Western Star Teases Heavily Tested Next-Generation Vocational Truck

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Western Star says that its new vocational truck will be the most-tested model in the history of the company. (Image courtesy of Western Star.)

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) brand Western Star says that its new vocational truck will be the most-tested model in the history of the company. Slated for a September 29 debut, the next-gen truck has benefited from Daimler Trucks’ engineering and grueling torture testing in the lab and the real world.

“Vocational customers work in the most challenging environments in the world: places where durability and uptime are crucial,” says DTNA Senior Vice President, Vocational Segment, David Carson. “We have put the next Western Star through its paces to ensure this truck surpasses their expectations. We have a hard-earned reputation for dependability, for reliability, and for toughness that our customers know they can count on when they get to the job site and on the journey there. And we have delivered for them.”

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Daimler Trucks North America subjected the cab of the new Western Star to many crush and impact tests. (Photo courtesy of Western Star.)

Shaken & Crushed

DTNA subjected the cab and full builds of the new truck to shaker table tests during its development. The violent X- and Y-axis vibration was meant to simulate 1 million miles of harsh, real-world duty in less than two months of testing. A bed plate test put the chassis and certain components through different kinds of stress. DTNA also repeated a frame-twisting test 10,000 times to adjudge the truck’s durability.

Next, the company’s Product Validation Engineering (PVE) team tested the cab of the next-gen truck to make sure it will protect the driver from impacts. Despite being lighter than the previous Western Star cab, the new design proved its mettle in numerous crushing tests on its roof and top corners. Cameras and sensors captured more than 200 data points as PVE smashed cab after cab to verify the strength of the new cabin.

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Violent shaker table tests simulated 1 million miles of harsh, real-world duty for the next-gen Western Star truck, due out September 29. (Photo courtesy of Western Star.)

Taken For A Spin

Finally, DTNA pounded the new truck at its 87-acre High Desert Proving Grounds in Madras, Oregon. With a 3.5-mile test track of the harshest road conditions customers can expect, engineers replicated each truck’s entire expected service life in as little as seven months. The Proving Grounds offer the ability to test vehicle performance and reliability in snow, rain, and extreme heat.

Source: Western Star