This month we’ve headed to the Eastern sunshine to discover Western Star ruggedness.

A brilliant Hawke’s Bay mid-winter day provides the setting for New Zealand Truck & Driver to join Beale Trucking’s new Western Star 4884 FXC logger for a Napier-Dannevirke round trip.

Named The Warrior’s Way, the Detroit-powered 8x4 Western Star became the newest truck in the Beale Trucking fleet early this year.

It clicked over 59,000km during our test with driver Chris Murphy who has been at the wheel of The Warrior’s Way since joining the company four months ago, clocking up roughly half of that mileage.

Beale Trucking headquarters is the Tui capital of Mangatainoka, although parts of its fleet work out of Masterton and three trucks are based across in Taranaki.

Owner Regan Beale says the company started 12 years ago with a second-hand Fuso tipper and has expanded steadily. Today the Western Star is the newest of nine loggers working in the Beale Trucking fleet and will soon be joined by an almost identical – but Cummins X15 powered – stablemate.

Jumping into a Western Star is like taking a step back in time – well it is for me as I’m used to testing the newest technologies on offer.

Here is a brand that has not followed the rest (yet) but has stuck to its roots by keeping things old school and uncomplicated.

It’s a cracker Hawke’s Bay August day for our return trip from Napier to a skid site at Waitahora Rd, to the east of Dannevirke and back again in Beale Trucking’s Western Star 4884 FXC logger. The 8x4 with newly refurbished Patchells trailer and log gear is powered by the 14.8-litre Detroit DD15 six-cylinder engine producing 560hp. 

After the truck gets loaded it is my turn to have a drive. The climb up into the cab is not great with the door opening being narrowed by the air cleaners meaning you have to take the first of the two steps side on. There is a grab handle on the left but the one on the right is towards the top of the A-pillar, so I find myself lunging for it. 

Once up into the cab it’s a comfy fit for me and the National 2000 Series high-back driver seat with active air lumbar support feels supportive with arm rests on both sides. You wouldn’t want to be any taller than me with the seat back at its furthest it’s just right and I am just under 6ft (182cm).