New 4900 Star

[Bullheaded]

My new ride. My old 2013 4900 had me hating life. But going to give them another try. So far this truck has far fewer flaws and I see western Star and Detroit have made some changes and improvements. Hopefully it is a good truck this time because I really like it.

Went with a smaller engine this time, in hopes it will be better for the DPF. It has a DD13 505 h.p. with 1850 torque at 975 RPM. 18 speed manual, 20,000 front and steering lift axle, 46,000 full locking rears with 4.10 ratio.

Even tried a passenger bench seat this time so I can lay down when I'm sitting on site. It came with stainless panels to put on the passenger side of the dash, but not going to put those on. I get sun-blinded enough from the steering wheel. LOL.

First pic is beside my buddy's twin steer tri-drive logger. The rest are from today after having the drop visor and tool box installed.

[gxbxc]

Nice truck That is one long a$$ dump body and you have a pup also?

[Bullheaded]

Thanks. Yes, have a tri-axle pony and a tri-axle tag float also. This is the unit this one replaced.

Truck is legal for 80,000 pounds gross here and 140,000 with pony.

[carlotpilot]

thats a fine lookin big star but the guy takin the pictures needs to polish his shoes . makes the bumper look bad

[kscarbel2]

Beautiful truck, and nicely spec'd !

[j hancock]

Looks Good!  What type/brand is the 46K rear suspension?

[Bullheaded]

On 6/1/2019 at 12:25 AM, Rob said:

Is the lift axle in those trucks centered between the tandems and steering axle, or spaced a certain distance forward of the tandems?

I like the looks and layout of the cab interior. I haven't seen that brand of truck since they had "White Western Star" on the hoods myself and they weren't popular around here at all. I do remember them being spoken of as being "hand built" however.

Thanks everyone. Rob, the lift is 141 inches back from the steer and 100 inches ahead of the first drive (hub center to center). The main thing is the 100 inch ahead of the rears.

The spacings will effect your allowable gross quite a bit here. But this is the optimal dimensions here. It gives me what they call SPIF Schedule 23 which gives me the max allowable for my rear axle spread. Only way to legal more if if I had 72 inch spread.

This SPIF law we have here in Ontario requires these axles to go down automatically once you put a certain amount of weight in the box, they steer and they also have to self equalize with the rear axles. I do have an override though to work it manually. They just amended that law, that we can now have a Canada/USA switch in them...but still illegal to use manual here.

You pretty much have to load these trucks nose heavy to get my 19841.6 pounds on each axle.

Back in the White days, Star was hand built one at a time, built to order in BC Canada. Then along came Daimler, moved them to Portland, OR and turned them into an expensive Freightliner, LOL.

The benefit of Star is they are the only one that still used basic wiring in these models (not the 4700 or 5700 though) Not full of modules. And they have a good frame and big strong crossmembers, and cab and powertrain mounts.

[Bullheaded]

1 hour ago, j hancock said:

Looks Good!  What type/brand is the 46K rear suspension?

Both trucks are 46,000 Meritor's on 46,000 Air Liner. I like it. Never had an issue with it.

[HeavyGunner]

I have been told that having the adjustable regulator in the cab is what is illegal because you could fiddle with it going across the scale.  Most of the trucks I have drove with tags were set at 60 psi but not all. It takes a little trial and error until we get a new truck dialed in to the tag pressure. Obviously we try to run the least amount of pressure (carry the least amount we legally can with out affecting our max payload) as possible so the front end doesn’t push or under steer as much. 

[Bullheaded]

Ya, they changed it in Ontario Canada. It is called SPIF. It stands for Safe(NOT) Productive and Infrastructure Friendly. Ya, you gotta be a government employee to come up with crap like that.

Anyway, we can no longer have control. It has to go down automatically when you load and it has to self equalize, which is why air ride is the way to go. It can be done on spring and rubber block, but then you have to have load cells which so far are proving unreliable.

You can lift it by cycling the 4 way flashers on for 4 seconds, then off for 4 seconds, then back and leave on. It will then stay up until you hit 60 KPH.

Now try doing that in an accident avoidance situation. Because despite the government saying they steer in the winter, they DO NOT. That is why my old truck had an over-ride switch installed in the cab. And this one has the newly approved Canada/USA over-ride.

But still no regulator in cab. I would have to move it myself. They took it out of the cab when they did the install by law.

I know when I have my full legal load on (80,000 pounds) the lift and my rear suspension are at 70 PSI.

[Bullheaded]

Maybe I'll lose some weight now. While I like the bench seat, I can no longer mount my 12V fridge between the seats like my 2013.

It has to go on passenger side floor, so I can't reach it now. LOL.

Made my floor easier to clean now.

[Bullheaded]

What model Mack is that water truck Rob? That cab corner looks odd to me for a Mack cab?

[Bullheaded]

That's why! Wasn't the cab I was looking at, LOL. If it's anything like the jobs I work, that sleeper would come in handy. Thus my bench seat. LOL.

Well first day of work today. hauled gravel and pulled a load of cement lego blocks on the three axle tag float. 

I don't know why Detroit still makes the DD15. This DD13, now that it has 1850 torque, will walk all over my old DD15 . I like it so far. And it's easier on fuel.

So now they only offer the DD15 with 1750 torque. But the DD13 is 505/1850.  They may as well just have the DD13 and the DD16 600.

And as far as engine braking, it is almost the same, but you have to wind it up to higher RPM's to get the same power.

[james j neiweem]

Nice rig hope it works well for you. I like the wood replica dash. I think Mack stopped making them. I wonder how the DD13 505/1850 compares to Mack Volvo 505/1850 injector cup motor.

[Freightrain]

 

HEAT/VIBRATOR?   Is that for the drivers seat or the dump bed??  

[41chevy]

1 hour ago, Freightrain said:

 

HEAT/VIBRATOR?   Is that for the drivers seat or the dump bed??  

Best you don't go there. . .

[Dirtymilkman]

2 hours ago, Freightrain said:

 

HEAT/VIBRATOR?   Is that for the drivers seat or the dump bed??  

Nope.........Passenger seat. 

[gxbxc]

Oh this suddenly took a down turn

[Bullheaded]

11 hours ago, james j neiweem said:

Nice rig hope it works well for you. I like the wood replica dash. I think Mack stopped making them. I wonder how the DD13 505/1850 compares to Mack Volvo 505/1850 injector cup motor.

Dirty dirty minds, LOL Anyway, back to this quote.....as far as pulling, I know the MP8 505 motors would walk all over the DD15 505.

Another thing I noticed.....the ONLY hard part issue I ever had with the DD15 (beside on-going emissions problems) was the fan belt tensioners always failed. They have three flat faced pulleys on them and were $850 Canadian. We replaced two in 350,000 KM. Problem was the face would wear uneven and the belt would then walk off.

Well, they now have ribbed pulleys on them.

 

Talked to a guy today that has a Granite dump truck I once posted pics of on this site. Has an MP8 505 and M-Drive. He said he has had ZERO emission issues.

Even my friend that has that twin steer Star in the pics above. He previously had a Titan MP10 605 and he had very few issues with it.

[Bullheaded]

Had to get her dirty. First week of work, so far so good. The first week with the blue 2013 I could fill a whole book with the issues it had.

I do find this DD13 505 louder in the cab and harder on fuel than the DD15 505 and the ISX600 we had.

But it will easily outpull the DD15 505 because it has more torque.

And the kind of scenery that makes you kinda like trucking.

 

I just wish the Mack Granite 505/M-Drive would have loaded closer behind me so we could have seen how they compared on the 10% grades.

[HeavyGunner]

How bad is the DD13 mileage?  I have not been impressed with the mileage out of the DD15 I drive. 3.89-4.2 mpg is it. I suspect part of that problem might be because it’s poorly spec’d for the job it does. Not impressed at all with it in the power department either. 

[Bullheaded]

I haven't had time to get real scientific data.  And of coarse this one has no miles or hours on it yet either.

But as far as trip average I could have got as high as 6.4 MPG on this trip and this time I got 5.4.  And it is using 2.5 gallons of DEF per day.

The DD15 would light up quicker after a shift with that compound turbo it had, whereas this one has a bit of turbo lag, but it will pull from 900 RPM and pull harder than the 15 once it spools up. And it shows a little over 5 PSI more peak boost on the gauges.

I'm usually right in the 5.3 MPG average range. Except when I am pulling the pony. Then it's 2.4 in the winter, LOL.

Like I said....I don't track it dead on. For the work I do, it is what it is. Lots of on/off road, lots of low speed work, lots of PTO time. Hard to get good fuel mileage.

[Bullheaded]

1 hour ago, HeavyGunner said:

How bad is the DD13 mileage?  I have not been impressed with the mileage out of the DD15 I drive. 3.89-4.2 mpg is it. I suspect part of that problem might be because it’s poorly spec’d for the job it does. Not impressed at all with it in the power department either. 

What kind of work do you do? How was yours as far as regens? My 2013 DD15 was plagued with parked regens. It couldn't go 8 hours without a regen. And all kinds of DEF system problems. Only time it was any good was when I was pulling the pony grossing 140,000 pounds on the highway.

It did not like dump truck duty....especially hauling light snow loads in the winter.

I know they have made changes to these new ones. One thing is they no longer use air to purge the DEF system. It is all electric pumps now. And this one has smaller diameter exhaust piping under the cab and it is all insulated now.

[HeavyGunner]

Mostly oil field work. 350-400 miles a day. 2-4 hours of running the pto. 11 axle A train with dd15, 10sp and 3.73 rears. Never have been able to find a spot (rpm) where that Detroit will really pull. I used to have the exact same truck except with a c15 and it would walk all over this dd15. Rarely had to shift out of 10th with the cat, the Detroit I’m rowing through gears 7,8,9,10 continuously. Hell I get passed like I’m standing still all the time by hoards of governed fleet trucks all the time. I use about 2.5 gallons of def a day. Not too bad on regens but I doubt I go a month without dealing with a dummy light coming on that will eventually derate me if I don’t stop and get someone with a computer to clear it. Most times when I asked what’s wrong I’m told nothings wrong the computer just saw something it didn’t like. 

[Bullheaded]

39 minutes ago, HeavyGunner said:

Mostly oil field work. 350-400 miles a day. 2-4 hours of running the pto. 11 axle A train with dd15, 10sp and 3.73 rears. Never have been able to find a spot (rpm) where that Detroit will really pull. I used to have the exact same truck except with a c15 and it would walk all over this dd15. Rarely had to shift out of 10th with the cat, the Detroit I’m rowing through gears 7,8,9,10 continuously. Hell I get passed like I’m standing still all the time by hoards of governed fleet trucks all the time. I use about 2.5 gallons of def a day. Not too bad on regens but I doubt I go a month without dealing with a dummy light coming on that will eventually derate me if I don’t stop and get someone with a computer to clear it. Most times when I asked what’s wrong I’m told nothings wrong the computer just saw something it didn’t like. 

What year is yours? At the end this spring just before we sold our 2013, we found out two big causes of my issues. 

Number one....because of all the other problems I had with it, the dealer mechanics poked holes in all the wire harnesses with a test light and the harness that controls the DEF system corroded.

Number two....apparently there are bungs inside the One-Box that are known for cracking and breaking off.  And I think what was explained to me is the pipes inside go out of alignment? I was always wondering why mine when it was getting close to doing a parked regen would make trumpet sound in the exhaust. That was the cause. Had to replace the whole one box.

When my old DD15 ran right, I was happy with the power. With just the truck I can gross 80,000 and 140,000 with the pony. All our trucks have Eaton 18 double low, double overs with 4.30 rear gears on 22.5 rubber. (my new one has 4.10's)

And compared to our Coronado 122SD that had a 600/1850 ISX in it......from a standing start I could smoke our driver. It would accelerate and grab gears faster. But come a hill, I could hold equal until I had to drop that first gear. Then he would wave good by.

The way it worked out because I drove all three one day doing the same job, same loads...the ISX was 10 MPH slower on the hill than my 550 Cat and the DD15 was 15 MPH slower than the Cat. (on that particular short hill.)

And a hill that I could maintain 55 MPH with the ISX, the DD15 would drop to 40.