Western Star’s Constellation 4964EX

The folks at Western Star Trucks are thinking big, as evidenced by our latest test truck: a Constellation Series wearing the new 76-inch Galaxy Hi Roof sleeper. With a BBC of 132 inches, the Western Star 4964EX boasts the second longest hood in the business. Tack on the premium sleeper, a 550-horsepower Caterpillar engine coupled to a double-overdrive 18-speed transmission running through 3.70 rears, then lay it all out on a spacious 260-inch wheelbase and you’ve got a serious truck on your hands.

You don’t have to get too close to the truck to see obvious enhancements to the Constellation. The dual six-inch exhaust stacks are factory installed, and, given the size of the cab and sleeper, they round off the truck’s appearance better than the standard five-inch stacks would. There’s a single horizontal muffler down below, but the rest of the exhaust system is straight pipe. Also new is a pair of optional 15-inch stainless steel Donaldson air cleaners. Previously, only the 13-inch cans were available.

Under the extended hood, all the routine maintenance items are easy enough to get to, and what’s under the truck is almost as easy to reach thanks to Western Star’s exceptional ground clearance. Even the normally hard-to-reach clutch linkage grease fittings are easy to get hold of, as are the fuel filters, the drive line and the front-end grease fittings. I don’t think we’ll see too many technicians running for cover when a Constellation rolls into the shop.

Inside, Western Star has added a couple of new features which are bound to please. The HVAC system not only features separate controls for the cab and the sleeper, but setting the desired temperature is as easy as pressing a rocker switch until the digital readout displays the temperature you want. Two rotary knobs allow you to select the fan speed and the air-distribution pattern.

The other notable new feature is the optional Shore Power package. The truck is wired for 120-volt AC power with two outlets in the sleeper and the hook-up on the left side of the sleeper. There’s a lot of talk about the electrification of truckstop parking lots these days, and with this option drivers can park, shut it down, and run everything off the 120-V service. The truck is equipped with a power inverter to run the 120-V appliances right off the battery.

But when using the high-voltage service, the power grid within the truck converts the 120-V AC to 12-V DC to run everything else, including the TV, the fridge, and the radio. Just in case someone kicks out the plug after you’ve fallen asleep with the TV on, the 4964EX comes with a low-voltage battery disconnect in order to preserve a minimum charge to get you going again in the morning.

BELLS AND WHISTLES

The spacious 76-inch Galaxy sleeper has lights where you need them, shelves where you want them, and four windows where they’ll do the most good. There’s even an optional timer/engine starter control mounted back in the sleeper so you can set the engine to start up just a bit earlier than you do.

Up front, Western Star offers side-window defrosters, a straight-stick shifter, and an immensely comfortable left arm-rest on the door. Finally, truck engineers who understand that the door is the only logical place to rest your left arm!

Two slight problems, though. One is a spring-loaded trolley valve. Ever tried to get out and check your trailer brakes before the spring flips the valve back into place?

The other minor irritation was the close proximity of all the rocker switches. I know given time I’d get used to which switch is which, but I don’t think the truck would suffer from at least grouping appropriate controls together while separating the others.

What really caught my eye was the fit and finish of the entire interior. I guess that’s what “handmade” means. There wasn’t a rough edge or a gap in the upholstery to be found.

CRUISING

With breakfast downed and tip on the table, we bobtailed from Ayr to Aberfoyle, Ont., to pick up our trailer from the good folks at the Markel Institute of Professional Transport Training. In case you ever need an ego boost, just show up at a driving school with a large car. The wannabes go nuts. The weight in the wagon, about 20,000 pounds, was more to keep the wheels on the ground than to give the Cat a workout-we didn’t even burn the yellow paint off the turbo. The biggest hill I pulled was the Clappison Cut on Hwy. 6 north of Hamilton. The Cat worked its way into seventh gear from a standing start at the bottom, and we were still accelerating as we went over the top.

The ride did show, however, how nimble the truck could be.

Try running the right steer tire along the yellow line beside the shoulder of any two-lane road and you’ll soon see how well a truck’s steering geometry is set up. This buggy passed with flying colors. Weaving through urban traffic was a breeze, and the massive windows offered a great view of all the four wheelers who sought to spoil an afternoon of cruising.

There were other nice touches for the driver. Some trucks drive me nuts trying to disengage their cruise control without losing the speed setting. Some trucks require you to apply the brake, but the ones that I like are the ones where you can tap the clutch pedal and release it without the cruise resuming. Our 4964EX was set up that way.

The only excessive noise we could hear in the cab, and I suspect few drivers would object to the sound, was our Cat gulping air through the big air cleaners. You gotta love the sound of raw power. In fact, the only disappointing part of the ride was taking it back.

This truck is loaded and competitively priced, but Western Star will be building only one truck like this per week. Production of the Galaxy sleepers began last fall, with the first available delivery dates starting early this year. The line forms to the right.

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ROAD NOTES: 4964EX

o Chassis/sleeper cab: Western Star 4964EX with 76-inch Galaxy sleeper; 260-inch wheelbase o Dry Weight: 18,576 pounds o Power: Cat 3406E 475 hp (uprated to 550) @ 2100 rpm with 1750 lb ft torque @ 1200 rpm, with Cat driver information display o Transmission: Eaton Fuller RTLO-18918B with heat exchanger; Meritor 15.5-in. damped disk ceramic clutch rated at 1850 lb ft torque o Drive axle: Eaton DS 405 40,000-lb rear axles with 3.70:1 ratio; Hendrickson HAS-400 air suspension; Michelin XDN 11R 22.5 drive tires o Misc.: WS Shore Power option; WS Sleeper Start option; Bostrom Rheonetic ultra-leather seating