First Drive: 2014 International DuraStar 4300

From The Driver’s Seat: 2014 International 4300 DuraStar

2,700-mile cross-country run reveals a lot about a medium-duty truck 

Moving one’s household goods across town doesn’t give much of a sense how a medium-duty box truck works other than checking out its brakes and turning radius.

Drive that truck 2,700 miles from the Mississippi Gulf Coast to Oregon, while towing a car, crossing the Great Divide and the varied terrain offered across five states, and you get a good feel of what it’d be like as a fleet work truck.

That’s how I came to spend five days behind the wheel of a 26-foot 2014 International 4300 DuraStar owned by Penske Truck Rentals.

The bench-seat Day cab, with a 26,000 GVWR, was spec’d out with a 220hp Cummins ISB6.7  mated to an Allison 2200 RDS 6-speed with PTO, vari-rate rear springs, air brakes with traction control, and single-side 50-gallon fuel tank.

Creature features included your basic stereo sound system with Bluetooth, A/C, steering wheel thumb controls, and cruise control to make long treks like mine much more comfortable when the hours begin to rack up.

Clean-burning 220hp ISB6.7L Cummins used less than 10 gallons of DEF during 2,700-mile road trip. Engine shuts down automatically after a few minutes idling time to save fuel.

Cummins’ 6.7L is found in a wide range of trucks and is a strong performer in the pickup variation that makes 370hp and 800 lb-ft torque. The 220hp version powering my truck felt anemic in comparison.Yet it still handled most of the cross-country interstate and major highway demands placed on it thanks to a nice matchup with the Allison.

The six-speed Allison is a sweet tranny, too; the shifts are almost seamless and intuitively integrated to the engine’s power band.

Where the engine’s struggled was on those six-percent grades common in the mountains. There the best speed it could maintain was 35-40mph locked in 3rd.  On more level terrain and across the flatlands it was happy in 6th maintaining 65-70mph on cruise control.

I was impressed by the box truck’s fuel economy even with the engine working hard during the steeper climbs. It averaged 9.8mpg during my cross-country run, giving it about a 450 mile cruising range.

One aspect I didn’t feel comfortable with was the truck’s lack of engine exhaust braking. Climbing 6-percent grades is one thing, rolling down the other side is another.

The air brakes work great but a heavily loaded 26-foot box truck is prone to overheated brakes like any other rig—and in a rental fleet like Penske’s, those behind the wheel are used to driving smaller vehicles and don’t realize how quickly downhill speed builds. This particular truck didn’t respond well to holding speed even when locked in 4th.

As far as driver/passenger comfort, the rear air suspension cab, deluxe interior and vinyl seat made it easy to sit for extended periods of time. The ride for a box truck of this type was remarkably smooth and the interior quiet enough to hold normal conversations and hands-free phone calls.

Behind the wheel crossing Southwestern Utah. Deluxe interior trim made long hours driving less taxing on both driver and passenger.

The seat itself was supportive and ergonomically matched to my back and my driving partner’s.

Two caveats: 1) the seat height was about two inches too tall for our legs, cutting off circulation after about two hours behind the wheel if we weren’t using cruise control so one could put their feet flat on the floor; 2) the driver’s seating position ends up being about four inches to the right of the steering wheel, making you feel like the first time sitting next to dad while he let you steer the car.

Speaking of steering, the 26-foot DuraStar has a nice tight turning radius and excellent visibility over the hood making maneuvering in tight places easy.  This came in handy when fueling up at places other than truck stops.

After my stint behind the wheel I can say I’d be looking for a similar package if in the market for a box truck. My only spec change would be opting for a 300hp Cummins instead of the base version.