inside right down to the leather seats and chromed shift knob. Peterbilt says part of the appeal of the 379X is its ability to hold value through the life of the truck–if you can afford to buy
one in the first place.