ownerdriver.com.au AUGUST 2019 95
than happy to stay in the trial truck for
as long as possible.
“It’s a good thing,” said the straight-talking 62
year-old during a run from Brisbane to the top of
Cunningham’s Gap on his way to deliver a B-double
load of diesel to a roadhouse in northern NSW.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a better truck all-round
than Coronado.”
Why? “It’s more comfortable, quieter, a lot better
visibility,” Trevor says simply. “There are just a lot
of things about it I like, including the automated
’box. It’s just so good everywhere, and easier, especially
in traffic.”
As for handling and road manners, he contends
the steering is certainly firmer at low speeds than
its Coronado equivalent, “But you couldn’t say the
steering’s heavy. Not at all, and it keeps a good line on
the road.”
Just an hour or so after leaving Brisbane, ride
quality and road manners were certainly showcased
on the rippled, rutted surface of the Cunningham
Highway where the Cascadia delivered exceptionally
high standards.
It was on this stretch, however, where Cascadia
displayed a surprising and totally unexpected quality
totally at odds with most of its predecessors. Despite
the fact the truck had shortcomings in some areas
of fit and finish, typical of any pre-production unit,
there was not one – I emphasise, not one – rattle,
squeak or squawk from the moment I climbed in
to the time I climbed out at Fisher’s roadhouse at the
top of Cunningham’s Gap.
A smiling Trevor Conroy agreed. “Yeah, there are no
noises that shouldn’t be there.”
Cynical as it may sound, this was an amazing feat
for a brand often pilloried for poor attention to detail,
“There are no
noises that
shouldn’t be there.”
suggesting that the Cascadia cab has inherited a level
of Benz architectural strength which largely eluded its
forebears. Except, of course, for the original and much
revered FLC112 model which also happened to have a
cab derived from Mercedes-Benz.Road Report
One of the truck’s two regular drivers, Trevor spends
four days behind the wheel before handing over
to John Malpress for the remaining three days of
the week.
While acknowledging that most drivers have their
own ideas and individual preferences on what’s good
and what’s not, Trevor is a big fan of the standard seat.
“I’m not a tall bloke and my back’s not real good at the
best of times but this is probably the most comfortable
truck seat I’ve ever sat in.”
What about the bunk? “It’s alright for me and it’d
probably be fine if you were the truck’s only driver but
for our work, a bigger bunk would be better, for sure.
It’d make life easier.”
Quiet for a moment, he adds abruptly, “The worst
thing about it is the mattress. Bloody Yank mattresses
are crap.” Fortunately, Freightliner in Australia uses a
far better mattress.
Any other issues? Again, he takes a few moments
before stating that apart from some initial delays with
wiring for Dangerous Goods compliance, the truck has
been largely trouble-free.
“We’ve just been told to put mileage on it and that’s
exactly what we’ve been doing, except when it got taken
off the road for the truck show,” he remarks.
Asked if he’s noticed a difference in fuel
consumption between the 600hp DD16 in the Cascadia
and the 560hp (418kW) DD15 in the Coronado he
normally drives, both units hauling largely identicalB-double tanker sets at loaded weights up to 68 tonnes,
an adamant Trevor Conroy insists, “A big difference.
This truck (Cascadia) is heaps better on fuel.”
He quickly scans through the test truck’s on-board
monitoring system to reveal an average consumption
of 51.4 litres per 100km, or 1.95km/litre, recorded over
the previous 3,500km.
Much of Cascadia’s instrumentation, switchgear and
control functions are from the same family store as
the latest Mercedes-Benz models and Trevor concedes
it took “a little while” to come to grips with the various
functions but now, “it’s not a problem”.
Time and distance passed quickly and it wasn’t long
before Aratula fell behind and the long Cunningham’s
climb started to rear up.
As he usually does, Trevor simply set cruise control
and let the DT12 automated shifter do its thing for
most of the climb until, with just a kilometre or so
to go, he switched to manual mode in preparation
for a shift down to fifth on the approach to the sharp
lip at the top.
In an incredibly strong pulling performance, the
DD16 revealed the deep reserves of grit and grunt you’d
expect from a big bore engine with such formidable
torque output, hauling easily over the lip in fifth gear
at 20km/h and Trevor reporting, “My right foot’s not
even flat to the floor.”
It was, however, the synergy and intuition of the
engine and transmission package that truly impressed,
with the DT12 in auto mode demonstrating an
advanced ability to let engine speed to run to the
higher end of the rev range on steep sections rather
than regularly jumping to an unnecessary and
unwanted upshift.
All up, it’s impossible to judge the long-term
suitability of any truck from just a hundred kilometres
or so in the shotgun seat. But this much is indeed
evident: Freightliner Cascadia is demonstrating the
attributes to suggest America’s number one brand of
heavy-duty truck will later this year cross the Pacific
with far more in its favour than any of its forebears.
Stay tuned, because our next report on Cascadia will
also be from the other side of the Pacific.