94 AUGUST 2019 ownerdriver.com.autrucktechnology
CASCADIA ON TRIAL
Prior to its upcoming Australian launch, a right-hand drive
Freightliner Cascadia has been quietly undergoing extensive testing
in a Queensland operator’s fleet. Steve Brooks tracks it down
Opposite above: Confident in
Cascadia. Maktrans driver Trevor
Conroy discusses some of the test
truck’s traits. “It’s a good thing,”
he states firmly. Just as firmly,
however, the US sleeper mattress is
“crap”. Fortunately for our market,
Freightliner Australia uses a far
better mattress; A hand-built,
pre-production unit, Australia’s
first righthand-drive Cascadia
is doing everything right so far,
and surprisingly free of squeaks,
rattles and squawks.I
T WAS AN OPPORTUNITY too good to miss and the timing
simply could not have been better: a stint aboard the first
right-hand drive Freightliner Cascadia test truck in the
country, just days before heading to the United States for a
detailed look at the testing and development work being
done in preparation for the model’s Australian launch later
this year. A Cascadia 126 model, the right-hooker has been
operating in the fuel haulage fleet of Toowoomba-based
Maktrans since February this year and with almost 72,000km
under its belt, has done everything expected of it, according to
company owner Rob Hannaman.
Maktrans runs nine trucks with Freightliner Coronado punched
by Detroit’s DD15, being Rob’s established combination for the
25 metre B-double applications that dominate the business,
hauling fuel across a broad expanse of Queensland and NSW.
The only exceptions are a recently purchased Mercedes-Benz
2663 model for a new A-double configuration and, of course,
the Cascadia test unit punched by a Detroit DD16 dispensing
600hp (447kW) and a tenacious 2,050ft-lb (2,779Nm) of torque.Joining two left-hand drive test units operating from Victoria,
the Maktrans Cascadia is effectively a hand-built pre-production
unit brought to Australia to continue the test program that
Freightliner is banking on to verify and secure Cascadia’s
durability for the Australian market.
According to senior Freightliner insiders, several more right-
hand drive trial units are soon to join the local test program,
which is being run in sync with an extensive engineering and
test exercise in the US. The extent of that exercise and its aim to
ensure Cascadia does not suffer the durability dilemmas of some
predecessors, is the fundamental reason behind Freightliner’s
invitation to visit the US operation.
Meantime, the Maktrans truck is the same unit showcased on
the Freightliner stand at this year’s Brisbane Truck Show, obviously
with the ‘camouflage’ now removed. It is also the first Cascadia in
Australia to sport a sleeper cab – the shorter 36 inch version which
will be offered along with 48 inch and 60 inch bunks.
Critically, driver reaction to the Cascadia has been highly positive
with Maktrans driver Trevor Conroy quick to concede he’d be more