Caterpillar Enters Vocational Market with Its First-Ever On-Highway Truck

This story appears in the March 28 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

LAS VEGAS — Caterpillar Inc., the construction-equipment manufacturer which dropped out of the Class 8 engine market two years ago, entered the on-highway vocational truck market last week with the introduction of the first in a line of Caterpillar-branded severe-service trucks.

The new truck, designated CT660,  is the first on-highway truck Caterpillar has marketed.

The CT660 is a heavy-duty, “purpose-built” Class 8 truck developed for service as a mixer, a refuse hauler and multiple other severe-service, on-highway applications, company executives said. The truck was introduced at the ConExpo/ConAgg construction and equipment exhibition here on March 22-26.

The truck is a new venture for Caterpillar, but executives repeatedly referenced the company’s experience in the severe-service sectors and its 40-year “participation” in on-highway products.

Caterpillar supplied engines to Class 8 truck makers until 2009, after announcing it would collaborate with truck and engine maker Navistar Inc. to build vocational trucks.

Caterpillar’s truck took five years to plan, said George Taylor, general manager of the global on-highway group, but “dialogues about getting into the on-highway business” began 15 years ago.

The truck is the first Caterpillar-brand product developed out of its partnership with Navistar International Corp., which also includes a joint venture business named NC2, which will produce and distribute vocational trucks and equipment outside North America.

The CT660 will be built under contract by Navistar at its plant in Garland, Texas, where Navistar builds its PayStar vocational truck. However, it will be sold and distributed exclusively by Caterpillar dealers in the United States and Canada. That network includes 54 dealerships with about 400 service locations, 2,300 truck bays and 2,500 technicians.

Although built by Navistar, Gary Blood, vocational truck product manager, said that “everything above the frame rail is new” or unique to Caterpillar.

The 660 is a set-back, front-axle model available in straight truck and day-cab configurations measuring either 116 or 122 inches from front bumper to back-of-cab. A set-forward model, the CT680, will follow.

The 660 will be powered by engines assembled by Navistar, in 11-liter, 13-liter and 15-liter displacements, with power specs ranging from 330 to 550 horsepower and 1,450 to 1,840 pound-feet of torque at peak, designated CT11, CT13 and CT15.

The Cat-branded engines, like Navistar’s proprietary MaxxForce engines, use the exhaust gas recirculation system to control emissions. EGR does not require the use of diesel exhaust fluid.

Similar to Navistar, Caterpillar will use its own emissions credits to meet 2010 emissions standards for the CT engines. These engines meet the 2010 federal emissions compliance standards by trading credits the company has “banked” through the years by producing other engines with lower-than-required emissions levels.

The CT11 and 13 models will be available with the first trucks and the CT15 will be available in the first quarter of 2012.

The engines offer high-pressure single-rail fuel injection and dual sequential turbochargers. The compact graphite block is about 500 pounds lighter than a comparable iron block.

The engines will be mated to the Caterpillar-built CX31 6-speed automatic transmission, which has been in vocational applications since 2004. Features include an electronic control module that regulates shift points based on throttle demand and vehicle speed. The transmission’s electronics can sense a driver’s operating style to balance fuel economy and performance. It has two side power-takeoff locations and a high-output rear location.

Eaton manual transmissions and the Eaton UltraShift Plus automated transmission also are available.

The aluminum cab weighs about 250 pounds less than a conventional steel cab, saving a few more pounds for payload. Some of the exterior cab features include a sloped hood and three-piece modular construction for both the hood and the bumper, lowering repair costs, executives said, because only damaged sections would have to be repaired or replaced. A one-piece windshield is standard, but a two-piece windshield is available.

Inside, the truck will come standard with a free three-year service subscription to Product Link, Caterpillar’s proprietary telematics system. Interior features include a premium air-ride driver seat and sound insulation.

Company officials did not release pricing for the truck, but Blood said it would be a “premium” product.

The order board opens April 1, and shipments will begin in July.