Western Star Trucks has extensively updated its popular 4700 Class 8 heavy truck with a larger cab, redesigned mainframe and new electrical system, and renamed it 47X. It joins the longer and heavier duty 49X, itself a serious reworking of the long-nose 4900 announced last year, to form the builder’s X Series. The new 47X will be available in truck and tractor versions, as a daycab and a short sleeper, and with a wide range of standard and optional components when it goes into production in early 2022.

The new cab, shared with the 49X, is steel framed and aluminum skinned, replacing the current all-steel cab. It provides 11 percent more room for drivers and helpers and weighs 8 percent less than the current cab, said Samantha “Sam” Parlier, vice president, vocational market development. She briefed reporters in a Zoom conference in advance of the new model’s public unveiling September 23. Additional width allows space for a two-person bench seat next to the driver’s air-ride seat.

A standard 111.6-inch bumper-to-back of cab dimension, short hood and wheel cut up to 50 degrees make the 47X relatively compact and highly maneuverable in congested cities and tight job sites. An available 110.8-inch BBC, accomplished with a set-back bumper mount, is designed specifically for bridge-formula states, where multi-axle super dumps and “bridger” mixer chassis are used. Set-forward and set-back steer axles, along with varied wheelbases and axle configurations, are available to suit hauling applications and weight laws.