On any truckstop lot, platoons of Freightliners, Internationals, Kenworths, Peterbilts and Volvos have long outnumbered the likes of a Western Star. Times are changing. 'Stars are still distinctive, but sales are growing and if you buy one, chances are you'll see another real soon.

"It's like buying a car," noted Robert "Butch" Farmer. He owns and drives the 'Star we were standing next to on a recent Sunday morning at Little America in Flagstaff, Ariz. "Once you buy it, you start looking for other ones like it, and pretty soon you start seeing 'em every place."

Sure enough, there were three other Western Stars nearby and another one up at the pumps. However, they were square-nosed 4900s, while Butch's is a streamlined 5900. You don't see many of these "company trucks," as he called them. But that's okay by him.

"I set this one up for business on the outside and comfort on the inside," said Farmer, 42, who took delivery of the brand-new truck in April. Although it was built in early 2000, it's titled as a 2001 — go figure —- and it arrived at the dealer in Memphis less than a month after he ordered it. That's proof that last year's long backlogs are gone from truck builders' order boards.

"Business" to Farmer means fuel economy. In mid-September its big 475/500-horse Caterpillar was broken in after better than 60,000 miles and, aided by the 5900's aerodynamics, was averaging about than 6 miles per gallon. This while he cruises a lot of miles at 70 to 75.

Diesel fuel in Flagstaff was going for about $1.60 a gallon, and Farmer was planning his purchases carefully. He and wife Thonda were headed for southern California, and he would avoid buying any fuel there because it was $1.90 a gallon — at a fleet discount — and above $2 in some isolated places. Those prices made him feel pretty good about picking the aero 5900.

"Comfort" means the big Star Light Sleeper, 76 inches long and tall enough that you can't touch the ceiling unless you play for the NBA. The sleeper means business, too, because its patented honeycomb aluminum construction makes the truck about 1,800 pounds lighter than the '97 Kenworth W900L with AeroCab Studio Sleeper that he traded in. The 'Star weighs about 19,000 with everything and everybody aboard, including 240 gallons of fuel, their little dog, Boogie, and all clothing, food and appliances.

'Star's Big on Inner Space

The wide Constellation cab is far roomier than the Kenworth's. The Farmers also like the way the 'Star is built and runs. He bought it through the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and paid $103,000 with the 12% federal excise tax — thousands less than any other deal he knew of.

A tour of the sleeper showed lots of room and storage space, from small compartments above the single wide bunk to a hanging closet behind the passenger's seat. Across the ample aisle, a refrigerator/freezer is mounted conveniently at eye height. It can run on 12 volts or 110 volts, from an on-board PortaWatz inverter. It also run appliances like their George Foreman sandwich grill that they say works great and is easy to clean.

Butch wishes he had ordered a diesel genset because it could have cut some idling of the big Cat under the hood. Last night was cool, though, so they kept the engine off and windows open a bit.

Over breakfast in the restaurant we outlined our day. He needed to air up a slow-leaking tire (he's got his own air hose which he hooks up to a gladhand), then we could head west. They were pulling a long Wabash National van with about 44,000 pounds of frozen pancakes and pastries from a Pillsbury bakery in Missouri. It was consigned to a distribution center in Fullerton, so they'd overnight at the Ontario terminal of Marten Transport, their company.

Westbound on Interstate 40, Thonda sat on the bunk and I took the shotgun seat as Butch did the driving and much of the talking (in the writing business he's called an "easy interview"). The truck was quiet, so conversation was easy. There was a bit of wind noise when Butch cracked open a window as he lit up a cigarette. They both smoke but take pains to keep the interior deodorized.

Marvelous at Marten

He's been with Marten of Mondovi, Wis., for about four years, and can't praise the company enough. Signing on with them, first as a company driver and then as an owner/operator, was no accident. He had a job that wasn't working out, so asked Thonda to help him find a better one.

She said she made a bunch of calls and collected a mound of information on scores of companies, but quickly boiled it all down to about a dozen. She drew a grid with columns for pay, insurance, fringe benefits and other considerations, then plugged in the numbers. Marten and one other carrier were close at the top. But Marten's people seemed more friendly, pleasant and sincere, so that's where he went. He's never been sorry.

"I wouldn't be where I am without Marten," Butch declared at one point. "And I couldn't have gotten the truck without Bobby Adams and Crow's." Bobby is the salesman at Crow's Truck Service, the Western Star dealer in Memphis, Tenn., where he ordered the 5900 and took delivery. "They didn't make but $1,000 on this deal, but he went way out of his way to help me."

For instance, the truck came with an out-of-date owner's manual and few other instructional materials. Bobby photocopied some things from the service department so Butch could get a better idea of what went into the vehicle.

Spec smart, then tweak

During ordering, Bobby recommended the 475-hp Cat C-15 instead of the more expensive 500- or 550-hp version. He then got a Cat representative to re-rate it slightly: It remains at 475 hp in lower gears but makes 500 hp in the top two gears (the Fuller 13- speed's top four ratios), for excellent hill-climbing ability. The Cat rep did this for no charge.

SPECIFICATIONS Tractor: Western Star 5964SS, 123-inch BBC, w/ 76-inch SLG (Star Light Galaxy) Sleeper Engine: Caterpillar C-15, 475/500 hp and 1,750/1,850 lbs-ft. @ 2,100 rpm, w/ PacBrake Clutch: Eaton 15.5-in. Easy Pedal Transmission: Eaton Fuller RTLO-18913 13-speed double-overdrive Front axle: 12,000-lb. Dana E1200I Rear axles: 40,000-lb. Dana DS404 w/ 3.36 ratio, on Hendrickson HN air-ride Wheelbase: 235 inches Tires & Wheels: Bridgestone 285/75R24.5, R227 front and M726 rear, on Alcoa aluminum discs Fuel tanks: Twin 120-gal. aluminum

Butch wanted a 3.42 axle ratio but the truck came through with a 3.36, and he almost refused delivery. But Bobby convinced him to try it out and Butch says he's "tickled to death" with it. The Cat loafs at just 1,400 rpm in 13th at 70 mph and about 1,475 in 12th at 60 mph. This of course helps with fuel economy. And Bobby suggested longer leaf springs over the setback front axle. These and air-ride suspensions over the tandem and under the cab-sleeper structure give a very smooth ride. He complained that pedestals under the Bostrom Talladega seats seemed high, so when they are set to a proper height they bottom out often.

Butch grew up a mechanic, and he has an eye for details that bug him. Most pertain to the truck's heater-ventilator-air conditioning system. Vents in the sleeper are too few and too low, and HVAC switches in the sleeper are mounted too low, so he bumps them with his feet or head (depending on which way he lays in the bunk). He can plumb in more vents but won't move the switches because the panel would then look butchered.

Temperature sensors are too low, down near the floor where cold air settles. This tells the automatic system it's cooler than it really is, especially at face level in the cab, where hot sunlight pours through the big windows. He solved this by taping over the sensor beneath the dashboard. He thinks factory engineers could've designed the system better.

The mechanical talent came naturally — his father ran a garage and fixed everything from toasters to cars to combines. Butch, an ex-Marine, worked at fixing things, too, until the road lured him.

Lucky load

Out behind us, the Thermo King reefer hummed reliably, keeping the load at zero on this warm day. Most of Marten's reefers are now 53-by-102s because that's what customers want, Butch said. Still, the extra load space compared to the older 48s isn't often used. Butch fretted over where and when they'd get their next load, because not much moves out of California this time of year. Surprise!

As we drummed along I-40 in the Mojave Desert west of Needles, the Qualcomm Omnitracs terminal beeped. It told Butch and Thonda that they already had another load: fruit juice from a plant in Anaheim, right near Fullerton. So they'd drop this trailer, bobtail just 3 miles to hook onto another, already loaded and ready to go to Portland, about 900 miles north. Fuel was comparatively cheap up there, too, so things were looking up.

At Barstow, Butch swung south on I-15 for a few miles, then pulled off and headed down the street for Little Sister's Truck Wash. Other truckers had the same idea and almost two hours went by before we got through.

Then it was my turn at the wheel. Returning to I-15, I got a feel for the clutch (it grabbed rather high on the pedal stroke) and gearshift (the lever's offset to the left so the linkage induces a tad of vagueness), and we resumed our now southbound travel.

Power and precision

Caltrans is finally widening I-15 through here and it now better handles the mobs of cars and trucks. Up ahead of us, the driver of a motorhome was bamboozled by uneven pavement and his 32-foot Class A wallowed between the right lane and the shoulder, so much that we speculated as to when he'd roll over. I concentrated on keeping us in a straight line and did, thanks to precise steering on the 'Star.

We passed the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Victorville. Ever gone through there? I asked the Farmers. "Nope, never did," Butch replied. Me either. "Someday," he had said earlier, "we're gonna stop and see the things that we now blow by at 70 miles an hour."

Soon we were through Cajon Summit and heading down the Pass. I switched on the PacBrake and occasionally touched the brakes to keep us at a sane and safe speed. The CHP scale at Hwy. 138 was closed and we breezed by to Clegghorn Road, where I pulled onto Old U.S. 66 and parked to shoot some pictures.

About 150 feet away, a BNSF intermodal train whined downgrade with ocean containers and Hunt and Schneider piggyback trailers. What do you think of piggyback? I had asked him up along I-40, where many such trains can be seen in the distance. "When you're sitting out here for two days waiting for a load, I don't like it," he answered. "But I also see the sense to it. There's a place for both of us — truckers and the railroads, and we need to work together more."

No Marten trailers were on that train, though. "One thing about Marten is they give you lots of miles," Thonda said. Each dispatched mile pays 82 cents, loaded or empty, plus loading/unloading and detention pay for waiting at certain customers' docks.

Marten pays fast, too, and docks any charges for fuel, tires and other equipment items purchased through its national accounts system; it doesn't escrow money because it figures O/Os can better manage their own money, and trains them to be successful business people.

Marten helped arrange financing for Butch's truck, but it's strictly his deal and he is free to leave the company if he wants. But he doesn't. "I hope to retire from here," he said. If so, it may well be in another Western Star. All his complaints are "Mickey Mouse things," he said, "and if it came to buying another one, I'd do it again."